AIIA’s NSW Committee is an elected group of representatives from AIIA member companies who work on a voluntary basis to assist the association and the ICT industry.
The committee, which meets monthly, is organised along business lines – with a strategic plan, a set of success metrics and a regular formal reporting system. All NSW Committee members are required to adhere to an AIIA Code of Conduct.
Elections for the NSW Committee are held annually, with business leaders, state managers and other senior staff nominating. If your company is based in NSW and is a member of AIIA, you are eligible to stand for election.
Contact
Michel Hedley , AIIA NSW Executive Officer, (02) 9568 6601
NSW Committee
Chairman
Martin Dare , NSW Principal, e-Centric Innovations
Deputy Chairman
Andrew James , Managing Director, iClinix
Committee Members
- Luli Adeyemo , Director, Best Case Scenario
- Craig Baty , Vice-President & Distinguished Analyst, Gartner Australasia
- Catherine Caruana-McManus , Business Development Executive, IBM Australia
- Eddie Geller , Chief Executive Officer, Unique World Group
- Chris Greig , National Sales & Marketing Manager, Macquarie Telecom
- Kevin Harris , Director, TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute
- Charles Lindop , Director Business Program, ATP Innovations
- Patricia Nance , CEO, The Distillery
- Jeff Smoot , Fujitsu Australia
- Peter Strohkorb , Business Imaging National Manager - Strategic Business, Canon Australia
- Gil Thew , Principal, Wolken Technology Management
Martin Dare is the Principal of e-Centric Innovations in NSW and ACT. He is responsible for working with e-Centric Innovation's clients in their delivery of improved revenue outcomes, more effective employees, stronger partnerships and loyal customers.
Previously, Martin was the Sales Director of the Solution Partners Organisation at HP Australia. He was responsible for working with HP's partner community to achieve mutual profitability and growth by leveraging HP's complete portfolio of products and services. Prior to merging with HP, Martin was the NSW State Sales Manager for Compaq Australia. This role encompassed the management of Compaq's sales force as well as the NSW-based Compaq resellers.
Martin has more than 25 years experience in the information technology industry gained from management, sales and technical roles here and in the United States.
Martin graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a Bachelor in Applied Science (Computing Science), holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management and a Graduate Diploma of International Business from the Helsinki School of Economics.
Martin has been a NSW Committee member since 2001.
"My roles have given me an opportunity to work across many industry sectors, customer types, channel partners and third-party businesses in various ways. This has given me a broad insight into business pressures that exist for large and small ICT industry players.
"I think AIIA can be most effective when it focuses on the development and communication of economic policy to key influencers in government and industry, and delivering tangible business returns to our members. I believe that I can contribute to these aims by leveraging my industry knowledge and understanding of our market environment."
Andrew James is Managing Director of iClinix, an ICT company specialising in e-health clinical and pharmacy software and health data management.
Andrew is an active participant in the ICT industry in NSW. His roles include NSW Northern Sydney ICT Cluster - Member of Steering Committee; Member AIIA NSW Health SIG; Member Standards Australia - IT014 Committee and director of five other ICT-based SMEs.
Andrew has special interest in clinical software scoping, design and specification, medical/health industry ICT business development and marketing, and project management.
"I have a very strong and passionate commitment to the SME sector in the Australian ICT industry. I seek to increase collaboration between the large ICT organisations and SMEs as well as partnerships and strategic alliances between AIIA member companies in general.
"I have been an active member of the NSW Committee of the AIIA. I have been both a strong voice and representative for SME vendors as well as convening the AIIA Health Special Interest Group, which has grown in value to our members with a focus on health IT. I am a passionate advocate for small-medium ICT businesses."
Luli Adeyemo has over 14 years corporate sales and marketing experience across a number of industries and countries. Founder of Best Case Scenario, a successful sales and marketing consultancy firm based in Sydney, Luli has built strong relationships and is well respected among NSW ICT organisations.
She has spent the past 7 years of her career working for Gartner, global leaders in independent IT research and advisory services, of which the last 3 years have been spent growing its Asia-Pacific conference business.
"I have a genuine interest in the Australian ICT industry and have been advising and assisting organisations with their go-to-market strategies within Australia and Asia. One of my desires is to assist in the influence of external factors that affect the ICT industry, for example in encouraging positivism in government attitude towards ICT.
