Who We Are

Andrew Deering

Director

Andrew is the Founder and CEO of The Deering Group. A Leader in Operations and People, Andrew has spent more than 20 years in leadership roles, delivering organisational development programs and leading transformational change. 

He has built teams from the ground up that had the capability to deliver programs competently and safely, often in short timeframes and high-risk environments.

Andrew has lead The Deering Group to become Australia’s leading experts in large organisational transformational capability and change programs. An innovative and forward-thinking group of experts, Andrew and his team have delivered programs to organisations and teams across Australia.

Some of the organisations Andrew has worked with include BP, Origin Energy, Shell, Todd Energy, MPC Group, APA Group and ERGT Australia.

Louise Bonser

Principal Consultant

Louise is a passionate Operational Capability Expert with over 20 years’ experience  building and developing competent and capable workforces.  A leader in Learning and Development, Louise has a track record of excellence in designing complete Training and Competency solutions that create competent, safe and high performing teams.  Louise is also a Working Genius Certified Facilitator.

Over more than 20 years, Louise has developed extensive experience leading site based and corporate teams in Training and Competency and People Development in industries including mining, defence, construction, energy and oil and gas.

Drawing on her expertise in operations, Louise leads the TDG team delivering Training and Competency, Knowledge Management and Coaching and Mentoring services to our clients.

Our Team

Chris Burbidge

Senior Consultant

Chris is a highly experienced Oil and Gas professional who has successfully demonstrated leadership, innovation, capability and resilience during his 30-year career in a dynamic, challenging and evolving sector.

Chris has led front line and functional support teams within Refining, LNG, and CSG across a variety of roles, including maintenance, operations and training and competency. A leader in frontline and corporate functions across multiple organisations, Chris has designed, developed, and delivered competency assurance programs, processes, and products at both a technician and manager level.

Maha White

Consultant

Maha White has more than 15 years of learning and development experience in various industries. Her experience spans auditing and compliance, the design and development of training and assessment documentation, and project and client partnership management. Maha’s career in learning and development has seen her working for RTO’s in various industries and assisting with regulatory auditing, which has culminated into a broad set of skills and knowledge.

Maha is passionate about building strong relationships and supporting organisations and people to develop, expand, and seek continuous improvement, ensuring competency is maintained to ensure health and safety or other essential benchmarks.

Leigh Gower

Consultant

Leigh Gower is a highly qualified and experienced Learning and Development Specialist and proficient Technical Writer. Leigh has more than two decades of experience implementing and leading Learning and Development strategies across several industry sectors, including mining, oil and gas, engineering, construction and tourism.

Throughout her career, Leigh has trained teams and executed projects that have created competent and safe workforces in high-risk environments. Additionally, Leigh holds several qualifications across Training and Assessment, Quality Management and Workplace Health and Safety. This unique combination of skills adds incredible value to our clients’ projects.

Shane Bonser

Consultant

Shane Bonser is a highly experienced Training and Competency Specialist with more than 25 years in various operational and leadership roles. This experience has seen him work in several high-risk environments enabling him to develop and implement training and competency programs, ensuring a safe and competent workforce.

Shane’s extensive experience in the mining industry includes setting up and leading several teams, simplifying and standardising the training processes and improving workforce compliance. This combination of skills gives Shane the leading edge in understanding the training and competency needs to deliver relevant tailored programs to meet organisational requirements.

Our Associates

Leisa Gregory

Consultant

Leisa Gregory is a highly experienced Learning and Development specialist, qualified in all areas of the learning journey, from analysis and design to facilitation and evaluation.

Leisa’s has more than 10 years’ experience developing capability, designing and implementing innovative programs, and building effective systems and processes to deliver solutions that align with the core needs of the business.

Shane Lumley

Consultant

Shane Lumley is a highly qualified and experienced Oil and Gas Specialist.  A tertiary qualified Industrial Processing Analyst, Shane has more than 20 years’ experience in a variety of Oil and Gas Operations, analysing safety-critical processes and developing efficient implementation strategies nationally.

Shane’s extensive experience includes PTW (Permit to Work) project implementation, document design and writing, designing and delivering competency assurance programs, structuring competency frameworks, and commissioning and start-up support within the LNG industry.

Bhavna Patel

Consultant

Bhavna has 18+ years of experience in operational and leadership roles in training, competency assurance and human resources across multiple industry sectors, including Oil & Gas, Mining, Agriculture, Transport, Engineering and Energy.

Bhavna is highly experienced in developing and implementing Competency Frameworks, Competency-Based training and processes, and professional development programs.

Paul Halma

Consultant

Paul is a highly experienced Oil and Gas professional who has successfully demonstrated leadership, innovation, capability and resilience during his 30-year career in a dynamic, challenging and evolving sector.

Paul has led front line and functional support teams within Refining, Power, LNG, and CSG across a variety of roles, including maintenance, operations, commissioning, shutdowns and compliance.  A leader in frontline and corporate functions across multiple organisations, Paul has industry experience at both a technician and manager level, including compliance management, Quality Assuranrance, Information Management, maintenance and operations.

Elissa Castelli

Consultant

Elissa has significant experience as an Organisational Development and Change Management specialist. A Certified Coach (IECL) with over 20 years in organisational and leadership development, change management, generalist human resources and business process improvement, she has worked across several industries, including mining, utilities, professional services, health, and education.

A Certified Coach (IECL), Elissa has supported leaders in understanding and improving their impact on managing teams and driving organisational culture.

Elissa’s Project Management experience gives her the expertise in developing HR strategies to meet current and emerging business challenges. She is also interested in reviewing and designing effective organisational structures in HR and other support services.

Mark Greene

Consultant

Mark is an Energy Industry Leader with more than 30 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas sector. His career has covered the full lifecycle of major project opportunities, including concept select, project design and construction, commissioning and handover, facility operations and expansion projects, and decommissioning.

Mark has developed and led large cross-functional teams to meet project deliverables, ensuring robust compliance and safety requirements are met while providing a supportive and engaging environment where individuals can thrive.

It all starts with a conversation.

Contact us to chat with our team about we can help you and your people be better.