I emceed the Fire Australia Conference and Tradeshow in Sydney May 3 to 5 and saw a lot of presentations.

None was better than the keynote plenary session delivered by the New South Wales Building Commissioner David  Chandler OAM.

He represents many enviable traits:

Deep expertise gained over decades – in his case around building quality and regulation.

A sense of urgency – David wanted a quick intro and once started, got straight to business. No endless setting up and contexting.

Fearlessness – the Commissioner names names – at one point showing a slide of all the “turkeys” his building reforms have put out of business.

Fun – he enjoys his spotlight and at one point even mimed out some scenes to bring home a point. We had some laughs.

He’s unexpected – senior bureaucrats like David are typically understated and risk averse. NOT DAVID. He calls a spade a bloody shovel.

He gives a damn – David is shamelessly on the side of the consumer. Neutrality is often seen as cold or uncaring.

He has real world experiences and stories that he shares with the audience.

The Commissioner doesn’t underestimate his audience, treating them like professionals and grown ups.