"I have in-depth knowledge and experience of developing attractive and educational content for ICT events in APAC and I understand what professionals in the ICT industry expect from events."
Craig Baty is a Vice-President in Gartner's research and advisory organisation with global responsibilities for driving research in the IT marketing, business and channel strategies area, and delivering appropriate services to CEOs/chief marketing officers in the high-tech and telecoms provider spaces. In Asia-Pacific/Japan, he provides executive level coaching, consultancy and strategic advice/guidance to vendor executives of many organisations.
Craig has held executive-level positions in Gartner AP/J, BT and Fujitsu Australia-Japan. He holds a MBA in International Business/Marketing (SGSM), and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.
"I've been in the IT industry for almost 26 years now, and although fully supportive of the Australian ICT industry, I haven't actually involved myself in actively developing it.
"I've chaired a number of AIIA marketing forum events, and have been looking for ways to further increase my involvement with the AIIA. Being on the NSW State Committee provides me with the perfect opportunity to be more involved, especially in helping to improve the professionalism of ICT marketing and sales."
Catherine has been actively engaged in the commercial innovation sector for over 15 years (telecommunications, internet/digital media and IT) in the areas of business development, strategic alliances/partnerships and emerging technology delivery.
In the early to mid 1990s, Catherine was instrumental in the delivery of major ICT initiatives into the marketplace such as the Telstra Online Directories business (founding member). Building on this foundation she was Business Development Manager for PMP New Media (aka PMP Digital).
In the late 1990s Catherine established a specialised and highly successful internet, publishing and telecommunications strategy and implementation consulting firm, MC2 Consulting.
Catherine joined IBM as Business Development Executive for Global Technology Services for the Public Sector.
"The NSW Committee provides an opportunity to enhance collaboration and trusted relationships between the ICT industry and NSW Government.
"AIIA acts an advocate for innovation and emerging business opportunities (represented on marketing & industry assessment panels for major government incubation organisations).
"I have always supported and been actively involved with key industry organisations (ADMA, AIMIA) and am an advocate for innovation and emerging business opportunities (represented on marketing and industry assessment panels for major government incubation organisations).
"I am a passionate person who has worked enthusiastically within the ICT industry and has a strong understanding of government ICT policy, strategy and initiatives in NSW and Victoria."
As Chief Executive Officer of the Unique World Group, Eddie sets the company's overall strategic direction and leads initiatives to strengthen Unique World's leadership in delivering world-class products and solutions to clients.
Eddie's background is based on sound technical and architectural practices and he founded Unique World in January 1999 on the basis of technical expertise in all aspects of IT business solutions. Eddie is an active participant in the IT industry.
Eddie is the Chairperson of the new NSW.Net industry cluster, which is supported by AIIA and Microsoft.
He is also actively involved in business through memberships of the AIIA, AICD, AIM, TransTasman Business Circle and AICC. He has been a part of the AICC mentoring program for several years now and is a member of its Business Leaders Forum.
"I am very keen to get more involved in the ICT industry as a representative of many other IT-based organisations as I feel that, running my own ICT consulting and software company, I have a good handle on what IT organisations need and want with business and government.
"Having been in the industry for over 10 years I understand how different ICT companies can succeed from AIIA's involvement with business and government and I see lots of areas that can be improved. I also want to personally make a difference in the ICT industry to advance and mature it so it's looked upon as innovative and future looking.”
Chris Greig has been in the industry for over 20 years in Europe and (since 1997) in Australia.
He is currently the Sales and Marketing Director of Macquarie Telecom and as such is responsible for the go-to-market strategy and execution of the company. Before that, Chris spent many years at HP, where he led the business customer activity in Australasia.
He has been on the AIIA NSW Committee since 2003.
"I am specifically keen to support the association in membership development, information technology and telecommunications convergence, and SME development initiatives."
Kevin Harris is currently the Director of one the largest TAFE institutes in Australia, with some 55,000 students and over 2700 employees. He is also responsible for all corporate services for schools in Sydney’s Northern Region, for TAFE NSW state-wide library services and systems, state-wide curriculum development for community services, health, sport and recreation and TAFE’s Industry Partnership Centre, located at Australian Technology Park. The institute has a very strong ICT training capability, including vendor-specific training in partnership with Oracle, Cisco and Microsoft. The institute also has an ongoing partnership with Nortel Communications.
