Speakers

Professor Simon Lockrey's professional design work has crossed a large range of industries for organisations such as Glowpear, Cyclone, Dyson, Whirlpool, Sabco, Schiavello, and Henkel, which has resulted in the generation of billions of dollars in income and intellectual property. Globally significant projects include the Dyson DC30/31 handheld vacuums (the first with digital motors), the DC39 cylinder cyclone vacuum cleaner (the first with full ball barrel and integrated steering), and the Glowpear self-watering planter range.

In the academy, Professor Lockrey's has managed research include life cycle assessment, co-design, design innovation, flammable cladding, automotive history, and food waste. As a result, he has generated millions of dollars of 'industry facing' research at RMIT with global and nationally significant companies including CHEP, Visy, Nestlé, Lendlease, Costa, and Breville, as well as for governments and not for profits. He has created global impact through policy changes, commercial outcomes, media coverage, and quality academic publications. He is now a key leader in the End Food Waste CRC, worth $121 million over 10 years, managing a suite of projects aimed at halving Australian food waste by 2030.

Professor Lockrey has also won many awards including Australian Design/ Good Design Awards (Dyson, Glowpear, and RMIT); and international renowned Red Dot Awards (Dyson). Such work (the Dyson DC30/31) is held on permanent display at the Design Museum, London. In 2025 he and his team won the inaugural RMIT wide Sustainability Award.

At board level, Professor Lockrey is the former Executive Director of global urban gardening brand Glowpear, the former Secretary of the International Sustainable Development Research Society, and now Vice President of the Automotive Historians Australia. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), a lead juror in the Australian Good Design Awards (Research Category), and a Good Design Australia Ambassador.