Dean's Advisory Council

Grant King retired after 16 years in his role as Managing Director, Origin Energy Limited, in October 2016.

Grant has extensive experience in the Australian energy industry and in energy and climate policy. He was formerly the Managing Director of Boral Energy and prior to that role, the General Manager, AGL Gas Companies where he held a number of management positions.

He is Chairman of HSBC Australia, Sydney Water and Transgrid. He is also Chairman of North Harbour Clean Energy and Arventa and runs his own advisory business specialising in energy markets, climate and technology. He also holds a position as Professor of Energy Engineering, Chairs the Engineering Deans Advisory Committee and the Energy Institute and a Board member of ATRaCE, all at the University of New South Wales. He is also a Director of O’Connell Street Associates. He is the former Chair of the Climate Change Authority, GreenCollar, CWP Renewables, Contact Energy Limited, Oil Company of Australia and a former Director of BHP and Envestra Limited.

He has served on or chaired a number of federal Government Advisory panels including  the Advisory Council for the Commonwealth Government’s Technology Roadmap, the Expert Panel advising the Commonwealth Minister for Energy examining additional sources of low cost abatement and the Hydrogen Hub Industry Assessment Panel.

He served as President of the Business Council of Australia from November 2016-19. He was a former Chairman of the Energy Supply Association of Australia and former President of the Australian Gas Association. He is also a former  Director of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Limited (APPEA).

Grant has a Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Masters of Management from the University of Wollongong.

He is a Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

He is also involved in a number of community and philanthropic activities. He is Chairman of the Melanoma Institute Australia, a Director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the Origin Energy Foundation and a member of the UNSW Foundation.

John Baxter commenced working for the Australian inventor Arthur Bishop in 1977, while completing his PhD studies in Mechanical Engineering in the field of vehicle dynamics at UNSW. John’s subsequent 33 year career at Bishop Technology Group Limited involved automotive product and process R&D, IP management, marketing of automotive steering technology and international IP licensing. He was the inventor or co-inventor for many of Bishop’s international patent families and has authored and co-authored numerous published technical papers in the field of automotive steering and the related field of vehicle dynamics.

John was a member of the Australian Government’s Advisory Council on Industrial Property (ACIP) for IP Australia for the period 1994 – 2000.

Since 2004, John has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW and has also been a director of a small Australian defence technology company.

John left Bishop at the end of 2009 and, since then, has been a Senior Commercial Counsel at Baxter IP, specialising in IP commercialisation and, in particular, the structuring of patents and licence agreements to maximize the commercial value of the IP.

John is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and of the Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE-A), and an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia.

Since his university days John has been a co-trustee of his family’s two philanthropic trusts: the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust and the Baxter Charitable Foundation, and has also chaired the former philanthropic trust since 1999. See baxtercharitabletrusts.org.au

As founding Managing Director of EG’s Urban Planning business and one of the leading rezoning experts in New South Wales, Shane takes responsibility for all operations and projects undertaken by the Property Advisory division.

Shane has extensive rezoning experience and brings a combination of practical know-how and value creation skills to projects he is involved in. His focus is working closely with clients on property uplift strategy and implementation and has worked on multiple rezoning projects including some of the largest land-use changes in both size and value in Sydney and New South Wales.

Shane has been involved with over 200 rezonings and 1,000 DAs completed over the past 16 years, with a 98% success rate. Recent project include; Little Bay, Riverstone, Tempe and Wonderland NSW.

He was previously a director of a private company managing over AU$200 million in property development in NSW and the ACT.

Shane completed his PhD in Planning on “Quantifying the Rezoning Effect” at the University of NSW in 2013 and lectures part-time at the University of Sydney in several Engineering Courses.

Dr Marlene Kanga is a chemical engineer and was appointed to the University of NSW Faculty of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Committee in April 2023.

Dr Kanga is an experienced non-executive director and is on the Board of Endeavour Energy, Business Events Sydney, Standards Australia and a past member of NSW Smart Sensing Network, the boards of Innovation Science Australia, Sydney Water Corporation and Engineers Australia, where she was Chair and National President in 2013. She is a Past President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations. She is Chair of the global IChemE Safety Centre advancing complex system safety engineering, a director of iOmniscient Pty Ltd which has developed advanced video analytic technologies and Rux Energy Pty Ltd which is commercialising new materials for hydrogen storage.

Dr Kanga is an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia, an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK), a Foundation Fellow of the International Science Council, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr Kanga is the Engineers Australia 2018 Professional Engineer of the Year and has been listed among the Top 100 Women of Influence in Australia and the Top 100 Engineers in Australia.  She is an Officer of the Order of Australia “for distinguished service to engineering, as a global leader and role model to women.”

