Karrie Bishop

Early Careers Talent Partner, Rheinmetall Defence Australia

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Karrie is an organisational psychologist who recently joined the team at Rheinmetall to establish an early talent program, launching careers in the defence industry and attracting diverse talent to reconfigure RDA’s cultural footprint. Prior to this, Karrie had over 12 years’ experience leading early careers programs within the Oil & Gas industry with Santos and the Energy industry with Origin, delivering highly technical rotation-based graduate programs and successfully growing talent pipelines for technical skillsets and diversity groups. Karrie is a strong advocate for emerging talent, is passionate about the candidate experience and ensuring that diversity in all its forms is recognised and appreciated.

Natalie Gibbons

Graduate Programs Manager, Westpac Group

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Originally from Liverpool in the UK, Natalie holds a Bachelor of Arts (French and Hispanic Studies) and over 10 years’ experience in the recruitment industry. Natalie is currently the Graduate Programs Manager at Westpac Group and has been with the organisation since 2018. As the Graduate Programs Manager, she is accountable for the identification, development and successful delivery of Graduate hiring across the organisation and oversees the attraction, branding, selection, onboarding and professional development components of the program. She is extremely passionate about the graduate industry and her goal remains to inspire, coach, champion and develop students as they embark on their graduate journeys.

Linda Guthrie

University Pathways Superintendent, Rio Tinto

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Linda currently holds the role of University Pathways Superintendent at Rio Tinto, bringing with her 18 years of expertise in talent acquisition, human resources, and learning and development. Over the past 6 years, her focus has been on formulating and executing comprehensive strategies for talent attraction, student outreach and talent acquisition. More recently, Linda is responsible for onboarding and leading technical rotation-based graduate programs for Rio Tinto's early talent as well at the University Vacation Program.

Linda holds postgraduate qualifications in human resources and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Her passion lies in fostering the growth of students and graduates as they embark on their career journeys, ensuring a positive and impactful start to their professional paths.

Damien Holmes

Assistant Director, Entry Level Programs, Australian Taxation Office

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Damien has worked in various Government and Not-for-Profit agencies, with more than 20 years in managerial positions. He has an MBA, majoring in Strategic HR along with accreditation in Corporate Governance for Not-for-Profits, along with nearly 10 years’ experience on boards and committees in the Not-for-Profit sector in various roles. Damien is experienced in running recruitment processes, co-ordinating assessment centres, developing induction curricula and implementing new talent pathway programs.

Damien currently works at the ATO (since 2018), where he has managed Graduate, Indigenous and Veteran talent programs, both in regional and metro sites. His current role is Assistant Director in Entry Level Programs with his portfolio consisting of the ATO’s University Paid Internship Program and National Engagement Strategy.

Most importantly, Damien is a cricket tragic with a passion for developing and mentoring young people to reach goals and maximise their talent.

Heather Hunt

Manager | Talent, Deloitte

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Heather started working for the Deloitte Graduate Talent Acquisition team in 2014. During this time she has lead a number of student recruitment teams across the country for all Business Units. Heather has been working in the recruitment industry since 2004 from agency to outsourcer and internal, so always high volume! Heather has a Bachelor of Behaviour Science (Psychology), Diploma in Management, Cert IV in Training & Assessment and another Cert IV in Coaching. Heather is passionate about early identification of talent and loves watching students' careers grow within the firm.

Michelle Jory

Employment Programs Lead, Major Transport Infrastructure Authority - Major Road Projects Victoria

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Michelle is an experienced Organisational Development professional with close to 20 years' experience in various roles across Australia. Throughout her career, Michelle has managed several early careers programs across industries including Banking, Transport, Aviation and FMCG. Most recently, Michelle has moved into the Government sector, managing the Early Careers programs portfolio with Major Road Projects Victoria. Passionate about the graduate experience across the entire employee lifecycle, particularly graduate development using blended learning methodologies, Michelle is committed to supporting businesses to mentor and coach emerging talent. Michelle has a Bachelor of Teaching, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and is currently completing a Graduate Diploma of Business, as well as holding Myers Briggs, DiSC and TMS accreditations.

Elizabeth Lam

Asia Pacific & Japan University Program Manager, Adobe

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Elizabeth has worked in the graduate industry for over twenty years, spending ten years consulting to Federal Government and corporate clients on recruitment and assessment strategy both in graduate and lateral hiring. In recent roles, Elizabeth has been responsible for initiating the design and build of structured graduate development and internship programs, establishing processes and ensuring rigour in attraction, assessment, recruitment, learning & development, and program management. Elizabeth is experienced in assessment methodologies, in particular the design and facilitation of assessment centres and has managed many high volume graduate recruitment campaigns. Elizabeth has post graduate qualifications in Human Resource Management, Cert IV in Training & Assessment, holds Hogan Assessments accreditation and is certified to deliver DDI leadership courses.

Amanda Mudge

Early Careers Program Lead, Saab Australia

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Amanda is located in Adelaide and recently joined Saab Australia as the Early Careers Program Lead to support the strategic direction and implementation of the Early Careers framework in the business. Amanda’s history delivering early careers programs started in 2012 when coordinating graduate and talent pipelining programs within the oil and gas industry at Santos. A passion for the candidate experience and supporting students with career opportunities led Amanda to broaden her experience and join the tertiary education sector in recent years. Acting in a liaison capacity within the University of Adelaide’s Central Career Services team, Amanda drove industry and student-centric activities, programs and projects to enhance student employability and facilitate long term connection strategies with industry, employers and professional associations. Amanda has been a member representative of the AAGE on behalf of multiple organisations and returns to the committee in 2023 having previously volunteered between 2015 and 2017.

Fiona Turk

EARLY CAREERS Manager, Ability Action Australia

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Fiona is currently the Early Careers Manager at Ability Action Australia, a leading NDIS provider in Australia. Fiona has over 20 years’ experience, both locally and abroad, in the early careers landscape, practising in the corporate sectors across investment banking, professional services and telecommunications, as well as in emergency services and health. AAGE named Fiona in their Top 30 Graduate Recruiters within Australia in 2014 as well as Top 25 in 2020. Fiona’s expertise is establishing early career programs and pipeline channels as well as managing programs from end to end including attraction strategies, recruitment campaigns and integration/development of emerging talent. Fiona is particularly passionate and focused on providing students and graduates with career opportunities that match their skills, motivations and career goals.

Madeline West

SENIOR Early Careers SPECIALIST, Arup

  CONNECT ON LINKEDIN

Passionate about advancing diversity and inclusion, Maddie has dedicated the last 5 years to making a meaningful impact in early careers. With a background in both the banking and engineering consulting industries, Maddie has recruited graduates and interns across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

In addition to her early careers experience, Maddie works independently as a disability support worker. In this role, she supports clients in accessing social support and offering domestic assistance.

Maddie's creative mindset is a driving force behind her ability to challenge conventional limitations and think outside the box. As a proud member of Generation Z herself, Maddie uses this creative mindset to craft innovative strategies that resonate effectively with the target demographic.