BYDA Utility Safety Conference 2026: Confirmed Speakers
Kym Bancroft
Kym is currently the Managing Director of a boutique consultancy, New View Safety, that partners with organisations to transform their safety culture and their safety performance.
With over 20 years’ international experience as a Health and Safety executive, Kym holds a Masters in Safety Leadership, and is a registered Organisational Psychologist.
Kym has worked across a diverse range of industries, cultures and geographical locations including open-cut mining in Canada, through to offshore gas in the US, and a raft of sectors across Asia Pacific.
Kym’s previous roles include as the Deputy Director General, holding the position of Regulator for Workplace Health & Safety and Electrical Safety and as the Head of Health & Safety at Serco Asia Pacific and Urban Utilities.
Taking a contemporary approach, Kym incorporates psychological principles and human centred methodologies with safety innovation and evidence-based research to drive transformation across the workplace, creating high reliability, operational excellence, and a positive workplace culture.
Nick Zembillas
Nicholas Zembillas is a globally recognised leader in Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE), with over 40 years of experience shaping industry practices, policies, and international standards. His career spans both the public and private sectors, including 15 years with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), where he pioneered innovative utility coordination methods, and 32 years leading a global SUE practice with TBE Group, later Cardno TBE.
A key figure in international SUE standards development, Mr. Zembillas has contributed to ASCE 38, BSI PAS 128, CSA S250, and Australia’s AS 5488 as well as other frameworks across China, the UK, Canada, and Latin America. He currently serves as a Subject Matter Expert at Colliers Engineering and is CEO of SUE LATAM, LLC, a leader in SUE services.
Recognised for his industry leadership, Mr. Zembillas is President of the Subsurface Utility Engineering Association (America) and a recipient of multiple accolades, including the E.J. (Ted) Hooper medal and a Damage Prevention True Hero Award. His expertise continues to shape best practices in utility engineering, geophysics, and geospatial technologies worldwide.
Mark Follett
Mark Follett has devoted his career to subsurface utility engineering (SUE). Mark has been a key part of the delivery of many major Australian infrastructure projects in the past 20 years through his roles in utility coordination, utility construction management, utilities design, utilities design management, and utilities risk management. His SUE experience spans delivery of projects in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and includes utilities design and utilities construction management of multiple major road, freeway, light rail, regional heavy rail, level crossing removal, and road and rail tunnel projects.
Mark contributed to the creation of AS5488.2 Classification of Subsurface Utility Information (SUI) Subsurface utility engineering (SUE) as an advisor to the Standards Australia committee and content author. He regularly presents municipal infrastructure and delivery authorities with training in the awareness, understanding, and usage of AS5488.
For the past 9 years, as a founding partner, co-owner and Director of UDEC, Mark’s focus has been on building a specialist utility design consultancy that provides consulting services to the major transport infrastructure industry in Australia based on the principles of SUE best practice.
Rob Sansbury
Rob is a civil engineer with over 37 years of experience in infrastructure and commercial/property projects. He specializes in negotiating with local and statutory authorities, collaborating with professionals, and overseeing design and construction activities. Rob currently serves as the National Defence Sector Leader for Stantec, where he works with Augility on the Estate Works Program (EWP) for projects up to $25M. He has extensive experience with various Defence projects, including Capital Facilities and Infrastructure (CFI), Medium Works Projects, and the Internal Partnership Contract (IPC), as well as early planning works like 5% MPFR, IBC, and FDBs.
Rob has built strong relationships with ADF stakeholders, including uniformed personnel and base management teams, enhancing communication within the ADF. He also serves as the national EAUST representative on a Standards Australia committee responsible for updating AS5488 on subsurface utilities, focusing on the new “Part 2” of the standard. Additionally, Rob leads Stantec’s involvement in the HMAS Stirling project within the AUKUS program, coordinating across eight disciplines with Stantec USA experts.