Deck Program Speakers 2025

David Pietersen

Industry Digital Strategy PI –  Western Rock Lobster (WRL)

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Clayton-e

Clayton Nelson

Senior Executive – Australian Fishing Industry

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Lisa Bennett

Senior Fisheries Manager – Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

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Simon de Lestang

Principal Research Scientist – DPIRD

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Matt Hern

Financial Planner & Financial Wellbeing Educator – HPH Solutions

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Ashley Ball

Principal Consultant – Diversus

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Angela Williamson

Director of Blue Economy and Policy

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Daniel Fels

Economics & Markets PI – Western Rock Lobster (WRL)

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Greg Hart

Director – Wild Oceans

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Nathan Harrison

Director – Aquatic Resource Management, DPIRD

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Terry Vinci

Business Manager – Barmas Investments
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Tom Bielski

District Director, Toastmasters International, District 17

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David Pietersen

INDUSTRY DIGITAL STRATEGY PROGRAM MANAGER

David is a senior IT leader with over 30 years of experience delivering major programs across the public and private sectors. His career includes key roles with organisations such as the Western Rock Lobster Council, Shell, BHP, NBN Co, Accenture, and the Government of Western Australia.

As an IT Program Manager, David has been instrumental in delivering numerous initiatives under the Industry Digital Strategy. His key achievements include the successful implementation of a Back of Boat Sales system, a comprehensive Member Portal, a specialised fishing application, and a platform for subsurface data collection.

David holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Commerce and is certified in PRINCE2, TOGAF, and ITIL.

Clayton Nelson

Senior Executive – Australian Fishing Industry

Clayton has been a senior executive and vessel operator in the Australian fishing industry dating back to 1980. With extensive experience across the seafood sector, particularly in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland his roles have included:

  1. Owner/operator of prawning and fishing vessels
  2. Partner and Executive Director of ASX-listed Deep Sea Fisheries Ltd
  3. Director of Operations for Tiger Fisheries

In 2008, Clayton launched Jamaclan Marine Services to provide consultancy to the Australian fishing industry. In 2010, he established a boutique fishing company to fish for Rottnest Island Scallops out of Fremantle, WA. Notably, in 2012, Rottnest Island Scallops received the prestigious Delicious Producer of the Year award.

With 40 years of hands-on experience, Clayton has been active in various roles including operations, catching, marketing, and business development, primarily in the Wildcatch sector. His industry representation at both state and commonwealth levels has built a network across Australia founded on trust, reputation, and integrity.

Clayton served as a Director of the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council from 2011 to 2017, including a term as Chairman in 2017. He was on the board of Seafood Industry Australia from 2020 to 2024, serving as Chairman from 2022 to 2024

Lisa Bennett

Senior Fisheries Manager – Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

Lisa is a Senior Fisheries Manager at the Marine Stewardship Council, a non-profit organisation that sets an internationally recognised standard for global best practice in sustainable fishing. Lisa has a broad background in fisheries compliance, policy and research, and in the last few years has supported fisheries across the UK, Europe and  Australia to achieve and maintain MSC certification. 

 

Simon de Lestang

PRINCIPAL RESEARCH SCIENTIST, DPIRD

Simon de Lestang is the Principal Research Scientist at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional
Development in charge of offshore crustaceans, which includes the western rock lobster.

Simon got his PhD in 2000, which was based on the biology and assessment of blue swimmer crab along the west coast of WA. He has now been working on lobster for over 15 years, mainly in the area of stock assessment. The majority of his work nowadays involves programming computer-based stock models.

Matt Hern

FINANCIAL PLANNER, HPH SOLUTIONS

Matt Hern is passionate about helping people afford the life that lights them up! He is a Certified Financial Planner professional with over 20 years of experience in helping people achieve their financial goals.

Matt blends behavioral science with personal finance to help people make smart financial decisions that reduce their financial stress and boost their overall happiness.

