NAME Jamie Baensch ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION Mechanical Engineer Swinburne Institute of Technology

PROFILE Jamie is a successful General Manager and Professional Engineer, having lead industrial and automotive product design and manufacturing companies in Australia and China. After graduating, Jamie started his career working for Marand Precision Engineering developing special purpose machines tools. He then moved to as a Driveline Design Engineer followed by time at Engineering developing Ford performance and LPG vehicles. Jamie then joined Air International. Air International is a Tier 1 automotive parts manufacturer specialising in the design and manufacturer of automotive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Jamie’s career developed as Air International grew, starting as a Design Engineer then progressing through roles such as Design Manager, Project Manager and Business Development Manager. In 2001 Jamie was then given the opportunity to take a role as part of the businesses expansion into China, firstly supporting a Greenfields joint venture start-up plant in Chongqing and then as General Manager of Air International Shanghai. The Shanghai business is a joint venture company of 400 employees, designing and manufacturing automotive HVAC systems for the Chinese vehicle manufacturers. Jamie’s efforts in this role were to transform the business by the application of Lean Manufacturing systems. Significant improvements in productivity and quality were achieved and new products and production equipment were introduced to increase the capability of the company. Jamie returned to Australia in 2004 to take the role of General Manager for Air International in Australia. The Australian business designed, manufactured and supplied just in time HVAC systems to the , Holden Commodore and Mitsubishi Magna. In this role Jamie’s task was to maintain profitability against the globalisation of the Australia automotive industry.

Jamie left Air International after thirteen years in 2006 and established a consulting business focusing on creating growth for SME’s by assisting them to leverage their existing capabilities to create new products. This lead Jamie to a role with the Geelong Manufacturing Council as a Business Adviser for the Federal Government initiative called Enterprise Connect. Enterprise Connect aims to improve the productivity and international competitiveness of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Jamie then returned to Marand Precision Engineering in as Executive Director responsible for implementation of Lean business practices to improve productivity and quality. He also led a number of projects developing undersea tidal turbines for electricity generation. In 2010 Jamie joined Air Radiators as General Manager with the focus of building a world class manufacturing business. Air Radiators employs 200 people and designs and manufactures industrial heat exchanges for trucks, trains, mining equipment and various industrial applications.

Jamie is also active in the industrial community as is a Chairman of the Geelong Manufacturing Council. During his career Jamie has developed core competencies in business management, product development, project management and manufacturing operations. Jamie is married with three children and lives in Geelong.