2019 AIIA Summit

CEO, Girl Geek Academy

Sarah Moran is CEO and co-founder of Girl Geek Academy, a movement to help inspire one million women into technology by 2025.

Sarah established Girl Geek Academy in 2014 alongside her four fellow co-founders Lisy Kane, Tammy Butow, Amanda Watts and April Staines, as a place to learn, connect and inspire change. Girl Geek Academy programs are for girls from the age of five right through to 95.

Helping inspire a generational shift in the way political leaders, schools, young girls and professional women think about and practice STEM, Girl Geek Academy has trained more than 1000 teachers in #MissMakesCode, the world’s first hackathon for girls aged five to eight. That equates to a reach of more than 10,000 students in Australia now exposed to STEM education from the age of five.

Girl Geek Academy is also behind Australia’s first all-women hackathon, #SheHacks, and Australia’s first all-women makerfest, #SheMakes. An Anthill Smart 100 finalist, it partnered with the Victorian government to deliver a hackathon tackling family violence in Australia and launched the world’s largest all-women incubator. Always innovating, this year the academy broadened its youth focus with a cyber security pop-up workshop for tweens, aged 9-13.

In 2018, Sarah won the Australian Women’s Weekly Woman of the Future award in the Entrepreneur and Business category and was awarded the QUT Young Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alumni Award. Sarah is also a finalist for Cosmopolitan Woman of the Year. In 2017 Sarah joined the panel on the Network Ten and Foxtel Lifestyle topical news show, Common Sense.

An active community contributor, Sarah works with the Leonardo group and Science Gallery Melbourne, is a member of the Victorian Minister’s Advisory Council for Gender Equality, an ambassador for Brisbane City Council’s youth program, Visible Ink, and is a member of the Future of Work Summit advisory board. She also sits on the VicHealth Youth Taskforce and is a VicHealth champion.

Ecosystem Architect – Government, Teradata

Andrew Ford is a highly experienced and successful business consultant with an extensive background in data management, advanced analytics, intelligence and information architecture. He has more than 20 years’ experience in diverse consulting and management roles across the private and public sectors This has included big data and analytics strategic planning, capability design and re-engineering, information architecture, records, digital service delivery, knowledge management and programme management, including for enterprise-wide and multi-million dollar, multi-year transformation initiatives.

Andrew has extensive experience using data-centric capabilities as a catalyst for organisational change and successfully managing, and leading teams, in the interface between business and technology. He has a solid background in big data, analytics and project methodologies. He is a clear and persuasive communicator and is adept at successfully introducing analytics architectures, tools and frameworks to support complex business processes and systems. Andrew is a recognised thought leader in big data, advanced analytics, information management, intelligence and enterprise architecture and has presented at both domestic and international seminars and conferences.

Interim National Data Commissioner, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Over the past two decades, Ms Anton has worked in the Australian Public Service with wide ranging experience in legislation, regulation, policy and program delivery, including the establishment of the Government’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), which is the primary point of contact for Australian businesses to prevent and respond to malicious activity.

Ms Anton holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours and Master of Management from the Australian National University (ANU). She has also completed the company Director Course from the Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Executive Development Program, National Security College, ANU.

Deputy Secretary Business Transformation, Department of Veterans Affairs

Charles McHardie is the Deputy Secretary of Business Transformation for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

He is responsible for the digital enabled and business led transformation of the services delivered to Veterans’ and their families under the multi-year Veteran Centric Reform Programme. He also is responsible for the department’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) functions.

He was previously the Acting Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer at the Department of Human Services. In these positions he was responsible for the delivery of ICT supporting the department’s Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support programmes, as well as managing a large portfolio of ICT projects for social services and health programmes.

Charles is a highly experienced public service and military professional with more than thirty years of knowledge in managing complex operational and ICT environments.

Prior to joining the Australian Public Service, Charles enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the Royal Australian Navy, retiring in April 2015 after 30 years of service alternating between ICT, Intelligence positions and operational postings.

