Presenter Profiles
Jennifer Batrouney SC FTIA is a Senior Counsel at the Victorian Bar practising in taxation, superannuation, charity and commercial law.
Duncan Baxter FTIA is Head of the National Tax Team at Blake Dawson. He was previously a Partner in the International Tax Group of a global accounting firm. Earlier this year Duncan served as one of the three private sector representatives on the Federal Government’s Tax Design Review Panel.
Stuart Brown FTIA is the Tax Manager for ExxonMobil Australia, having overall responsibility for ExxonMobil's tax affairs in Australia, PNG and the Pacific Islands. Stuart has been a member of the Tax Department of ExxonMobil for 12 years and in that time has been involved in both tax planning and tax dispute work. He has extensive experience in advising on tax issues affecting the resources industry, dealing with the ATO on tax disputes and dealing with government on tax law changes impacting on the resources industry.
Daniel Butler FTIA is recognised as one of Australia’s leading SMSF and estate planning lawyers. Daniel has worked predominantly in the fields of tax, superannuation and estate planning over the past 25 years, is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and has an MBA from University of Melbourne. Daniel is a contributing editor for CCH’s superannuation services, and an author of the Wills, Estates and Succession Planning Service, and a host of other publications. Daniel is also the Chair of the Taxation Institute’s National Superannuation Committee and a Member of the Taxation Institute’s Technical Committee and SPAA’s SMSF Committees.
Josh Cardwell FTIA is a Director of Greenwoods & Freehills Pty Limited with a strong focus on the private equity and property sectors. Josh has over 12 years tax experience with Greenwoods & Freehills Pty Limited and as a tax partner with a major international accounting firm.
Daryl Choo is a Partner in the Financial Services Group at Ernst & Young specialising in the taxation of international and domestic real estate transactions. Daryl has extensive experience in advising on the structuring of international and domestic funds and advising due diligence committees on transactions including IPOs. Daryl is responsible for coordinating the tax and regulatory section of the annual Ernst & Young Global REIT Report. Daryl also participates in the International and Capital Markets Group of the Property Council of Australia.
Tony Clemens FTIA is a Partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions/International Tax Services Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sydney having been with the firm since 1978. Tony was admitted as a Partner of the Taxation Division in 1986. Since 1988 he has been a Lead Partner of the Australian Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions, and International Group. Tony advises many Australian multinationals on their international business transactions and for many years has been nominated by the International Tax Review as one of Australia’s leading tax advisers.
Graeme Cooper FTIA is a Professor of Taxation Law at the University of Sydney and a Consultant to Greenwoods & Freehills, Sydney. He is a past Chair of the NSW State Council of the Taxation Institute and is a frequent presenter at Taxation Institute events. Graeme was admitted to legal practice in NSW and Victoria and practised commercial law and tax in Sydney before entering teaching. He currently teaches tax in law schools in Australia, Europe and the United States, and holds degrees from the University of Sydney, University of Illinois and Columbia University, New York.
Michael D’Ascenzo took up his role as Commissioner of Taxation on 1 January 2006. Michael joined the Australian Taxation Office in 1977 and worked in various areas, such as tax avoidance schemes, heading up the recoupment tax area and in 1986 was put in charge of international operations, becoming involved in the world’s first advanced pricing agreement. Michael also led the improvements to the self-assessment system introduced in 1992 and from 1994 worked as Deputy Chief Tax Counsel and the Chief Tax Counsel. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Michael held the position of Second Commissioner (Law) and Chief Tax Counsel, with an ongoing focus on the interpretation of tax law and the implementation of new tax laws, as well as corporate planning, finance and governance.
John Emerson AM FTIA is a Partner at Freehills and head of the firm's charity law practice. John is recognised Australia-wide as a specialist in the tax laws applicable to charities. John joined Freehills in 1971 and was admitted to partnership in 1976. In 2004, John was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for services to law and to the community, particularly through the provision of advice to charities and not for profit organisations and the development of public administration reform to encourage philanthropy in Australia”. He is the Freehills Melbourne Office Pro Bono Partner and is a member of a number of legal and public sector committees active in the charity tax and pro bono areas.
