The Australian Trucking Association and Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific are proud to announce the participants in the 2019 Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum.

 

The 2019 forum will deliver a career-defining professional development program to 14 trucking business owners and employees.

 

The leaders come from a range of backgrounds and roles, including business analysis, driver training, logistics, compliance and finance.

 

 “Our trucking industry needs a new generation of leaders to deal with change and the challenge of technological disruption,” ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said today.

 

“The inaugural Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum was an incredible success, and I very much look forward to engaging our 2019 Future Leaders in this invaluable program,” he said.

 

The first part of the 2019 Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum will be held in Canberra on 12-13 November 2018, providing participants with the opportunity to develop their potential as future leaders of the industry and the ATA’s network of member associations.

 

The program will include intensive workshops and take-home leadership projects on key industry issues, which will be presented at Trucking Australia 2019, held in Perth from 3-5 April. Participants will also be mentored by experts in leadership, media and political training during the Forum.

 

“This type of initiative nurtures the development of Australia’s transport industry leaders and can make transport a destination industry for the country’s finest,” Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific President and CEO Daniel Whitehead said.

 

“We are excited to see the talent and vision of our 2019 Future Leaders and the projects they will undertake to build a stronger, safer and more productive industry,” he said. 

 

The 2019 Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders Forum welcomes representatives from Daimler Truck and Bus, ATA member associations and for the first time, the ATA’s safety accreditation scheme TruckSafe.

 

 

 

 

Daimler Truck and Bus 

 

Matthew is a Business Analyst at Daimler Truck and Bus. Born and raised in country New South Wales, he has many years of experience in the transport, logistics and supply chain industry. Matthew has a passion for data analysis and creating insights to develop future strategies around sales planning, customer and competitor insights, future product strategies and operational process improvements. Matthew’s leadership project will explore the projected rise of ecommerce and how it will lead to an increased need for truck drivers and increased demand of transport companies. The project will discuss future training pathways and the barriers of entering the transport industry. 

 

 

Victorian Transport Association 

 

Daniel is Load Restraint Specialist at TOLL’s Road Transport Safety and Compliance Unit. Since starting with TOLL in 2009, Daniel has worked as a truck driver, driver trainer, site HSE coordinator and regional HSE manager. Daniel’s leadership project focuses on managing the rollover risk of containerised loads. Daniel aims to raise awareness of compliant loading practices to reduce business risk.   

 

 

Queensland Trucking Association 

 

Athol is Compliance Manager at Fraser’s Livestock Transport in Warwick, Queensland. Since completing a school-based traineeship nearly 20 years ago, Athol has worked in various roles in the transport industry, was recently appointed as a TruckSafe director and is passionate about animal welfare. Athol’s leadership project is to re-introduce an historical ‘offsider driver program’, designed for new entrants to learn the Livestock Transport Industry code of conduct/culture and driving skills in multi-combination vehicles. The program would involve on-the-job training as well as accredited/skill set training. 

 

 

NT Road Transport Association 

 

Christian is Director and Operations Manager of Darwin Container Services, a company specialising in container freight, OSOM and general freight movements. Christian grew up in the family business and was fascinated by trucks from a young age. Christian is a qualified diesel fitter and completed his apprenticeship with Cummins South Pacific before re-joining the family businesses as Managing Director, responsible for company logistics. Christian is not only an engine specialist but also a highly qualified road train driver and side-loader operator. 

 

 

Australian Furniture Removers Association 

 

Kingsley is IT Administrator of Conroy Removals in Dandenong, Victoria. Kingsley grew up around trucks and has a passion for technology, specifically bringing the industry forward by updating old technology while keeping budgets intact. Kingsley’s leadership project focuses on technological change and innovation in the transport industry, by automating administration systems. Kingsley believes an automated system would improve productivity by reducing staff involvement and the risk of human error. 

 

 

NatRoad 

 

Bethany Magill works for Magill Transport in Parkes, New South Wales, as Administration and Logistics Assistant. Bethany grew up in the family business which sparked an interest in the industry and led her to study a Bachelor of Business. Bethany’s leadership project is focused employee attraction and retention. Bethany will explore issues for new and existing drivers, employment pathways and portraying the transport industry as an attractive place of work. 

