Join us for lunch and come along to hear from Steph Steel (ODIS), Phil Guy (Alkath), David Bridge (BPS Defence) and Tim Smeets (SMETEC Services) who will discuss the recently released Defence Industy Development Strategy. What does it mean for your business?

Please note the new location of our May network event - Shellharbour Civic Centre.

Steph Steel

Australian Department of Defence

Steph is a Defence Industry specialist who has been working inside Defence and Defence industry for the past 15 years. Starting her career in the Australian Army as a Signals Corps Officer before moving onto Defence Industry, Steph has created a career centred around bleeding and leading-edge technologies and their adaptability to the Defence environment.

Steph has a passion for working with industry to better understand and navigate the Defence procurement environment while creating meaningful and targeted connections throughout the ecosystem in support of the Government’s Defence requirements.

The presentation from Steph will provide a brief overview of the recently announced Australian Governments Defence Industry Development Strategy launched on 29 February 2024.

Steph will also discuss what the strategy could mean to businesses in the Illawarra Shoalhaven region with Phil Guy from the Alkath Group and David Bridge from BPS Defence.

Phil Guy

Alkath Group

Phil Guy is an accomplished senior executive who heads up the Alkath Group, a Sovereign Australian Defence provider. He oversees the provision of mission-critical solutions, particularly in Deployable Force Infrastructure and Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) Testing and Training solutions.

Phil’s career in EW started when he served in the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. As an EW practitioner, he participated in the Falklands and Middle East campaigns. Before returning to Australia, Phil worked across the USA, Europe and the Middle East, and understands Government Defence export strategies and the cultural challenges the defence industry faces when entering new defence markets.

Phil knows how important Electromagnetic spectrum awareness is as a critical service to modern-day military operations and why the ADF needs the skills to keep up with and surpass peer adversary advances across the spectrum.

David Bridge

Bridge Project Solutions and BPS Defence

David Bridge is Founder and CEO of Bridge Project Solutions and BPS Defence, who provide project management services primarily to the energy, manufacturing and Defence sectors.

David is a passionate supporter of, and enthusiastic promoter of sovereign SME capabilities, especially to the Australian Defence Force

Tim Smeets, Director of SMETEC Services, served 13 years in the Royal Australian Navy as an Avionics Maintenance Engineer. Post Navy life Tim spent time in a variety of industries including Onshore and Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration, Mine and Quarry Maintenance.

His last position before establishing SMETEC Services, was part of ConocoPhillips APLNG as LNG Liquefaction technician in charge of 6 LM2500 Gas Turbines and throughput of the entire LNG plant.

His diverse industry experience has assisted his company to navigate the Defence Industry through the years. He has a passion for Automation and Technology and believes Australian Industry has a bright future in these fields.