UNSW Aviation Industry Panel Discussion Series

Chief Editor of Australian Aviation

Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation and former Chair, International Air Services Commission

Dr. Ian Douglas was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Aviation Management in the School of Aviation at the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2007. His ongoing research interests encompass the areas of air transport economics and the evolution of aviation business models.  Dr Douglas has held senior positions with Qantas for many years and was Chair of the Australian International Air Services Commission from May 2016 until May 2020. Dr Douglas has also undertaken airline consultancies around the globe and  serves on committees of the Air Transport Research Society and the European Aviation Conference.

Assistant Secretary, Aviation White Paper, Domestic Aviation and Reform Division, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Kai Everist is the Assistant Secretary for the Aviation White Paper Taskforce in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Kai has a background in economic and strategic policy and has worked in a range of government roles for the past 15 years, in the Departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury, Infrastructure and Environment. Kai has degrees in Economics and Political Science from the Australian National University and the University of Melbourne.

Lawyer and Aviation Professional, Beswick Lynch Lawyers and UNSW Aviation

Seena is a lawyer and aviation professional with wide-ranging experience in airline operations, network planning, scheduling and revenue management at major airlines including Qantas and Qatar Airways. He has also been a long-standing UNSW Aviation academic facilitator for courses in airline operations and corporate management. Seena’s diverse experiences have exposed him to a wide range of challenges facing the aviation industry and the links between those challenges. From bilateral air service agreement constraints to slot management pressures, Seena has witnessed first-hand the difficulty aviation stakeholders have in balancing commercial interests with legal obligations at an operational level. His passion for policy reform drove him to the law and to become an advocate for liberalisation of the highly regulated aviation industry. Seena has written about the benefits of an open skies approach to air service agreements and is a contributing editor of the upcoming 6th edition of Aviation Law in Australia by Professor Ron Bartsch.

Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Wing Australia at Google

Jesse Suskin is the head of government relations and public policy in Australia for Wing, a company that sees a future where drone delivery is the safest, fastest and most environmentally friendly way to transport small items. Before joining Wing in 2018, Jesse spent over six years with Google, working in government relations, public affairs, and public policy in Washington, DC and Sydney, Australia.  Earlier in his career, Jesse worked in politics and public service including at the White House as Associate Director of Communications for President George W. Bush, and as Director of Media Services for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Jesse also worked for the Government of Australia at its Embassy in Washington, DC, advising Ambassador Kim Beazley.

Regional Vice-President Asia-Pacific South Pacific region, International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, and B737 Pilot

Anna Wakelin is the Vice President for the South Pacific region for International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA). Founded in 1948 and based in Montreal, IFALPA represents more than 100,000 pilots in nearly 100 countries world-wide.

Anna was previously a captain on the Airbus A320 aircraft type with Tigerair, where she also worked as a flight operations safety officer assisting with internal safety investigations, and as a non-technical skills facilitator. Prior to Tigerair she flew as a first officer on Fokker 50 aircraft with Alliance Airlines and has worked as a charter pilot.

She also worked as a flight instructor in New Zealand, Fiji and Australia, holding an A-category instructor rating in New Zealand and grade one instructor rating in Australia with aerobatic, instrument, and instructor training privileges. She has worked as a charter pilot, and in aircraft sales and sales-support roles.  

With an interest in flight safety and human factors, she joined the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) safety and technical team as a pilot representative. 

Anna holds a Master of Aviation Management degree and is currently completing a law degree.