Charles was deployed three times to the Middle East in Australia’s contribution to Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as well as operations in East Timor.

Charles was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2011 for services to Naval Warfare and awarded a commendation for distinguished service in 2014 for his Command of Combined Task Force 150, responsible for Coalition Maritime Counter Terrorism Operations based in Bahrain.

Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy, APAC, Salesforce

Sassoon Grigorian is a leading Corporate Affairs professional with more than a decade of experience in the technology, commerce and payments sectors. He has worked in Government, consulting, and the corporate sector. Sassoon is passionate about how technology disrupts existing business models.

Sassoon serves as Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy, APAC, Salesforce with responsibility over ANZ, ASEAN, Greater China and Japan markets. Sassoon previously served as Director of Public Policy for eBay Inc, Asia-Pacific, responsible for public policy matters surrounding commerce and payments throughout the region.

Prior to those roles, Sassoon formerly headed the Corporate Affairs function for eBay Inc. (including eBay and PayPal) for Australia and New Zealand and served on eBay’s Australia & NZ management team. Sassoon is a former Senior Government Affairs Manager for Microsoft Corporation, and was senior adviser to a former Premier and worked in the NSW Government for nearly a decade. Sassoon has served on numerous industry boards and currently serves as the Chair of the Special Interest Group on FSIs for the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA).

ISV & Next Generation Partners Lead with Microsoft Australia

Anita has many years of international experience in driving customer/partner transformation, leading high performing teams & shaping markets. She is focussed on helping Microsoft customers navigate disruptive changes by leveraging leading technologies from across the Microsoft network to deliver innovative solutions. In her current role, Anita drove the AI for Accessibility Challenge to stimulate ideas that leverage AI to empower people with disabilities from within the Australian Microsoft partner community.

Anita has worked with Microsoft since 2006 and also spent 4 years working for Cisco Systems. She has received the Microsoft Circle of Excellence Award & The Transformation Award for ‘Distinguished Recognition of Leadership’ from Cisco Systems.

Partner, Technology Law, KPMG

Kate is a Partner with KPMG Law with over 25 years of specialist experience as a data, technology and privacy lawyer. Prior to joining KPMG Law Kate was a partner in a global, US based law firm and previously a partner a top tier firm.

Kate has continually been recognised in Best Lawyers for Technology, Privacy and Data Security Law, is a member of the Association of Privacy Professionals and has recently completed advance primary training in Europe on GDPR.

She provide advice on data related issues, including the new Consumer Data Rights, open data, digital identity and privacy compliance. Kate supports her clients to introduce technologies being mindful of community expectations and the management of associated risks.

She is actively involved in KPMG’s work on Ai and Ethics and the Future AI Forum.

Chief Technology Officer IBM Watson Solutions, Asia Pacific

Dev Mookerjee is the Chief Technology Officer for IBM Watson Solutions in the Asia Pacific Region.

A frequent keynote presenter and panellist, Dev leads the most experienced Artificial Intelligence team in the Asia Pacific region. Dev and his team’s mission is to help enterprises harness the capabilities of AI to grow today and in the future.

Dev has nearly two decades experience in the Asia Pacific region as a technology leader in advanced analytics, machine learning and AI.

He has worked with clients across all the major industry sectors. Before joining the Watson team, Dev was a IBM Global Technical Ambassador on Social Media Analytics.

Dev lives in Sydney and holds a Master in IT from the University of Canberra and a Masters of Business.

Professor and the Associate Dean (Research Strategy and Management) in the Faculty of Engineering & IT at UTS

Michael Blumenstein is currently a Professor and the Associate Dean (Research Strategy and Management) in the Faculty of Engineering & IT at UTS where he recently concluded his role as Head of the School of Software. He formerly served as the Head of the School of Information and Communication Technology at Griffith University, and earlier as the Dean (Research) in the Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology Group.