Dr. Adrian Patterson is a distinguished leader in the fields of nuclear science, clean energy, and strategic innovation. He served as CEO of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) from March 2009 to September 2021. During this period, he oversaw a multifaceted portfolio of activities and led a program of positive change and growth.

Currently, Dr. Patterson is a Board Member at Advancell Isotopes Pty Ltd and a member of the Advisory Board at HB11. He has previously held a board position at AMCI Acquisition Corp II.

Dr. Patterson’s expertise spans resilient and robust strategic planning, innovation in early-stage portfolios, and product strategy. He is particularly focused on futures in highly regulated industries and energy policy. His commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evident in his values-centric approach to challenge, change, and sustainment.

With a deep understanding of nuclear projects and prospects in both global and local settings, Dr. Patterson offers strategic advice, project oversight, and review in areas such as clean energy, the nuclear fuel cycle, and first-of-a-kind engineering capital programs. His evidence-based strategic planning and mentorship have been instrumental in driving innovation and long-range strategy settings.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (elected in 2009) and an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia, where he was named Professional Engineer of the Year for the Sydney Division in 2012. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa and the South African Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Patterson’s work is driven by a belief in the power of deep strategic coherence and shared values to motivate people and teams to achieve extraordinary things. He emphasizes the importance of sustainability built on trust, respect, and aligned teams that embrace diversity and inclusion.

Guy is CEO of WSP in Asia Pacific and is a member of the firm’s global executive team, leading a team of 11,500 people across a dozen countries. WSP is a global engineering and environmental services firm employing 66,000 people.

Guy was formerly CEO and Managing Partner of MinterEllison Lawyers and Managing Partner at PA Consulting Group. His earlier career as an engineer was in the telecommunications, transport, and electricity industries. He has worked in over 25 countries, held several global roles, and lived in Asia for eight years.

Guy is an experienced director, spanning listed and private companies, educational institutions and not for profit organisations.

He is a member of the Business Council of Australia, chairs its Infrastructure & Housing Committee and is a member of the BCA’s Energy & Climate Committee. Guy is a Director of the Green Building Council. He is a member of UNSW Business School Dean’s Advisory Committee. At UTS he is a Fellow of the University, Member of the Finance Committee and an Adjunct Professor.

Guy is an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Guy holds a BE in Electrical Engineering from UNSW, MBA from UTS and has completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD.

Director - Head of Sales operations & Sydney Pace Innovation Studio-TCS Australia & New Zealand Ltd

Badrinathan Subramanian known as Badri heads all the sales operations for Tata Consultancy Services in Australia & New Zealand and has consulted in the field of banking and financial services for over two decades.

With significant experience as an industry thought leader and an expert in Financial Forensics before moving to Australia to head and take up this current role. He has experience of nearly 25 years in the industry and worked across the world.

Badri personifies TCS’s commitment to helping its clients drive Business Transformation. He leveraged on his strength of developing strong client relationships, working with the CXO’s, and Board members.

A proven leader and a strong proponent of Innovation philosophy, Badri’ passion and commitment to innovation and technology extends to wearing a different lens to business problems.

Badri is also heading TCS Innovation Lab -Sydney Pace Studio in Australia. He is an active champion of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, including the STEM mentoring program, GoITGirls.

Badri lives in Sydney with his family. He holds an MBA in Finance and Technology and is a key speaker at Business forums, Innovations meets across the world.

Sarah is a mining engineer with a focus on digital transformation, Industry 4.0 and the integration of technology and autonomous solutions into mining operations. She has global experience with open pit and underground operations and a detailed knowledge of autonomous solutions across the mining value chain for all business functions. Sarah has worked globally on Digitization & Autonomous Programs and has conducted detailed Business Impact and Operational Readiness Assessments for the implementation of autonomous and enabling technologies across multiple mining operations.

As a mining technology specialist, Sarah has a strong understanding of emerging technologies and experience in the facilitation of negotiations between the solution vendor and mining companies to maximise organisational outcomes.

Her professional history includes roles with Hitachi, GoldFields, Rio Tinto and BHP and most recently KAZ Minerals. Sarah has on-going involvement with MassMin, GMG and ISO Automation Standards groups.

She is a board member of the AusIMM Education Endowment Fund and serves an ongoing role as mentor and speaker for Women in Mining and Engineering, as well as a representative and speaker at conferences such as AIMEX, CIM, Optimising Mine Operations Conference, WMC World Mining Congress, Mine Automation and Communications Conference and MinExpo.