Redefining the aerospace industry through innovation, sustainability, and leadership.
Renee Wootton Tomlin is the CEO and Founder of New Era Energy a leading-edge venture shaping the future of sustainable flight and clean energy systems.
A proud Tharawal woman, aerospace engineer, and sustainability strategist, Renee is redefining what it means to lead with purpose, bridging technology, culture, and climate innovation.
Her career spans NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Qantas, Western Sydney Airport, and LanzaJet, where she played a pivotal role in advancing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) adoption and scaling global market development.
At New Era Energy, Renee is building a new generation of aerospace and energy solutions designed to accelerate the just transition to net zero. She integrates Indigenous knowledge with engineering excellence to create both environmental and social impact.
A sought-after keynote speaker and thought leader, Renee brings a powerful mix of technical insight, authenticity, and vision. She inspires audiences to think differently about leadership, innovation, and the future of flight.
She is also the co-host of the Promoted Podcast, where she shares stories and strategies to help professionals grow in fast-evolving industries.
Named one of Australia’s most influential young leaders, Renee’s mission is to create a world where people, planet, and progress move forward together.
Talking Points
Evolving the Systems That Power Our Future: Energy, Capital and Leadership
Australia has strong foundations for the energy transition including world class institutions, technical capability, capital markets and policy momentum. The opportunity now is alignment. This keynote explores how organisations can evolve existing systems so energy, capital, policy and leadership work together to accelerate delivery while managing risk.Evolving the Systems That Power Our Future: Energy, Capital and Leadership
Key Outcomes:
- Understanding how systems thinking accelerates progress in complex environments
- Translating ambition into executable and investable outcomes
- Applying systems engineering principles to large scale energy transitions
- Identifying where leadership attention creates the greatest leverage
- Building momentum with purpose while maintaining trust and integrity
Ideal Audiences: Boards, CEOs, executive leadership teams, infrastructure and energy conferences, strategy offsites
Australia’s Energy Advantage: Turning Strength into Sustained Momentum
Australia is well-positioned to lead in sustainable fuels and future energy markets. This keynote focuses on how organisations can leverage existing assets, infrastructure and partnerships to convert early leadership into long-term advantage.Australia’s Energy Advantage: Turning Strength into Sustained Momentum
Key Outcomes:
- Leveraging existing infrastructure and supply chains effectively
- Structuring partnerships that support long-term delivery
- Aligning public ambition with private investment
- Building confidence for global capital
- Positioning Australia as a reliable and scalable energy partner
Ideal Audiences: Corporate Australia, government industry forums, energy and infrastructure leaders
From Technical Expert to Strategic Leader: Leading in Complex Systems
Many leaders today are operating inside systems that are still evolving in real time. Drawing from her journey from aerospace engineer and pilot to CEO, Renee shares practical insights on leading with clarity, credibility and confidence.From Technical Expert to Strategic Leader: Leading in Complex Systems
Key Outcomes:
- Translating technical insight into strategic decision making
- Leading through uncertainty while maintaining momentum
- Balancing speed, safety and stakeholder trust
- Building influence across diverse technical and non technical groups
- Developing executive presence without inherited authority
Ideal Audiences: Executive programs, high potential leaders, technical specialists transitioning into leadership roles
Scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Building What Comes Next
Sustainable Aviation Fuel is moving from concept to reality. This keynote provides a grounded and optimistic view of how SAF can scale by building on existing aviation, fuel and agricultural systems while thoughtfully updating them. Scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Building What Comes Next
Key Outcomes:
- Understanding how SAF integrates into today’s aviation ecosystem
- The role of feedstock aggregation and infrastructure readiness
- Aligning airlines, producers and policymakers
- Designing commercially robust pathways
- Creating systems that can grow over time
Ideal Audiences: Aviation and energy leaders, airlines, airports, investors, government decision makers
Indigenous Economic Participation: Designing Pathways That Last