Ashley Ball

Principal Consultant – Diversus

Ashley is a Principal Consultant at Diversus with over 20 years’ experience delivering major IT programs and projects across the mining, energy, and agribusiness sectors. A seasoned programme and Project Manager, he has led critical technology initiatives for organisations such as Rio Tinto, CBH Group, and Inpex, specialising in infrastructure delivery, application management and complex transition programs.

Most recently, Ashley has been leading a team of developers, business analysts, and product designers to produce FishOps, a purpose-built app designed to address inefficiencies and improve decision-making in the Western Rock Lobster industry. He has joined three lobster boats on the water to conduct initial sea trials, ensuring defects were eliminated early and that fishers’ feedback was incorporated directly into the product. This hands-on engagement has given Ashley a deep appreciation of the industry’s challenges and helped shape FishOps into a tool that centralises data, reduces duplication, and delivers real-time insights.

The project has already received strong feedback, particularly on its navigation functionality, and Ashley and the team are now working to deliver additional features to further support fishers in managing operations efficiently. A keen recreational fisher and scuba diver himself, Ashley brings both professional expertise and personal passion to his work, bridging the gap between technology innovation and the operational realities of fishing.

Angela Willamson

Director of Blue Economy and Policy

Angela Williamson is the CEO of the Blue Economy CRC. Angela is a senior leader in ocean and fisheries policy, ocean-related international relations and diplomacy, sustainable seafood production, offshore innovation, ESG and investor relations, and contemporary marine spatial planning.

Angela brings over two decades of experience working at the forefront of sustainable oceans governance, planning and policy across the government, political offices, the private sector, and the research community.

Daniel Fels

ECONOMIST, WRL

Daniel has a background in agriculture and aquaculture economics, with degrees in Science and in Economics from University of Western Australia and a Master of Arts from Murdoch University.

In his role with WRL, Daniel drives delivery of the Understanding the Markets programme, supports the TACC Committee and conducts other economic research, analysis and reporting needs of WRL.

Greg Hart

DIRECTOR, WILD OCEANS

As a Founding Director of Wild Oceans, Greg Hart has over 30 years of experience in the Australasian and Global seafood market. With sales in excess of US$50m per year, the Wild Oceans company represents a range of high valued seafood producers from across the globe, with lobster as one of its main categories.

Apart from a successful trading career, Greg has written and presented many research papers for various government and private organisations.

Greg is also a member of the Total Allowable Commercial Catch Committee established by Western Rock Lobster and in his role brings a vast amount of knowledge and expertise to the Committee.

Nathan Harrison

DIRECTOR, AQUATIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, DPIRD

Nathan Harrison has 30 years’ experience working in fisheries management in WA. His roles have been many and varied from being the first community education officer appointed in the Department of Fisheries, to his currently role as the Executive Director Fisheries and Aquaculture at DPIRD. This position has responsibility for coordinating the management and research of fisheries and aquaculture in WA and overseeing DPIRD’s involvement in Marine Park planning and strategic policy development.

Terry Vinci

Business Manager Barmas Investments

Terry has been part of the Lobster Industry since he can recall. Having seen at first hand the work ethic and dedication of his late Father, Phil Vinci, for over 50 years, Terry gained invaluable experience from the ground up. Learning about different levels of the sector through his Fathers Companies, provided practical experience, complimenting a Uni degree in his chosen field of Business Management. His work experience includes Manufacturing, Retail, Hospitality, Entertainment and more recently, Lecturing International Students in Applied Maths and Economics, amongst other subjects. 

He continues to manage Fishing Vessels & Commercial Quotas, focusing on Analytical Data, Change Management and Optimising Returns.

Tom Bielski

District Director, Toastmasters International, District 17.

Tom has a background in IT and Cognitive Science, and is currently working as the Manager of Business Systems for a state government department. He started his public speaking journey 10 years ago, presenting workshops and classes on public speaking, leadership and conflict mediation. in 2021 he won the Western Australia Toastmasters International Speech Championship, and has been a finalist in a number of contests over the years.