Helen Fazzino is both the PricewaterhouseCoopers National Practice Leader for transfer pricing in Australia and a member of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Global transfer pricing Leadership Group. Helen is based in Melbourne and is also a member of the National Tax Liaison Group–Transfer Pricing Subcommittee. Helen has 20 years experience in corporate tax, specialising in transfer pricing since 1996. Helen has coordinated major multi-national transfer pricing projects for clients in a range of industries, focusing predominantly on industrial and consumer products. Helen has extensive experience in audit defence and dispute resolution devising approaches and strategies which have proved both successful and resource efficient.
Bryce Figot is a Lawyer at leading SMSF law firm, DBA Butler Lawyers Pty Ltd. He frequently advises on integrating superannuation strategies with various other commercial goals and strategies, and often works alongside trustees and their advisers to ensure compliance with superannuation and taxation law in complex transactions. Bryce’s clients range from “mum and dad” SMSF trustees to BRW Rich List 200 members. Bryce presents extensively to accountants, financial planners and lawyers Australia-wide and has worked with DBA Butler since 2003. He is currently studying for a Master of Laws at the University of Melbourne.
Daniel Fry FTIA is a Partner at taxation law firm, Norton & Smailes, with over 13 years of experience in revenue law. He began his career as a Chartered Accountant at Arthur Andersen in its superannuation and tax division and has been a Solicitor with Norton & Smailes since 1999. Daniel practises in all areas of tax but mainly specialises in superannuation, trusts, capital gains tax, and estate and succession planning. Daniel regularly presents at seminars conducted by a number of professional bodies in Western Australia.
David Gelb ATIA is the National Partner in charge of KPMG Australia’s R&D Practice. David specialises in the R&D tax concession and other government incentives for R&D and innovation. David is the Chairperson of the Taxation Institute’s R&D Group and regularly meets with senior members of AusIndustry and the ATO. David was closely involved with the R&D tax concession review component of the 2008 National Innovation System Review. He is also on the Executive of KPMG’s Global R&D Network and has responsibility for coordinating R&D services in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Hon. Murray Gleeson AC QC recently retired after 10 years as the country's top judge. Prior to his appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Murray Gleeson was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1988 to 1998. Having a strong belief that the proper administration of justice is a part of civilised government, during his terms of judicial office, he implemented major reforms to the administration of the Courts, resulting in increased efficiency. Murray Gleeson was President of the New South Wales Bar Association from 1984 to 1986. He received the Order of Australia for service to the law in 1986 and received the Companion Order of Australia in 1992.
Peter Green FTIA is a Partner at the Sydney office of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, where he practises in the Taxation Group. Peter specialises in revenue law, including income tax, capital gains tax, stamp duty Australia-wide and GST. Peter is the joint author of the third edition of Principles of Income Taxation and has presented and published numerous papers on income tax, stamp duty and GST.
Andrew Helm is a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young with extensive experience in advising on taxation issues regarding the financial services sector, including senior in-house tax roles in a number of listed property, energy and banking groups. Andrew was involved in coordinating the tax and regulatory section of the 2008 Ernst & Young Global REIT Report.
Dr Ken Henry AC has been Secretary to the Treasury since April 2001. Dr Henry is Chair of the Review into Australia’s Future Tax System, Chair of the Standard Business Reporting Board, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Australian Office of Financial Management, Chair of the ANZSOG Research Committee and Joint-Chair of the Trans-Tasman Banking Council. He is also a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Board of Taxation, the Board of Infrastructure Australia, the National Broadband Network Panel of Experts, the Council of Financial Regulators, and the COAG Working Groups on the Productivity Agenda and Indigenous Reform. Dr Henry is Alternate Governor (for Australia) of the International Monetary Fund. Dr Henry joined the Treasury in September 1984 following a short career in academia. Dr Henry was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia General Division (AC) in the 2007 Australia Day Honours.
