9.40 am Monday 24 October

Rachael Robertson has recently returned to Australia after 12 months in the Antarctic, where she successfully led the 58th Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition to Davis Station. She is only the second female to ever lead a team at the Station.

Rachael’s leadership role is truly a unique experience. With nine months of total isolation, and with 18 people Rachael hardly knew, this was no ordinary leadership role. Antarctica in winter is totally inaccessible, which means once the last ship leaves at the end of February, no-one can leave the base under any circumstance until the ship returns in November.

In 2005, Rachael was seconded to the Australian Antarctic Division from her job as a senior manager (Chief Ranger) at Parks Victoria. Since returning to Australia in 2006, Rachael has completed her MBA and is now working in the field of leadership development.

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With breathtaking photographs and plenty of humour, Rachael will recount her leadership and team-building experiences from a year in the highest, driest, coldest and windiest place on earth.

After managing a highly-complex operation with the added challenge of isolation and extreme risk to life, Rachael’s talk will focus on the lessons she learnt from her most challenging leadership role to date.

From the complicated logistics of using aeroplanes and helicopters to deploy scientists thousands of kilometres away deep into remote Antarctica; to managing a team of trades people delivering a maintenance program for the station infrastructure including an adequate supply of power and water, there was never a dull moment. Rachael’s story is one of success and achievement that explores themes and the ability to adapt to a changing environment.

Although Antarctica is dedicated to international peace and science, having dealt with everything from plane crashes to negotiating a diplomatic settlement in the bacon wars, her conclusion is that life down south isn’t always peace and harmony.