NSW | Accelerating Net Zero Transition for Businesses

Sadie Andrew has accumulated over 25 years of experience working for Pinsent Masons in Manchester, Singapore, and currently in Sydney. Qualified in both England and Wales and in New South Wales, she specializes in advising clients within the Construction and Engineering, Energy, and Oil and Gas sectors on contractual and commercial matters related to complex, large-scale projects across Europe, Australia, and the Asia Pacific Region.

Her expertise extends to providing guidance on dispute resolution and avoidance. Sadie has represented a diverse range of clients, including contractors, consultants, and employers, in adjudications, mediations, multi-party litigation, and numerous arbitrations across the UK, Australia, and the wider Asia Pacific Region. Throughout her career, she has been involved in disputes encompassing defective works, delays, disruptions, loss and expense, and final accounts in various projects, including mining, oil and gas facilities and pipelines, roads, rail, water treatment works, hospitals, and commercial developments.

Furthermore, Sadie has played a significant role in the production of a wide array of contract documents and possesses familiarity with various standard forms of contracts used both internationally and in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Appointed in July 2021 as Country Manager, Catherine leads the overall insurance business in Australia, driving our strategy. Australia is the third largest market by gross written premium for AXA XL’s APAC & Europe business unit.

Prior to her Country Manager role, Catherine was Head of Asia Pacific Claims since 2017, where she was responsible for all aspects of the claims organization across the region. Previous to this, Catherine was Chief of Staff for Global Claims, and worked with in Global Claim Management for 11 years.

Catherine joined AXA XL in the aftermath of the 2005 Hurricanes, and one of her first responsibilities was to establish a more robust catastrophe response across the organization, much of which still exists today.

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Catherine spent 10 years with KPMG, accounting and consulting on organizational, finance and process matters with Insurance Companies during which time she lived and worked in the UK, Australia and US. Catherine holds a BA Hons in Biological Sciences from St. John’s College, Oxford.

Catherine is also passionate about inclusion and helped establish AXA XL’s Inclusion Committee in Australia, focused on promoting an inclusive and diverse workplace.

She is a beekeeper and is based in Sydney with her husband, Simon and two children.

Dave Johnson is deeply passionate about the evolution of global energy production and consumption and its impact on natural resources and the environment. Serving as the CEO of EDF Renewables Australia, he leads a highly capable team dedicated to developing renewable energy projects for commercialization. With over 30 years of experience spanning the energy, power generation, resources, and infrastructure sectors, Dave has acquired extensive expertise.

While much of his career has been devoted to engineering management, project delivery, and operations management, his recent roles have focused on energy business strategy, origination, forming strategic partnerships, and leading complex transactions. Dave emphasizes the importance of certainty in delivering strategies, opportunities, or individual projects. Leveraging his experience in delivering numerous large projects, he prioritizes getting the design right and applying a range of tools, techniques, and lessons learned to de-risk projects and ensure successful delivery.

Dave is committed to values-based ethical leadership, operating with honesty and integrity, and fostering a safe and inclusive culture. He emphasizes the incorporation of safety best practices across design, construction, and operations management. Furthermore, Dave is dedicated to working with all stakeholders to deliver demonstrable benefits to communities, landowners, and agricultural enterprises.

Since January 2021, Olivier has served as the Head of the Green & Sustainable Finance team at NATIXIS CIB in Asia Pacific. With 20 years of experience in the Energy & Metals sectors across EMEA and Asia Pacific, he initially worked in corporate banking at Natixis Shanghai branch before joining Natixis Energy & Natural Resources franchise in 2004. There, he specialized in commodity trade & structured finance for EMEA clients until 2010 and APAC clients until 2016. More recently, Olivier acted as an Industry Banker, providing advisory services and financing to large trading houses in the Natural Resources sector. He holds a Master’s degree in Management, majoring in Corporate Finance from Neoma Business School.

Palash Nandy is articulate, committed, and a team player, showcasing a demonstrated capability of translating an organization's vision and strategies into tangible results. With experience in managing diverse teams, he incorporates best practices and encourages cross-functional team participation. Palash is a strong believer in fostering a fun work environment.

Janie Wittey has 30 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry in Australia and globally (APAC,
US, EMEA) with Australian, US, UK & French companies. Throughout her career, she has been responsible
for line roles and accountable for the profitability of business whilst delivering strong employee and
customer engagement.
Natixis’ ambitions are to provide solutions for its range of clients, corporations, financial institutions,
institutional investors, financial sponsors & public sector organizations. Natixis supports its clients’
business development by designing innovative, customized financial solutions that draw on the full range
of Natixis’ expertise and the skills of its teams worldwide.
As Country Head & CEO for Natixis Australia, Janie is responsible for the strategy and direction of the
business, bringing a diverse background and perspectives from her experience in Corporate and
Investment Banking (Coverage, M&A & Financing), Global Markets (Debt Capital Markets, Derivatives,
Securitisation, Commodities & Fixed Income & Foreign Exchange risk management), Global Payments,
Custody & Clearing, executive leadership and corporate governance.
The businesses Janie has led have been responsible for investing billions of dollars in Australian companies
and global multinationals operating in Australia accross a numerous of sectors. She has chaired asset &
liability, capital & pricing, business & governance, new product development and people & leadership
promotion committees.
As a leader who has directly experienced the positive benefits that Diverse and Inclusive teams, and that
a culture of trust and respect can have on business performance, Janie is a strong advocate for Diversity
and Inclusion. She is an Executive Sponsor for D&I at Natixis APAC.
Janie holds a Bachelor of Economics from Australia National University, and is a Graduate of the Australian
Institute of Company Directors, Senior Fellow of Finsia, was recognised for the advancement of women in
banking and finance by Insto for her commitment to Diversity and, in 2020, was shortlisted for Women in
Banking Finance inaugural award for Inclusive Leadership.
Janie is a member of Natixis APAC executive committee. Prior to joining Natixis her executive leadership
roles included Managing Director - CEO Bank of America Australia Branch, Managing Director - Head of
HSBC Global Banking Australia, Managing Director Global Head of Coverage Financial Institutions,
Government, Healthcare at Westpac & Managing Director Head of Industry Banking St George.