The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in partnership with EY was delighted to host over 100 young executives for an evening of networking and a discussion on whether anyone will own a car in the future – exploring the evolution of Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

Transportation is on the cusp of a major shake-up as connected, electric and autonomous vehicles collide with the already popular share economy.

The shift would see the cost of on-demand car services plummet, challenging the traditional car ownership model. Some would argue the shift is already happening, with licence ownership for under 30s steadily declining for the past 10 years.

Will society embrace this transformation? What will it mean for the way we get around? How will our cities look and operate, and what are the impacts and opportunities for industry?

Will society embrace this transformation? What will it mean for the way we get around? How will our cities look and operate, and what are the impacts and opportunities for industry? These are just some of the questions that were explored at the event.

OUR SPEAKERS

Charles Allen, Head of NSW and ACT, Uber

Charles is the Head of NSW and ACT for Uber (rides operations). He works with government and businesses to help deliver safe, reliable and affordable transport options. Charles’s prior experience includes management consulting and trading. He spent five years working for the Boston Consulting Group in Sydney and London, and four years as a derivatives trader with Nomura in London. Charles studied at the University of Oxford and has a Masters in Physics and Philosophy.Will Davies, CEO and Co-Founder, Car Next Door

Will Davies is the CEO and co-founder of peer to peer car sharing platform Car Next Door. He came up with the concept while living in Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most densely populated pockets. He noticed car sharing companies were bringing vehicles to the area, while thousands of cars sat idle 96 per cent of the time. In 2012 he teamed up with co-founder Dave Trumbull and introduced the first peer-to-peer car sharing idea to Australia. Car Next Door is on a mission to free people and the planet from the ‘one person, one car’ mentality. By connecting car owners with trusted borrowers in their local community, Car Next Door empowers people to save money, reduce waste and build cleaner, greener, better communities.

Chris Bennetts, Executive Director, Digital Products Delivery for the Customer Technology & Services Division, Transport for NSW

The Digital Products Delivery branch leads customer facing digital transformation and innovation to improve the customer experience for Transport customers. Chris leads the Future Transport program, Open Data and Apps program, Customer Feedback Systems, the Opal customer experience and product roadmap, the Digital Accelerator, and customer facing digital initiatives. Chris also leads external relationships with industry and the startup community, to drive innovation. Earlier this year, Chris was a recipient of the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours List. Prior to joining Transport, Chris spent 15 years leading technology product development at companies including Nokia and Hewlett-Packard.

Paul Fox, Co-Founder and Head of Corporate Development, Evie Networks

Paul is co-founder of Evie Networks, an Australian company building a national Electric Vehicle charging network. He is an investor, strategist, business builder, and technologist. Paul has held technology investment roles at Corran Toohill, AGL Energy, Southern Cross Ventures, the California Clean Energy Fund and Flex. Paul was instrumental in creating AGL Energy Limited’s New Energy subsidiary, delivering products including zero-down solar, home batteries, smart air conditioners, virtual power plants, EV charging and blockchain enabled P2P trading. Now based in Sydney, he spent 14 years in Silicon Valley including as CEO of a smart grid company, a VP at Flex, and the CEO of a fuel cell company.

MODERATOR

Janice Lee, Director, EY

Janice is a Director in Economics and Public Policy at EY, and brings more than 15 years’ experience advising governments in infrastructure and mobility and cities and planning. Janice has worked extensively with Local, State and Federal Governments on the development of major strategies in transport, health, land use and energy, and has led innovative policy studies on heavy vehicle pricing, infrastructure contributions and the future of mobility. She worked closely with the NSW Government on the development of the Future Transport Strategy. Prior to EY, Janice served as a policy adviser to the NSW and Australian Federal Governments, advising on trade and investment, infrastructure and fiscal policy.