Indigenous economic participation represents one of Australia’s most significant long term opportunities. Aligned with the work of Martin Luther King III and the CareerTrackers model, this keynote reframes participation as a systems design challenge focused on continuity, progression and leadership. Indigenous Economic Participation: Designing Pathways That Last
Key Outcomes:
- Shifting from access based initiatives to structured pathways
- Understanding the value of paid, multi year participation models
- Embedding Indigenous participation into core business operations
- Linking participation to productivity, retention and leadership depth
- Designing systems that create intergenerational economic impact Ideal Audiences: Boards, CEOs, major employers, infrastructure and energy companies, finance, universities, government industry summits
Future Ready Workforces: Building Capability for What’s Ahead
The future workforce is already here and expectations are evolving. This keynote explores how organisations can build on existing talent systems to attract, develop and retain people who want to contribute to meaningful work. Future Ready Workforces: Building Capability for What’s Ahead
Key Outcomes:
- Designing roles with purpose and progression
- Supporting adaptability and continuous learning
- Connecting individual contribution to system wide impact
- Preparing teams for change without burnout
- Building cultures that sustain long term performance
Ideal Audiences: Large employers, STEM leaders, energy and infrastructure organisations, universities
Leading at the Edge: Building Confidence, Capability and Courage in a Changing World
Where this plays: IWD keynotes • CEO forums • All-hands leadership events • Technology conferences • Graduate and future-leader audiencesLeading at the Edge: Building Confidence, Capability and Courage in a Changing World
Overview:
In fast-moving, high-stakes environments, leadership is shaped not by certainty, but by how we respond when the path isn’t clear. Drawing on her journey from aerospace engineer and pilot to CEO building Australia’s future energy systems, Renee Wootton Tomlin shares a deeply human story of learning to lead at the edge of technology, responsibility and change.
This keynote weaves personal experience with practical insight, showing leaders how confidence, courage and capability are built over time — especially in moments where there is no playbook.
Core Themes:
1. Leadership Is Learned in Motion Renee shares what it’s like to lead while systems, industries and expectations are still evolving, and why waiting for perfect conditions is no longer an option.
2. Confidence Comes From Capability Why credibility is built through preparation, curiosity and learning — not titles or permission — and how leaders can develop confidence in technical and non-technical environments alike.
3. Technology With Accountability From aviation to energy systems, Renee explores how leaders can embrace technology while staying grounded in responsibility, ethics and human impact.
4. Navigating Two Worlds Growing up with First Nations values while working at the forefront of global technology, Renee reflects on how holding multiple perspectives strengthens leadership and decision-making.
5. What Leaders Can Take Forward Practical lessons for leading through change, backing yourself in unfamiliar rooms, and creating space for others to rise.
IWD 2026
Renee Wootton Tomlin is an aerospace engineer, pilot, and sustainability leader with experience across NASA JPL, Qantas, Western Sydney Airport, and LanzaJet. She has seen how imbalance in systems, whether in climate, leadership, or technology, slows progress. In this keynote, Renee challenges organisations to stop focusing on individuals and start redesigning the systems we all operate in. She offers a practical framework for creating lasting balance across energy, leadership, and innovation.IWD 2026
Key Takeaways:
- Truth before transformation: Progress starts by acknowledging imbalance, from emissions to leadership bias.
- From extraction to regeneration: Lessons from scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel and shifting industries to give back.
- Technology and humanity: How to adopt AI and digital tools responsibly to ensure equity.
- Walking two worlds: First Nations knowledge as a guide for balancing people, planet, and profit.
- Slowing down to go fast: Why pacing change with purpose is key to sustainable leadership.
Example Threads Renee Can Draw On:
- Scaling SAF across five continents with LanzaJet
- Decarbonising aircraft operations at Qantas
- Collaborating with NASA on planetary flight systems
- Supporting AI-enabled transformation in business
- Embedding First Nations values into engineering and leadership
Dates of Significance
Renee Wootton Tomlin delivers tailored Keynotes aligned to major awareness dates, connecting national themes with practical relevance for corporate and industry audiences.Dates of Significance
International Women’s Day
Action-focused Keynotes on gender equity, leadership and culture. Renee aligns content to the annual IWD theme, with clear takeaways for leaders and organisations.
