Presenters
Bronwyn Weir – Director Weir Legal and Consulting
Bronwyn is the co-author of the Building Confidence Report. Her appointment with Professor Shergold to undertake this work reflects her reputation as a legal advisor on building regulations for more than 20 years. Bronwyn is part of the Expert Advisory Group appointed to advise the ABCB on its work to develop a national framework for the implementation of the report. Other related work includes advising the NSW Building Commissioner, the VBA the Qld Government and the Department of Defence in relation to building regulatory issues.
Dame Judith Hackitt – Chemical Engineer
Dame Judith Hackitt is a chemical engineer and is currently Chair of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation formerly known as EEF. She is also Chair of Enginuity the UK skills body for Engineering and Manufacturing formerly known as Semta and senior non-executive director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult an organisation which exists to support and encourage innovation in Advanced Manufacturing. She is also a Board member of HS2 Ltd.
Dame Judith worked in the chemicals manufacturing industry for 23 years. She joined the UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA) in 1998 and became their Director General in 2002. She then worked in Brussels for the European Chemical Industry Association (CEFIC). Dame Judith became Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in October 2007, until March 2016.
She was made a Dame in the 2015-16 New Year Honours for services to health and safety and engineering, in particular for being a role model for young women. She had previously been awarded a CBE in 2006 for services to the chemical industries. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010 and currently serves as a trustee of the Academy. She is also a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and served as President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (2013-14).
Following the tragic fire which occurred at Grenfell Tower in London in June 2017, Dame Judith conducted an independent review into Building Regulations and Fire Safety related to high rise buildings for the Government. She began her review in July 2017 and plans to implement her recommendations in full were announced in the Queen’s speech in October 2019.
Stephanie Barwise QC –
Stephanie Barwise QC is a preeminent UK-based silk. Her practice comprises construction, civil and geotechnical engineering involving landslip/subsidence and augured/bored piles, mechanical and electrical engineering and infrastructure projects including roads, bridges, mass transit railroads, on and off shore refineries and biofuels plants, ship building and refits, wind farms, IT problems in computer automated cranes and trains, and procurement including major PFI projects such as hospitals and schools. Her practice also extends to military equipment such as man-portable, automated bomb diffusing equipment, battleships and nuclear bunkers. Stephanie has represented the UK government and foreign governments, as well as a wide variety of other clients in high-value and complex claims.
She is currently and has been for two years, representing the larger of the two groups of victims in The Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry (the British public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 which killed 72 people).
Stephanie has been consistently recognised as a leader in her field in legal directories such as Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide and The Legal 500. Stephanie won “Construction Silk of the Year” in the Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards 2019 and was included in The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100’ list for 2019. Stephanie was appointed to the Board of the International Quality Building Centre in 2020.
Stephanie will be participating in an international panel at this years, conference discussing Grenfell and it’s implications.
Nages Karuppiah – Senior Fire Safety Engineer of the Community Safety & Resilience Department South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS)
Nages is a Senior Fire Safety Engineer of the Community Safety & Resilience Department of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS). She provides engineering expertise on designs and fire safety requirements of the Building Code and the operational requirements of the SAMFS. Nages is also the Vice President of the Australian Chapter of the Institution of Fire Engineers Australia (IFE) and a Chartered engineer with the Engineering Council in the UK.