Explore the principles of leadership, resilience and communication

Recognised with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM), Mark Squirrell’s work as an International Aid Worker has seen him work under pressure in some of the world’s most tense situations. From car bombings to meeting Yasser Arafat, Mark ‘Squiz’ Squirrell OAM has experienced more than most. 

After serving in the Australian Commandos and being awarded the coveted “Green Beret”, Squiz took his courage and leadership skills abroad to help others overcome adversity and turmoil.

Squiz has escorted food convoys through the Gaza Strip, negotiated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamel Eelam (Tamil Tigers) and brokered deals with Somali Clansmen to ensure the safe delivery of United Nations food aid. In doing so, Squiz continues to master the challenges of performing under pressure.

Inspired by his work with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Squiz climbed his way to the top of Mount Everest to help raise awareness of the global hunger crisis. The gruelling six week ordeal across glaciers and over exposed cliffs reveal the motivation, habits and adversity skills that facilitated his success.

With a career’s worth of experiences to draw upon, Squiz memorialised his adventures in a memoir titled ‘From Arafat to Everest’. He was also recognised in the Australia Day Honours List with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to the international community through humanitarian aid in 2019. 

He continues to be deployed on short-term assignments to emergency zones, such as the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa and 2015 Nepal Earthquake. 

Using personal anecdotes and real-time scenarios, Squiz challenges his audience to think well under pressure and communicate effectively with their team. Through practical strategies for lateral thinking, Squiz is passionate about helping people navigate the complex global market and improve workplace performance.

Rachelle Anstey joined Monash Health in 2021 as Chief Financial Officer, with responsibility for Procurement, Logistics, Internal Audit, and Financial Services. Rachelle has a strong record of achievement and a wealth of experience across a broad range of industries and organisations, including public health. An expert in continuous improvement, Rachelle focuses on improving reporting and decision making for all levels of the organisation. Before joining Monash Health, Rachelle was Executive Director of Finance at Peninsula Health, providing critical insights and commercial guidance to support the organisation’s strategic direction. Rachelle has also worked in senior finance roles for Alfred Health, Melbourne Water and RACV, leading large teams to deliver successful financial, payroll and revenue services alongside procurement and supply programs.

Louise is a registered nurse with 25+ years of experience working across the health sector in both the UK and Australia. This strong clinical background supported by outstanding engagement and communication skills, an ability to lead and galvanise a broad range of stakeholders has enabled the achievement of an extensive range of enduring outcomes.

 Louise was also one of the 8 inaugural Directors that created Safer Care Victoria and is really committed to building on the great work delivered by the agency to date. Louise’s particular passions include consumer and clinician engagement and clinical governance and building high performing teams.

Professor Keith McNeil is an internationally recognised respiratory physician trained in heart and lung transplantation at the world-renowned Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, UK. Keith established the Queensland Lung Transplant Service at The Prince Charles Hospital in 1996, and soon thereafter returned to Papworth where he was Lead Physician for the heart and lung transplant program.

On return to Queensland in 2002 to head up the Cardiothoracic Transplant Service at The Prince Charles Hospital he oversaw and co-ordinated Australia’s first heart-lung-liver transplant, and established the Queensland Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Pulmonary Endarterectomy, and ECMO programs. Keith subsequently took up the role of Chief Executive Officer at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and following that, the (inaugural) Chief Executive of the Metro North Hospital and Health Service.

Keith returned to the UK in 2013 as Chief Executive Officer at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust. From there he went on to become the first Chief Clinical Information Office and Head of IT for the National Health Service in England.

Keith returned to Queensland in 2018 as Queensland’s first Chief Clinical Information Officer. Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic he supported the health system response through data and analytics, and stepped into the roles of Deputy Director-General of Clinical Excellence Queensland, then later the Deputy Director-General of the Prevention Division as he worked alongside the Qld Health Executive to support the organisation and community during the pandemic.

Keith presents across various sectors as a valued contributor to clinical and patient safety benefits associated with technology and digital transformation in the healthcare setting. His vision is to align research, precision medicine, and the data and information agenda with health system reform and transformation.

Andrew is a Clinical Haematologist working as a Medical Education Consultant at the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Adelaide.

He is a passionate educator who first became interested in medical documentation’s relationship with clinical coding in 2019 and has since gone on to produce an educational video series called Coding Matters on YouTube. Whilst working at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, Coding Matters improved documentation allowing a lift in complexity level by 8% over only 6 months within the Division of Medicine. The educational resources have since been adopted by several of South Australia’s hospital networks and gained interest across multiple states. He has also produced a new format for medical discharge summaries called Handover to GP. Andrew was SA Health’s Young Professional of the Year for 2021 for his work on improving clinical documentation. You can find Coding Matters and other educational videos by searching “Med Ed with Andrew”

Sallyanne Wissmann is the Chief Executive Officer of the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) and is a Health Information and Information Management Executive Consultant. Sallyanne has over 30 years’ experience as a leader in health information management in the public and private not-for-profit healthcare environments in Australia and New Zealand. Sallyanne is a fellow and life member of HIMAA, a Certified Health Information Manager (CHIM), a Certified Health Informatician Australasia (CHIA), and an Associate Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (AFCHSM).