Stephen Holmes FTIA is a Partner with WMS Chartered Accountants on the Gold Coast. Stephen has over 20 years experience in advising on tax matters. His areas of specialty include the small business concessions, tax consolidation and the structuring of in-bound and out-bound investment. He assists a number of other accounting firms on technical tax matters for their clients. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Business, Master of Economics, Master of Tax (UNSW) and is in the final stages of a Juris Doctor degree.
Ron Jorgensen FTIA is a Principal of Harwood Andrews Lawyers and primarily consults on Federal and State revenue laws and revenue litigation. Ron also advises in respect of business structuring, tax sensitive commercial transactions and property developments. Ron is a LIV Accredited Specialist in Tax Law and holds a Master of Laws (Taxation). He is a member of numerous technical and advisory taxation committees with the Taxation Institute, State Revenue Office (Victoria) and LIV, and is a regular presenter and writer for the Taxation Institute.
Chris Kinsella FTIA is a Tax Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers specialising in corporate tax issues for the financial services industry. Chris has worked with many of the key financial services institutions in the Australian marketplace and has an active interest in the broad topic of income tax reform particularly as it affects Australia's competitive position in capital markets. Chris leads PwC's TOFA practice and is actively involved in developments on TOFA as the legislation evolves. Chris has practised in Sydney, London and Singapore.
Gina Lazanas FTIA is a Partner at Baker & McKenzie and has extensive experience advising on all facets of GST. She specialises in the GST treatment of international transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and real property transactions. Gina also has extensive experience in tax controversy matters, including tax administration issues and litigation. Gina is Chair of the Taxation Institute’s GST Committee.
Mark Leibler AC FTIA is the Senior Partner of law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, and head of its taxation practice. Mark has, for over 35 years, acted in the tax affairs of Australia’s largest businesses and many of the nation’s corporate leaders. Mark joined Arnold Bloch Leibler in 1966 and became a Partner in 1969. He graduated from the University of Melbourne’s Law School with first class honours, sharing the Supreme Court Prize awarded to the year’s top law graduate, and later obtained a Master of Laws with honours from Yale University.
Arlene MacDonald FTIA is a Barrister at the South Australian Bar. Her practice covers a wide range of Commonwealth taxes and State taxes and duties including areas where taxation law overlaps with other areas of legal practice including wills, family law, insolvency and disputed or problematical tax recovery. Arlene is an experienced and sought-after Presenter on tax, trusts and related topics in Australia and overseas.
Judy Morris FTIA is a Corporate Tax Partner with KPMG having previously worked in a large corporate. Judy is a member of the KPMG Climate Change Group and is also Chair of the Taxation Institute’s Climate Change Subcommittee. Judy has actively participated in the consultative process for the development of the new tax rules.
Andrew O’Bryan FTIA is the Head of Taxation, Superannuation and Family Business and Wealth Management Practice Groups at Hall and Wilcox. Andrew provides advice on the application of a wide range of taxation matters including income tax, FBT, CGT, tax audits, structuring and restructuring of business and transactions, superannuation, state equivalent tax regimes, retirement planning, business succession, estate planning, liquidations and reconstructions, and corporatisation and privatisation. He is Chair of CPA Australia’s Board Tax Practice Committee and a member of the National Tax Liaison Group.
Bruce Quigley FTIA has been with the ATO for more than 37 years and has extensive managerial and technical experience in tax administration, policy and legislation. He was appointed as Second Commissioner (Law) in December 2006 and has overall responsibility for the ATO's interpretation of the tax laws and input to the design and implementation of new laws. Bruce previously held the position of Deputy Chief Tax Counsel and National Program Manager for the Tax Counsel Network. He led technical decision-making in the highest priority and most complex technical issues.
