Imagine Melbourne

Vicente (Vince) S. Pérez

National Advisory Council Chairman, WWF
Chairman, Alternergy
Former Philippine Energy Minister

Vince is Chairman of Alternergy and Solar Pacific, Philippine renewable power companies in wind, hydro and solar. As Philippine Energy Minister from 2001 to 2005, he promoted clean energy and crafted an ambitious renewable energy policy framework. He served briefly as Deputy Minister for Industry and was Vice-chairman of the Philippines’ Renewable Energy Board. Vince is also a trustee of WWF-China, a board member of WWF US, and a member of advisory boards of the Bhutan Foundation, Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, New Zealand Trade Enterprise, the Pictet Clean Energy Fund, and the Yale Center for Business and Environment. He had 17 years’ experience in finance at Mellon Bank, and Lazard in London, New York and Singapore, and then founded Next Century Partners, a private equity firm in Singapore, and the Asian Conservation Company. Vince is a director of ST Telemedia, the Temasek media holding company, and of Banco de Oro, and was a director of EDC, Asia’s largest geothermal company, of Del Monte Pacific, and of Northwind, the first wind farm in Southeast Asia. Vince holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines, and was a Yale World Fellow where he lectured an MBA class on renewable power.

Abbie McQueen

Principal Consultant — Energy Advisory, AECOM

Abbie is a strategy specialist who leads AECOM’s Energy Advisory team. She has 10 years of experience in the infrastructure industry, with a specific emphasis on the energy sector. Abbie has experience in regulatory reviews, strategic asset management and condition monitoring. She has a background in electrical engineering and has delivered technical roles on award-winning, major infrastructure projects across Australia. In 2011, Abbie steered her career towards management consulting, specialising within the infrastructure sector. Her current role combines her technical skills with her business and commercial acumen to provide pragmatic solutions for her clients. Her passion is delivering better outcomes through the development of capital planning processes, underpinned by financial analysis and risk-based prioritisation of project portfolios.

Warner Priest

Business Development Manager, Emerging Technologies, Siemens Australia

Warner is the Business Development Manager for Emerging Technologies in the Energy Management Division within Siemens Australia. He is a member of CIGRE previously a committee member of AP B5 and the Australian Protection Symposium. Warner’s field of expertise stem from 25 years’ experience in the Power Transmission & Distribution environment, with a particular focus on making our grids smarter. He has a global view of Energy applications for Utilities, Oil & Gas, Industry, Metals & Mining, Renewable Energy, MicroGrids, Renewable Hydrogen Production and Large Scale Energy Storage, with extensive experience in the field of power systems ranging from 400V up to and including 400kV.