Professionals across the industry had the opportunity to engage with leading Commonwealth and defence experts at the inaugural Momentum Media and Defence Connect AIC Summit in early February, making their businesses defence ready.
The AIC Summit 2022 focused on the processes and expectations Defence places on industry and what sets successful SMEs apart when engaging with primes in the highly competitive supply chain contests.
Navigating the defence industry ecosystem can be difficult at the best of times. It’s especially hard for SMEs managing the complexities of running a business while overcoming obstacles in the defence supply chain.
In early February, Momentum Media and Defence Connect launched the inaugural Defence Connect AIC Summit, bringing together key decision-makers from defence, government and the primes to provide essential insight to Australian businesses looking to break into the defence supply chain.
Sponsored by principal partner Saab Australia, and platinum partners archTIS, Downer and Nova Systems, over 200 in-person tickets were sold for the event with over 1,000 people registered for the AIC Summit live-stream.
The event was conducted over two separate panels, with opportunities for networking before, during and after the event.
Made up of leading Commonwealth and defence procurement experts, the first panel equipped attendees with essential tips to break into the defence supply chain. The panel included:
- Stephen Moore, first assistant secretary, Defence Industry Policy
- Francesca Rush, chief counsel – Commercial; first assistant secretary – Australian Industry Capability, Australian Department of Defence
- Major General Andrew Bottrell, head Land Systems
- Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm, head Maritime Systems
Meanwhile, the second panel included representatives from prime contractors and leading Australian SMEs who presented analysis on how to become more competitive in the defence industry ecosystem.
- Sue McGready, general Manager Strategy Relationship and Growth at Downer Defence
- Daniel Lai, CEO & Managing Director, archTIS
- Grant Sanderson, CEO Defence Systems Global, EOS
- David Ledger, Head of Industry Engagement and Strategic Events at Saab Australia
“Throughout the AIC Summit, industry professionals from small to large enterprises heard first hand from key Commonwealth and Defence officials about becoming Defence ready," Liam Garman, editor of Defence Connect said.
“Whether it was diversifying business supply chains, grappling with new cyber security protocols or learning how to navigate the system – attendees were taught how to be more competitive in this innovative and growing industry."
If you’d like to watch the event, you can find the full video of the Defence Connect AIC Summit here.