As the Director, Kevin is responsible for setting the institute's strategic direction and for delivery of its business performance targets. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Mathematics and Physics) from Macquarie University, various para-professional electronics engineering qualifications and post-graduate qualifications in education and management.
"As a TAFE Institute Director, I have opportunities to work across many industry sectors, to engage with a great range of enterprises, and to sit on various state and national working parties focussed on education and on particular industry sectors (including ICT). Together with my background in electronics engineering and IT, these opportunities have provided me with a broad insight into business challenges that exist for large and small ICT industry players.
"One of the greatest challenges facing AIIA members and affecting future investment in their business is the availability of skilled people. AIIA must have a strong, clear and focussed effort on this challenge.
"I believe AIIA can be very effective in providing positive results for each of its members when it focuses on the development and communication of economic policy to key influencers in government and through providing services that increase the connection between its members and their customers. As a member of the AIIA NSW Committee, I help ensure that this focus is maintained and the services provided by AIIA meet the expectations of the members.”
Through Interface Solutions, Charles Lindop provides research commercialisation services to industry and public sector research groups. Recent engagements include a strategic review of ICT research programs for a leading Australian university, and the development of commercialisation systems, processes and education programs for a major national research institute.
As Principal, Mainsheet Corporate, Charles leads a technology, media and communications corporate advisory practice, with a focus on strategic advisory services and mergers and acquisitions. Clients include emerging technology companies as well as larger listed technology companies.
Charles also works with the Harrington Partnership to support the needs of emerging companies for private equity finance. He is a Non-Executive Director of the NSW Enterprise Workshop, a leading volunteer group delivering business planning educational programs to CEO's and senior management teams.
Charles' previous roles include Director - Business Programs, ATP Innovations – Australia's largest technology company incubator; General Manager - Northern Region, United Customer Management Solutions (UCMS); Business Unit Manager, Hitachi Data Systems; Major Account Manager, SAP Software and Hewlett Packard; and Marketing Manager/Professional Services Manager, Unisys.
"Over the last 5 years as a committee member I have chaired the Local Industry and CollabIT groups, working to develop business opportunities for AIIA members. As a member of the Public Policy Task Force I have worked to influence state and federal industry policies to suit the needs of local ICT companies. This focus will continue for 2008, leading the AIIA's initiatives around productivity and innovation. Here the AIIA will work to highlight the important contribution the ICT sector makes to the Australian economy. Up to 70% of all productivity improvements are ICT-enabled (Australian Bureau of Statistics and Productivity Commission figures), but the strategic value of the ICT industry is rarely considered. Through this initiative we expect to drive further business development opportunities for members, and improved industry support through government policy changes."
Jon Marks has been in the IT industry for 25 years, at IBM Australia from 1978 until 1987 in various roles from finance and accounting through to sales and partner management. He spent 3 years with HiSoft in a sales management capacity followed by 8 years with Siemens Nixdorf and Siemens Business Services in general management and other senior positions both in Australia and corporate headquarters in Munich. Most recently he served with Getronics Australia as Deputy Director of Sales and Marketing. He is currently Sales Director, ANZ Global Infrastructure Services, with Unisys Australia.
"As a member of AIIA’s NSW Committee, I have been able to contribute my knowledge to the ongoing activities associated with the association’s activities in industry and business development. I have a personal desire to ‘give something back’ to the industry after 25 years working in it.
"I currently chair the Healthcare Special Interest Group, covering both the Federal and NSW Government environments, and we are working to deliver value to both the AIIA members and the healthcare market."
Over the past 20 years Patricia has held various positions in sales, services, line management, general management positions with Digital Equipment Corp, Syntegra, Unisys and Oracle Corp in Australia and Asia. Patricia is currently the Managing Director of The Distillery, which is an Australian software SME, and she is leading the company to a new phase of growth in Australia and Asia-Pacific.
"From my roles in ICT companies over the past 20 years, I have a good perspective on the Australian ICT industry in Australia and also on our position in Asia-Pacific.
"Having worked in multinationals and now a growing SME, I wish to contribute a wealth of knowledge and experience to AIIA and its member companies.