Richard Shaddick FTIA is a Director of Greenwoods & Freehills in Melbourne. He has extensive experience in international taxation with his primary area of interest being the taxation of controlled foreign companies. Richard is a member of the Public Rulings Panel of the Australian Taxation Office, and a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Melbourne.
Marc Simpson of the Australian Taxation Office has been a transfer pricing specialist for 15 years, including 6 years with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. For the past 7 years Marc has been an Australian delegate to the OECD Working Party No. 6 on Taxation of Multinational Enterprises. Marc was author or co-author of the ATO’s recent transfer pricing Discussion Papers on business restructuring and intra-group loans and guarantees.
Daniel Smedley FTIA is a Principal of Harwood Andrews Lawyers. Daniel is a LIV Accredited Specialist in Tax Law and holds a Master of Taxation. He is also a member of the LIV’s Taxation and Revenue Law Committee. Daniel is the principal author of the Trust Structures Guide and a regular presenter at industry conferences and workshops. Daniel primarily advises businesses and high net worth individuals in relation to business and investment structuring, trusts, succession planning and taxation law.
Andrew Sommer FTIA is a Partner at Clayton Utz where he has been for the past 10 years. Andrew specialises in GST, providing advice across all industry sectors and levels of government. Andrew has also advised clients in relation to various litigious tax matters. Andrew lectures in various GST subjects for the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law and is the indirect tax editor of the Australian Journal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice.
Ken Spence FTIA became a Director of Greenwoods & Freehills in June 2008. Immediately prior to this Ken was a founding Partner of Shaddick & Spence. Ken advises on a wide range of corporate tax matters and has extensive experience in advising on corporate reorganisations, acquisitions and divestments. Through his expertise in corporate tax Ken has also been extensively involved in advising a large number of Australian and foreign-listed entities on the application of the Australian tax consolidation regime from its commencement in 2002. Ken has played a leading role in consultation on the Government’s Review of Business Taxation initiatives, and was also engaged as a specialist consultant to the Board of Taxation on the tax consolidation component of these measures.
Tony Stolarek FTIA is a Partner in the Ernst & Young National Tax Group and a member and former Chair of the ICAA National Tax Committee. Tony was involved, representing business and the professions, in the Ralph Review proposal for tax consolidation and has a long-standing consultation involvement with government, Treasury and the ATO. He is also a foundation member of the ATO consolidation subcommittee.
Paul van Bergen is a Tax Partner with KPMG Sydney specialising in R&D. He has extensive experience in providing both private and public sector clients with technical advice in relation to all types of R&D and government grants and incentives.
Neil Ward FTIA leads the Deloitte Australian Financial Services Tax Group. He has more than 30 years experience in advising in tax. Prior to joining Deloitte in March 2000 Neil spent 12 years with the ANZ Banking Group in Australia and the United Kingdom. Neil is recognised as one of the leading tax advisers on financial arrangements, foreign exchange, thin capitalisation, capital management, withholding tax and infrastructure transactions. He has a good working knowledge of the interaction of tax, accounting and regulatory aspects, and has been actively involved in the tax reform of financial arrangements.
David Williams FTIA is a Strategic Adviser in relation to taxation matters. He has been involved in taxation matters for in excess of 30 years, the last six as a sole practitioner, and has been tracking the evolution of the AMLCTF legislation and its likely impact on service providers for the last three years. David is a National Councillor of the Taxation Institute and author of Investigations by Administrative Agencies.
Sue Williamson FTIA is a Tax Partner at Clayton Utz and the 2008 President of the Taxation Institute of Australia. She has represented a range of significant clients on the full spectrum of taxation matters including advising on transactions, international tax, general corporate tax and tax litigation. Sue has participated on various committees and consults with Treasury and the ATO on taxation issues, including the Tax Agent Services Bill.
Kirk Wilson is an acknowledged commentator with over 20 years experience in the tax profession. Kirk specialises in CGT and has written extensively on the topic as a Senior Tax Writer for Thomson Reuters. Much of his focus is on the CGT main residence exemption. Kirk holds a Arts Law degree, and is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW.