International Women in Engineering Day
Drawing on her engineering background, Renee speaks with credibility on representation, retention and leadership in STEM, particularly for technical and male-dominated industries.
NAIDOC Week
Respectful, informed Keynotes aligned to the annual NAIDOC theme, supporting organisations to engage meaningfully with Indigenous perspectives and leadership.
National Reconciliation Week
Practical, outcome-driven sessions focused on moving reconciliation from intent to action, with relevance to leadership, culture and Reconciliation Action Plans.
Video
Future You - Learn about Renee Wootton's STEM career as an aerospace engineer
Renee is a proud Tharawal woman who joined the Australian Air Force Cadets at just 15, and this is where her passion for air travel was ignited. Driven by her curiosity, Renee studied aerospace engineering at university to understand how planes work and now works at Qantas as the First Nations Engagement Manager. Future You has developed free classroom resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9.0, practical tools for parents, and useful activities for students to enhance engagement with this film.Want a Career in Sustainable Aviation? Hear from LanzaJet Leaders their Journeys in the industry.
Ready to take off your engineering career? Join us for an inspiring conversation with Renee Wootton, Director of New Market Development, and Daniel Bloch, Director of Partnerships, at LanzaJet, a pioneering company revolutionising sustainable aviation fuel. In this video, Renee and Dan share their career paths and discuss: The importance of diversity and inclusion in tackling global challenges like climate change. How LanzaJet actively supports women and diverse talent in STEM, fostering a culture of mentorship and empowerment. Practical advice for aspiring engineers, from embracing ambiguity to building a strong network. The exciting career opportunities within the rapidly evolving sustainable aviation industry. LanzaJet is leading the way in creating a greener future for aviation. Learn how you can be a part of it!Qantas Graduate Program - Meet Renee
Renee Wootton | Youth Summit, Country Universities Balonne 2024
Audio
Wow! Renee was wonderful. I’m feeling so inspired by Renee’s presentation. The audience was in awe of what Renee has and continues to achieve whilst advocating and supporting others in the p ... keep reading Ausgrid
Thank you for your inspirational presentation at our recent Youth Summit. Your powerful messaging about success being achieved through resilience and support resonated well with the audience. They were clearly captivated. Your story will no doubt have a profound impact on many of the young people in attendance and we look forward to further nurturing the aspirations that you inspired. Your life journey has encouraged our youth to dream big, think outside the box and consider new horizons. We consider our community very lucky to have had the opportunity to hear your story, as part of our work to increase educational opportunities and improved outcomes for students in rural, remote and regional communities.
I just watched your video and had to get in touch - it was brilliant! You completely nailed what we wanted you to convey to the kids - it was inspiring and challenging and uplifting - and doable! I cannot thank you enough. You are definitely the stand out speaker for this year's Congress and I can’t wait to have you work with them in 2022 face to face!
I wanted to give you all an update on how brilliant your webinar performed! The webinar was the 5th most watched of 90+ webinars in the expo, which is phenomenal! To give you some perspective, the 4 that outperformed ours were all Instagram influencers. I just wanted to say again a huge thank you! What a great result! The event attracted 85,000 Gen Z’s, so it was a great opportunity to get engineering in front of students.
Thank you so much for today’s panel session. It was a fantastic discussion, with some really brilliant insights and advice for students. Delighted with how it went. Thank you so much for all the time you have contributed to making this event a success.
Renee was a delight to work with. She put in so much effort to prepare for the speaking engagement and create a content structure that matched our needs.
Renee was a delight to work with. Her level of care and preparation was evident from our first meeting until the event itself. Her presentation resonated very well across various demographics within our audience. We are very appreciative of Renee's time and effort in bringing our IWD event to life to make it not only meaningful and inspiring, but also provide our people with real takeaways.
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