2021 Annual Economic Outlook Breakfast

Born in Kure, Japan, in 1953 and raised in Mount Gambier, Rob Lucas was elected to the Legislative Council in the South Australian Parliament in 1982. Rob was appointed the Minister for Education and Children's Services in 1993 and became the Treasurer in 1997. He was later also appointed the Minister for Industry and Trade and the Minister for Government Enterprises. During the term of the former Liberal Government (1993 to 2002) he also served as Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council. Rob is currently the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, Treasurer, Minister responsible for the public sector and industrial relations.

David joined the BankSA Leadership Team in 2015 and is currently State General Manager Business for BankSA & Westpac brands in SA&NT.

His career spans over 20 years’ experience in Banking & Financial Services.

He is the current Chair of the BankSA Foundation and SA State Advisory Board member for the Starlight Foundation

Having graduated from University of Adelaide he holds a Bachelor of Commerce & MBA and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Helen Strachan is the Legal and Corporate Affairs Director for Pernod Ricard Winemakers, the premium wine division of Pernod Ricard, which includes a diverse portfolio of wines including Jacob’s Creek and St Hugo in Australia; Stoneleigh in New Zealand; Campo Viejo from Spain and Kenwood Vineyards in the USA.

As an executive director, Helen drives the legal and public affairs agenda across the global wine business, including overseeing all regulatory issues. Helen is also an experienced advocate for the broader wine industry, including Board membership of Australian Grape & Wine and Wine Australia; Chair of the National Wine Foundation Inc; and Wine Industry Representative on the DrinkWise Board.

As a Diversity & Inclusion Ambassador for Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Helen is a key role model who actively drives gender inclusivity, which resulted in her being awarded the ‘Champion of Diversity & Equality’ at the 2020 Australian Women in Wine Awards. A mother of three, Helen champions flexible working practices to balance time between work and family priorities.

Jamie Briggs is the Adelaide Managing Partner and South Australian Government leader at PwC.
He was previously a member of the Australian Parliament, serving in the capacity of Federal Minister for Cities and the Built Environment and the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Prior to entering Parliament he was a Senior Advisor to the then Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard from 2004-2007 advising on workplace relations reform.
He has completed his MBA at the University of Adelaide and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Relevant Experience

Throughout Jamie’s 15 year career in the Australian Government he has worked extensively on significant public policy issues, managing a range of stakeholders and delivering high performance outcomes. More specifically in his role as Federal Infrastructure Minister, Jamie worked very closely with State Governments to design and implement major infrastructure projects ranging across Australia. This included developing unique and innovative approaches to deliver projects such as the implementation of the Australian Government infrastructure asset recycling programme, the development of the Western Sydney Airport supporting and infrastructure and the first of its kind concessional loan for the 2nd stage of the WestConnex project in Sydney. In addition, Jamie was appointed as the first ever Federal Cities Minister beginning the process of establishing the city deal concept in Australia.

Since joining PwC in February 2017, Jamie has worked with a range of issues with clients to implement strategies for dealing with significant public interest issues to achieve high quality outcomes. This has included developing PwC’s approach to cities with the development of the ‘CityPulse’ and working with private sector clients to develop solutions to important problems by providing a deep understanding of government and its processes driven from extensive experience in the government sector.

Appointed on 1 July 2014, Commissioner for Public Sector Employment Erma Ranieri works passionately towards creating a world-leading public sector that serves South Australians well, does what it says it will do, and to which every public servant is proud to belong.

With the role of the public sector being to serve and support South Australia to thrive, Erma leads sector-wide reform to modernise the public sector and continue to build on its value and service to the South Australian community.

Erma has worked for more than 30 years to help organisations optimise productivity and employee wellbeing. She was named a 2014 Telstra Business Woman of the Year as SA Winner of the Telstra Community and Government Award for her role in leading transformational change throughout the public sector.

With a key focus on flexibility, diversity and leadership development to ensure the public sector is positioned as an Employer of Choice, Erma continues to challenge cultural and structural barriers to drive innovative, collaborative and connected services for the community.