^{Kellie Banditt - General Manager | Wellcamp Airport}

Kellie Banditt is an accomplished aviation professional with more than 15 years of industry experience and over a decade in senior management roles. She brings a strategic, people‑centred leadership approach that balances operational excellence, safety and sustainable growth.

Currently, Kellie manages a complex aviation precinct that includes a state‑of‑the‑art regional domestic airport, an international cargo and trade hub, on‑site fuel services and Australia’s first airport‑based sustainable aviation fuel blending facility.

Sal Petroccitto - CEO Toowoomba Regional Council

Sal Petroccitto OAM GAICD is a highly respected leader with over thirty years of experience in transport, infrastructure and regulatory reform. From 2014 to 2025, Sal served as Chief Executive Officer of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) where he transformed the organisation into a trusted, innovative, and customer-focussed national regulator. His leadership delivered major, complex reforms, including harmonising compliance frameworks, introducing digital solutions like the NHVR portal, and driving safety and productivity improvements across Australia’s heavy vehicle industry.

In July 2025, Sal commenced his role as Chief Executive Officer of Toowoomba Regional Council, applying his strategic vision and collaborative leadership approach. His focus is on fostering economic growth, enhancing community engagement and customer experience, and delivering sustainable infrastructure for one of Queensland’s most vibrant regions.

Sal’s career is defined by his commitment to innovation, stakeholder collaboration, building strong organisational cultures and award-winning customer service. At the heart of Sal’s leadership philosophy is the belief that high performance comes from empowered, supported people to strengthen organisational resilience and deliver results that matter.

His contributions have earned him national recognition, including the Order of Australia Medal and positioned him as a thought leader in transport and regional governance.

Andrew Bate - CEO | SwarmFarm Robotics

Andrew is the creator and CEO of SwarmFarm Robotics, where he leads the company’s vision and strategy. Drawing on his background as a successful grain farmer in the development of the SwarmBot and the broader SwarmFarm platform.

He has spent his life in agriculture—training as an agronomist at the University of Queensland and farming wheat, sorghum, chickpeas, and mungbeans for the past 27 years in Central Queensland.

In 2010, Andrew initiated a joint research program with the University of Sydney and Queensland University of Technology to develop the foundational technology for robotic agriculture. Two years later, he founded SwarmFarm Robotics as a startup technology company to commercialise autonomous farming.

Today, SwarmFarm is recognised as a world leader in agricultural robotics and was one of the first companies to deliver commercial autonomous robots to farmers. To date, more than 200 SwarmBots have been delivered to growers across Australia, who have collectively gone on farm over eight million acres using the technology.

In 2025, Andrew and his wife Jocie were awarded the Agtech of the Year award and inducted into the AusAgritech Hall of Fame for their pioneering work in autonomous farming.