"I have been a committee member of AIIA's Victorian Committee in the past, and I have also held special AIIA taskforce positions in NSW when I was working for Oracle and Unisys. I welcome the opportunity to participate in our industry's further development."
Jeff Smoot is currently the Director - Health Solutions for Fujitsu Australia/New Zealand. He is responsible for developing and delivering Fujitsu's health strategy and building and maintaining relationships with health executives and other industry leaders and participants.
Jeff has over 15 years experience in providing products and services to the healthcare industry in Australia and Asia-Pacific. Before joining Fujitsu, Jeff was Managing Director Asia-Pacific for Cerner Corporation, a global clinical application development and implementation organisation, and was co-founder of Mosaic eCommerce Solutions, a company focused on e-procurement. Jeff has also been a member of The Executive Connection, a global organisation that engages executives with other executives to discuss business issues and provide mentoring and business experience.
"Being on the NSW Committee will allow me to contribute my experience to assist in the continuing opportunities for our industry in NSW.
"I bring to AIIA a strong understanding of business and of IT and its enabling capabilities. I also bring strong leadership qualities and experience that will continue to create relationships within the industry and the organisation and in dialogue with business, government and industry leaders. Through my actions and participation I will maintain and promote the professional reputation and experience of AIIA NSW."
Peter Strohkorb has held a number of roles within the ICT industry. In 1983 he became Managing Director, AVD Pty Ltd, and in 1993 he moved to Sony Australia to be the Consulting Engineer in its Broadcast & Professional Division. 1998 saw Peter become Business Development Manager, Imaging Division, 3M Australia. He was promoted to Principal, Chifley Consulting, in 2000.
In 2001 Peter joined Canon Information Systems Research Australia (CISRA) as its Business Manager, Solutions Division. Peter is currently National Manager, Strategic Business, Business Imaging Solutions Group (BISG) at Canon Australia.
“I have over 20 years of experience in building local and international businesses in the ICT and related sectors, both from a commercial and an R&D perspective. I wish to put my experience, my knowledge and my industry contacts to good use for AIIA, its members and the Australian ICT industry.”
Gil Thew started in the ICT industry with NCR. He then worked in sales and management for major vendors such as ICL and Wang until he took over as Managin Director of Logical Solutions, a small Apple reseller business. He built Logical into the largest Apple business in Australia, increasing revenue five-fold over 3 years. Logical was sold to Fujitsu in 1992 and Gil embarked on a series of fix-ups and start-ups. He took on chief executive jobs in a succession of companies that required various degrees of help. His experiences varied from software to services companies and he worked all sides of the channel.
In 1998 he turned his job into a business by forming Wolken Technology Management. Wolken is a firm of highly experienced associates (5 are ex-CEOs) from the ICT industry. They work exclusively in ICT and assist client companies improve their revenues, improve profitability, restructure organisations, build up channels and go to markets with new products. Wolken’s clients range from small local companies looking to make their next level of growth to overseas vendors looking to start up in Australia. The company motto is ‘turning technology into profit’.
Gil has been a NSW Committee member since 1997.
"Twenty years ago there were more than a dozen major IT vendors, all of them multinationals. Behind them was a ‘second tier’ of about 200 smaller companies that made up the industry. The industry itself was often misunderstood as a flogger of exciting, expensive but sometimes risky technology and the AIIA was perceived by many as little more than a self-interest club for the MDs of the bigger companies.”
Today, no one can deny that the ICT industry is the supplier of essential infrastructure without which the modern economy would grind to a halt. We are a major provider to growth, productivity and export earnings, but our industry is still marginalised by our governments, the media and major enterprises. The structure of our industry has also changed. Today there are only a handful of large multinationals; the ‘second tier’ in Australia has grown five-fold and there are thousands of small companies that are continually making an impact on the market and the industry as a whole. Industry members are more numerous but less powerful as individuals than the multinationals of old. The need for a peak body to represent our members and our industry is more urgent than ever before. The only organisation to take that place is the AIIA.
"The industry has given me an enormous amount and I believe it is imperative that one gives something back. I see the time spent working on AIIA issues such as industry development as being a small contribution to this exciting industry that should be seen as strategic to our day-to-day lives.”