Partner

PwC Australia

Mark Thomson is a Partner with PwC Australia. As a consulting Partner Mark collaborates with Government, Utility and Mining clients to work smarter and grow faster. He consults to build effective organisations, innovate & grow, reduce costs and manage risk & regulation.

Chief Executive

Attorney General’s Department

Caroline began her legal career as the Associate to the Hon. Brian Cox QC and the Hon. Bruce Lander QC.

From 1995, she worked as a prosecutor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions before taking up a position as the Executive Director of the Legal and Legislative Services Division in the Attorney-General’s Department in 2011.

In 2013, she became the Deputy Chief Executive of the Attorney-General’s Department and in April 2018 was appointed as the Chief Executive.

Co-Founder, States of Change

Over 20 years experience of working on and leading innovation and reform initiatives around the world, the last 13 of which as a senior executive in government and not-for-profit organisations. I am a respected leader in the
global innovation community and over the last ten years, have advised governments in over 20 countries on ways that they can build an innovation culture and improve outcomes for citizens. I am recognised as an innovative
and strategic thinker and I regularly present to and advise national and global audiences on a wide range of issues relating to innovation and reform. I am currently the co-founder and Executive Director of States of Change, a global not-for-profit organisation committed to building the next generation of public innovation. States of Change was spun out of Nesta, one of the world’s pre-eminent innovation institutions, where I spent over six years as Executive Director of Global Innovation Partnerships and Director of Innovation Skills. I previously established The Australian Centre for Social Innovation in Adelaide as its founding CEO and have held several executive roles in the South Australian Government.

C Moore Solutions, Executive Director

Chief Executive
Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Rick Persse was appointed to lead the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in December 2024.

An accomplished public sector leader, Rick joined the department after a successful period from April 2022 as South Australia’s Under Treasurer leading the Department of Treasury and Finance.

Prior to Treasury, Rick was Chief Executive of the Department for Education for 6 years, after leading the Attorney-General’s Department for 4 years.

With expertise in policy and strategy development, transformation, public sector reform and major project delivery, Rick’s knowledge of public administration comes from an expansive career building and leading teams in the Government of South Australia.

Chief Executive

Department for Child Protection

Cathy commenced as Chief Executive to lead the new Department for Child Protection (DCP) in South Australia in October 2016.

Cathy joined the department from Queensland where she was Deputy DirectorGeneral, Child Family and Community Services, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services from 2013 to 2016.

Cathy brings more than 15 years’ experience as a senior public servant in Queensland working in and across strategic policy, legislative reform, planning and service delivery roles in the areas of child protection, youth justice, disability services and domestic violence.
Cathy has undergraduate qualifications in law and postgraduate qualifications in law and public administration including an Executive Masters of Public Administration (EMPA), ANZSOG.
She has previously been a Director of ANROWS – Australia’s National Research Organisation on Women’s Safety and is currently Chair, National Forum for Protecting Australia’s Children.
In 2018 Cathy was appointed to the ANZSOG Alumni Advisory Council.