ICN Victoria Bendigo Regional Showcase 2023 Program

Andrew Cooney
Director Commonwealth Games
City of Greater Bendigo

Andrew has worked for over 20 years in the Loddon Mallee region and has worked on a number of major projects in the region that have required engagement with the community and collaboration with multiple Government agencies. Andrew is a respected professional with experience in governance, finance, project delivery and community engagement..

Andrew has been involved in various other community and sport roles including as Chair of the AFL Central Victoria Football Commission, Chair of the Bendigo division of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and as a Board Director with Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE.

Andrew and his wife Chantal live in Bendigo with their 4 school age daughters who are all actively involved in community sport.

Jessica Lambous
Executive Director, Procurement, Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee

Jessica Lambous is the Executive Director Procurement for the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. Her team will manage the procurement of an estimated $800 million of goods and services and create regional and social opportunities and benefits. Jessica has worked for the Victorian state government in several senior executive roles. Before joining Victoria 2026, Jessica was acting in the Deputy Secretary Corporate Services role at Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions (DJPR) and prior to that held the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Procurement Officer roles with DJPR and other state government departments. During which time she led and implemented significant changes to social procurement and financial policies and systems.

Anthony Walkley
Director – Sports Infrastructure Oversight, Office of the Commonwealth Games
Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Anthony is a highly effective Infrastructure expert with particular skills in Project Development, Infrastructure Project Delivery, Business Case Development and Delivery, Cross Government Liaison and Project Implementation,  acquired in over 20 years in Government, across hundreds of projects including within the Visitor Economy, Precincts Development and the Sporting sphere.

Dianne Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Industry Capability Network (ICN) Victoria

Prior to ICN, she was Chief Executive of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, and Chief Executive of the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.

Dianne is passionate about supporting local businesses and community, especially in regional areas, and has had extensive experience in the tourism and events sector. She is also the Deputy Chair of Puffing Billy Railway.

Andrew Bradley
Senior Industry Liaison
Industry Capability Network (ICN) Victoria

Maintaining and improving the level of Australian businesses with onshore operations acts as one of Andrew’s key motivators, which in turn involves regularly bringing together project owners, buyers, and suppliers from across the state to Help Local Win.

ICN Victoria

Suppliers! Find your next opportunity on ICN Gateway. Create a profile for your business on our public directory then search across billions of dollars of projects and get ‘Project Alert’ notifications. There is support from our experienced Industry Consultants and you can send unlimited expressions of interest.

The ICN Victoria Social Procurement Program supports Agencies and industry working on projects and procurement with the requirement for local, social and sustainable outcomes. We do this by increasing awareness and education, maximising Victorian supply chain engagement and Victorian jobs as well as providing local, social and sustainable data insights through our flagship system, VMC.

The City of Greater Bendigo has a growing population of @126K and is the state’s third largest economy base in Victoria. Council is here today to support local businesses find work and forge stronger connections with the local community. 

Kinaway

Kinaway is from the Gunnai language meaning “exchange.”
Kinaway Chamber of Commerce is the leading Victorian organisation dedicated to supporting Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business owners.  Our focus is on changing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lives through a strength-based model of business ownership and participation in the Victorian economy.Kinaway Chamber of Commerce works closely with businesses by providing: Support, Networking, Advocacy and Partnerships. These services provide an essential framework to promote and support the ongoing operation of Aboriginal businesses. Kinaway Chamber of Commerce fosters and develops partnerships with government, corporates and academia to build procurement opportunities and facilitate support to Aboriginal businesses.

ecologiQ

ecologiQ is integrating recycled content across Victoria’s transport infrastructure projects and making the use of greener materials business-as-usual. This Victorian Government initiative is utilising our state’s record investment in infrastructure to be recognised as the world leader in the sustainable use of recycled and reused materials by 2025.

ecologiQ provides tools, resources, and opportunities to help businesses, suppliers and manufacturers of reuse and recycled materials connect with major infrastructure projects. For help with how to deliver purposely greener infrastructure, come speak to ecologiQ or reach out ecologiq@roadprojects.vic.gov.au

Be.Bendigo

Be.Bendigo exists to support Greater Bendigo businesses to be successful, sustainable and innovative. We drive connections and create programs and events that develop leadership and business capacity for a stronger community and more successful local economy. Be.Bendigo also has an important role to play in helping inform local businesses of the opportunities that exist as part of the 2026 Commonwealth Games delivery.

Social Traders

Social Traders is the national trailblazer of social enterprise procurement. We create a more inclusive and equitable Australia by making buying from social enterprise the norm. We do this through certifying and strengthening social enterprise, working with our business and government members to embed social enterprises into their supply chains and advocacy for the social enterprise sector. We connect over 140 members to 500 + social enterprises to unlock business for good.