Women in A/AA Virtual Panel Discussion

Workplace Culture: The Balancing Act

This year's WA/AA National Summit focused on workplace culture, and how we can encourage a more inclusive and diverse workforce. Discussing the barriers and opportunities for women in the industry

One apparent question that came from the Summit was, how do we find balance between home, family, work, studies and relationships? We see the potential for a balancing act between work, home, and one's self. Simultaneously, we see the opportunity for harmony and full engagement in each of these important life domains, and especially for successful workplace culture. 

Our panel of industry leaders will discuss ways to find balance, both professionally and personally, whilst utilising resources, networking, studies, professional voluntary opportunities to enrich oneself.

MC
/ Matt Rowe | Military Director - South Asia/Pacific at GE Aviation



Prior to joining GE, Matt spent 11 years in the RAAF as an Aircraft Technician on the F/A-18 Hornet Fleet. In 2009, Matt joined GE as the F404 Field Engineer, supporting the F/A-18 Hornet Fleet, providing engine technical support, ensuring safety, capability and reliability.

In 2016 Matt was promoted as Operations Manager for the RAAF/GE TLS program and as the Field Services lead for the S.E Asia region, increasing Matt’s product support coverage to also include F414, F110 & T700 military engine lines. Matt has also had significant involvement with GE Commercial Derivative engines, supporting both CFM56 & CF6 powered platforms.

In 2018 Matt accepted the position of Military Sales Director for South Asia/Pacific and recently added the Australian Military Country Leader role to his portfolio.

Industry Speakers
/ Yvette (Vee) Payne | Quality Assurance Analyst at Sikorsky Australia

 

Born into Aviation, flying her first aircraft at eight years old and in spite of much rebellion during her teenage years, Yvette inevitably followed in her fathers and grandfathers’ footsteps and is now a third generation Mechanical Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME).

She has worked with several large Defence contractors and has performed maintenance on Chinook, Blackhawk and Seahawk helicopters, with some of her career highlights including flying a Blackhawk and being the first Mechanical AME in Australia to commence deep level maintenance on a Romeo Seahawk.

Currently working for Sikorsky Australia, Yvette’s role has been multifaceted since joining the organisation in 2015 and has included anything from maintenance to interviewing, teaching and more. Yvette has gained tertiary qualifications in Organisation Safety & Human Factors during this time and is working toward a Masters in the same discipline. Now in a Quality Analyst role, Yvette is able to use her passion for human factors, aviation and safety to support the growth of and implement change in the organisation and, she hopes, the greater aviation community.

Yvette is known as Vee by her friends and family, and outside of aviation, she loves spending time with her Navy fiancé, her 10-month-old son and their Rhodesian Ridgeback – Woodhouse. Beach trips happen on the regular, as does snowboarding in the winter and whenever possible- traveling to far off places.

/ Renee Wootton | Strategy and Planning Manager at Western Sydney Airport 



Renee Wootton is a proud Tharawal woman and an enthusiastic Aerospace Engineer and Commercial Pilot. She has delivered and led Australian Aviation projects for the past nine years and she has recently joined the team at Western Sydney Airport to work on one of the largest infrastructure projects we've seen in Australian Aviation in some time, the development of the Nancy Bird Walton Western Sydney Airport. Renee has dreamed of becoming a pilot since she was 15, and since achieving that goal last year,  her next pursuit is to become an astronaut. 

/ Professor Gabriel Lodewijks | Head, School of Aviation at UNSW

After completing a PhD research project on dynamics of belt systems, such as moving sidewalks and escalators, Professor Lodewijks moved to the USA where he worked for a small engineering company as engineer special projects specializing in large scale transport systems. In 1999 he moved back to the Netherlands and was appointed professor of transport engineering and logistics at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands in 2000. In 2003 he was appointed head of the department of marine and transport technology and later deputy dean of the faculty of mechanical, maritime and materials engineering. In 2007 he was appointed Chief Technology Officer of the Schiphol group, a company that operates airports around the world. In 2008 professor Lodewijks was appointed scientific director of the Delft Centre of Aviation. In 2016 professor Lodewijks was appointed head of  School of Aviation of the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Besides being active at UNSW, he works as visiting/guest/chair professor at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, Wuhan University of Technology, Beijing University of Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, all in China, and Newcastle University, Australia.

Gabriel Lodewijks areas of interest are logistics and transport engineering in the aviation cluster. He works on problems associated with the optimization of maintenance, repair and overhaul processes, automation of air cargo handling systems, improvement of the quality of the flower supply chain handled through air cargo, tracking and tracing of equipment, components and people at airports and in aviation related companies, optimization of gate processes and baggage handling procedures to reduce the turnaround time of aircraft, maintaining safety and security in airport logistic processes, and the improvement of passenger experience by streamlining airport logistics.

Who is invited 

In the spirit of keeping everyone connected, A/AA would like to extend complimentary attendance to all, not limited to our members. So if you’re in the industry or keen to be a part of it, join our WA/AA Virtual Panel Discussion.

How to join the WA/AA Virtual Panel Discussion

This event will be accessed via Zoom link that will be emailed upon registration. If you need further information please contact us at [email protected]