Women in Airports Forum 2024

Jessica Ridley is a media commentator and TV journalist regularly showcased on Nine’s Today Show. Prior to this, she was on Channel 7’s Sunrise breakfast show as the Sydney correspondent, also working on 7NEWS Australia across finance, real estate, consumer, health and entertainment news.

Having worked in Australia’s largest TV and radio newsrooms for more than a decade, Jessica has developed a reputation as a highly engaging and versatile journalist with solid skills in live television and breaking news. She’s covered major events including the COVID-19 pandemic, elections, floods, bushfires and high-profile court cases.

She has been afforded access to the most powerful players in Australian politics and business, regularly interviewing government policy makers and corporate decision makers.

More recently, Jessica has redirected her skills to training corporate spokespeople on how to deal with the media and share their unique stories through compelling video content and communications, through her company By The Way Media. Away from the spotlight, Jessica is a busy mum and passionately supports other women at the crossroads of parenthood and ambition. She’s enthusiastic about fitness, music, good food and good wine.

Jane Dionysius is the Executive General Manager, People Culture & Governance at Brisbane Airport Corporation. She leads a multi-disciplinary team across Health, Safety and Environment, Legal Services, Company Secretariat, and Human Resources.

Jane joined BAC in January 2011 and has held various management roles within the organisation. Prior to joining BAC, Jane worked in multiple industries including professional services, retail, and transportation, in both the public and private sector. In addition to her professional career, Jane is an active community member, with experience working on charity Boards.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Business Management from the University of Queensland and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Hayley Vale currently serves as the Head of Airport at Port Hedland International Airport and is set to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer in January in 2025. With a career in the airport industry that began in 2019, she possesses a strong background in corporate services, having previously held positions at Pilbara Ports Authority, Bundaberg Regional Council, and Village Roadshow Theme Parks earlier in her career.

Over the past five and a half years at Port Hedland International Airport, Hayley has undertaken various roles and been an integral part of a team that has successfully completed over $80 million in projects. These include significant landside and terminal redevelopment initiatives, the construction of a new 1.22-megawatt solar farm, runway overlay, and apron expansion programs.

In recognition of her contributions to the Port Hedland International Airport, Hayley was honoured as the inaugural Emerging Airport Leader of the Year at the AAA National Conference in 2023. Committee to her professional development, Hayley has also recently completed the Airports Council International AMPAP program.

Greg is founder and Chairman of Airbiz. He is an internationally sought futurist and thought leader in airport development concepts and trends. He is an advisor and facilitator of conceptual planning and strategies for ’Airports of the Future’ and ’Fast Travel’ initiatives, as well as a frequent speaker at international conferences.

He has developed a truly global team, with resources and projects spread throughout the Asia/Pacific region, Europe, and North America.

Greg is a current Board member of ACI Asia-Pacific and former Chairman of the ACI World Business Partners Advisory Board. He also sits on the Advisory Board for the aviation courses at Swinburne University.

He has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential Engineers and in 2020 received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the aviation industry.

Rob Porter is the Executive General Manager of Airports for Airport Development Group (ADG), overseeing Darwin International Airport, Alice Springs Airport, and Tennant Creek Airport. With over 30 years of experience in the aviation sector, Rob’s expertise spans a range of operational, asset management, tourism, and business development functions.

Rob is responsible for Airport Operations, including Terminal and Ground Transport Operations, Airport Asset Management, and Airport Projects & Governance. His portfolio also includes Stakeholder Management and Aviation Business Development, ensuring the ongoing growth and success of the Northern Territory’s major airports.

Megan joined Dunedin Airport in 2013 and currently serves as the GM of Business Development. Before this role, she lived in London, where she worked as the Marketing Manager for GE Consumer Finance UK. Megan also has experience as the Manager of Executive Education at the University of Otago. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Otago. Additionally, Megan is a director on the boards of Tourism Waitaki and the Otago Rugby Football Union.

Anna’s aviation journey spanning three different continents—the United States, Europe, and Australia—has provided her with an exceptionally broad and unique exposure to the aviation industry, an experience she wouldn’t have acquired had she remained with a single company within a specific geographical context. In this process, she has also honed invaluable skills, including adaptability, resilience, and the ability to swiftly acclimate and apply her prior experience to new challenge.

In her prior roles in consulting and at airport companies, she was responsible for developing Capital Plans, Airport Development Plans and Strategic Master Plans. Now, as Head of Airport Planning and Infrastructure at Virgin Australia, she ensures these plans meet the airline operational requirements, customer expectation and deliver value for money.

I’m Vidusha Ratnayake, Operations and Standards Manager at Townsville Airport. In this role, I oversee airfield operations for the Civil Airport at Townsville. Over the past three years with Queensland Airports Limited, I’ve gained extensive experience in aviation operations and compliance, working across various ports within the organization. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management from Griffith University and have been with Queensland Airports since my final year of university. My expertise lies in ensuring operational excellence and regulatory adherence within the aviation sector.

Tori Murray is the Senior Aviation and Space Manager at Canberra Airport. The focus of this role includes the oversight of aviation operations, government compliance and working with industry to explore advanced aviation and aerospace opportunities. A key focus is working with industry to grow the airport’s advanced aerospace ecosystem with a strong focus on attracting and providing infrastructure for space enabling organisations.

Tori has extensive experience in project management and infrastructure delivery having held several roles at Canberra Airport between 2004 and 2014 including but not limited to Business Development Manager and Head of Property. After this time, Tori joined the New South Wales Police Force as a sworn officer where drawing upon the academic knowledge gained through completing a Master of Arts (Intelligence Analysis) and a Master of Security and Terrorism Studies she became a qualified Field Intelligence Officer. This experience within the NSWPF gave Tori extensive exposure to using spaceborne technologies to operate within the intelligence cycle and led to opportunities to work with other external Federal Government agencies on intelligence driven investigations.

Seeing space as a significant intelligence enabler, in 2022, Tori completed a Master of Space Operations through the University of New South Wales AFDA campus. In completing this degree, Tori gained a detailed understanding of the technical, strategic and economic drivers required to conceive, design, and operate spacecraft within the rapidly changing global space sector. During these studies, Tori sought to balance her learning between spacecraft engineering streams and operational disciplines to truly understand all aspects of space operations. In 2023 Tori re-joined Canberra Airport to undertake her existing role.

Tori is now passionately exploring how space-based intelligence systems linked to terrestrial multimodality sensors can work together to protect and build better situational awareness of our airspace, especially in the detection, analysis and response of unauthorised UAV incursions over aerodromes. Tori is engaging in this research through the University of New South Wales where she is undertaking a Master of Philosophy by Research in Physics.

Kaylene joined Amadeus in early 2022 as Managing Director for Travel Sellers across the Pacific region with responsibility for the commercial strategy for Amadeus throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. As well as leading the commercial team, she has a focus on nurturing and developing the business partnerships and relationships with our Pacific partners, identifying and maximising opportunities for mutual growth, and showcasing Amadeus’ innovation and leadership in travel technology to new and existing audiences.

Born in Brisbane, Kaylene is a proud Queenslander and splits her time between Amadeus’ Sydney and Brisbane offices.