 

 

SA Road Transport Association 

 

Kaine works in Operations at his family owned and operated business McEvoy Transport in Dry Creek, South Australia. During his time at the business, Kaine has worked in various roles from driving and loading, administration duties and quoting, to the hiring of staff and day-to-day running of the company. Kaine’s leadership project focuses on how family-owned transport businesses can transition from one generation to the next, ensuring productivity, sustainability and viability. 

 

 

Australian Livestock & Rural Transporters Association 

 

Angela is Business Development Manager at Stockmaster in Tamworth, New South Wales. Angela has extensive experience in the transport and logistics industries, particularly in the heavy vehicle freight sector. In her time at Stockmaster, Angela has negotiated KPI’s with key customers, introduced a new accounting system and overseen the rollout of safer new technology such as EBS. Angela’s leadership project aims to innovate business operation performance through the development and implementation of a comprehensive system tailored specifically to the needs of livestock transporters. Angela will also focus on productivity, including the upskilling of employees and automation of resource-heavy business processes. 

 

 

Western Roads Federation 

 

Gordon is Chief Commercial Officer at Kwik Logistics, a company that has been operating in Western Australia’s construction and infrastructure sector for more than 30 years through crane hire, local transport and traffic management. Gordon worked in insolvency for some years before working with Jonesway Transport and then moving back to the family business, Kwik Logistics. Gordon’s leadership project focuses on how businesses can stay competitive while still operating compliantly. It will explore the improvement of industry standards and increased regulation and educating customers. 

 

 

Tasmanian Transport Association 

 

Troy is Managing Director of Streefland’s Transport in Kings Meadows, Tasmania. Troy began his career in the family business in 2008 in driving and operational roles. Having led the growth of the business, Troy became MD in 2015 before purchasing the business from his parents in 2018. Troy’s leadership project focuses on technology and specialised load restraint solutions. The project will explore the use of technology and the range of platforms that can be used to improve efficiency, productivity and compliance. 

 

 

Transafe WA 

 

Geoff is the Regional Health, Safety, Environment and Training Manager at Rivet Mining Services in Port Hedland, Western Australia. Geoff has qualifications in the areas of management, training and assessment and workplace health and safety. Geoff is a passionate advocate for mandating new technologies in heavy vehicles. Geoff believes that the implementation of technology and safety systems can significantly reduce business risk and cost. 

 

 

TruckSafe 

 

Riley is a Driver Trainer and Assessor at Divall’s Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage in Goulburn, New South Wales. During his time at Divall’s, Riley has obtained an MC licence and completed a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. Riley is also competent in the use of civil machinery, with his qualification giving him the opportunity to work within both the heavy vehicle and civil industries. Riley’s leadership project focuses on the recruitment and retention of staff and getting more young men and women interested in the transport industry. 

 

 

Road Freight NSW 

 

Michelle is Workplace Health and Safety Officer at Vellex. Michelle has been at Vellex for 13 years and has worked in a variety of roles that have given her an in-depth knowledge of the transport industry. Michelle’s leadership project focuses on improving internal safety communication, by utilising communications techniques that are traditionally used in the marketing and advertising fields. This will include understanding the target audience, preparing effective communication schedules and creating memorable campaigns that emotionally engage workers. 

 

 

Daimler Truck and Bus 

 

Luke is Chief Financial Officer at Ron Finemore Transport, based in Albury/Wodonga, New South Wales. Luke’s career began in a Big 4 global accounting firm where he worked closely with some of the world’s largest mining and natural resource companies. Luke has worked in a variety of industries, including construction, property development and now transport and logistics. Luke’s leadership project outlines how road user charging is relative to productive and road classification.  The project will demonstrate that although refinement to existing framework is desired, migration to the proposed framework is unnecessary, creates ambiguity and bureaucracy and leads to reduced levels of future transport industry productivity, as well as imposing addition costs to operators.