Michael is a nationally and internationally recognised expert in the areas of automated Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence, and his current research interests include Marine Life and Shark Detection from Video Imagery, Document Analysis, Video-based/multi-lingual Text Detection and Signature Verification. He has published over 200 papers in refereed books, conferences and journals. His research also spans various projects applying Artificial Intelligence to the fields of Engineering, Environmental Science, Neurobiology and Coastal Management. Michael has secured internal/nationally competitive research grants to undertake these projects with funds exceeding AUD$4.5 Million. Components of his research into the predictive assessment of beach conditions have been commercialised for use by local government agencies, coastal management authorities and in commercial applications. In addition, Michael’s team has developed SharkSpotter, a world-first AI-based technology for detecting Sharks in the ocean from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The software was developed in collaboration with local company, The Ripper Group, to protect beachgoers and to save lives. It has been deployed at 14 beaches in Australia (including within New South Wales and Queensland). SharkSpotter has attracted numerous industry awards, including recent recognition at the National iAwards for the 2018 AI or Machine Learning Innovation of the Year.

Following his work in applying Artificial Intelligence to the area of bridge engineering (where he has published widely and has been awarded federal funding), he was invited to serve on the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering’s Working Commission 6 to advise on matters pertaining to Information Technology. Michael was the first Australian to be elected onto this committee. In addition, Michael is currently an elected member of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) NSW Council and is also Director of the Australian Computer Society’s Technical Advisory Board. He was previously the Chair of the Queensland Branch of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Computational Intelligence Society.

He was also the Gold Coast Chapter Convener and a Board Member of the Australian Computer Society’s Queensland Branch Executive Committee. He is a past Chairman of the IT Forum Gold Coast and a former Board Member of IT Queensland. Michael has served on the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) College of Experts on the Engineering, Mathematics and Informatics (EMI) panel. In addition, he previously served on the Executive of the Australian Council of Deans of Information and Communication Technology (ACDICT). Michael currently serves on a number of Journal Editorial Boards and has been invited to act as General Chair, Organising Chair, Program Chair and/or Committee member for numerous national/international conferences in his areas of expertise.

In 2009 Michael was named as one of Australia’s Top 10 Emerging Leaders in Innovation in the Australian’s Top 100 Emerging Leaders Series supported by Microsoft. Michael is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society and a Senior Member of the IEEE.

CEO, The Ripper Group International

Ben is the Chief Executive Officer for The Ripper Group International, Home of Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver, operating unmanned aircraft in both Humanitarian and Search and Rescue Response and the evolving commercial UAV Industry Boom. The Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver team successfully conducted the worlds first drone ocean rescue in January 2018 in partnership with Surf Lifesaving.

The Ripper Group, in cooperation with University of Technology Sydney have developed the World Renowned SharkSpotter AI algorithm based detection, specifically targeted at sharks, now capable of identifying some 19 marine based objects and marine life.

For over 10 years Ben has been actively involved in manned and unmanned aviation operations for search and rescue, disaster and emergency response and EMS. As a senior NVG and winch operator qualified Helicopter Rescue and EMS aircrewman, he has a BSc and holds a Certificate IV in Aviation (Aircrewman) with over 2200 operational flight hours, and has undertaken numerous emergency missions, saving many lives.

CEO, Trellis Data

As the CEO of Trellis Data, Michael leads the Australian AI expert company in bringing global leading AI techniques to Australia. This includes building AI solutions for a number of Government Departments, including the Department of Jobs and Small Business, Department of Defence and Airservices Australia. Michael believes the strength of AI is in delivering improved outcomes for Government, not just technology. This includes reducing dependency on welfare, reducing energy prices, improving health and aged care outcomes, increasing the safety and efficiency of Australian airports, as well as increasing Australia’s Defence, Border Force and Intelligence capabilities.

Michael brings with him over two decades of technology experience, including senior levels within industry and Government across a broad set of technology domains. This includes leading Strategy and Data capabilities for Federal Government, management consulting, enterprise architecture and several years building advanced machine learning solutions. Michael’s education includes completing a bachelor of IT at the University of Canberra and an Executive MBA with the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM).

Co-Founder and Partner, Silverstone Edge

Melanie is co-founder and Partner of Silverstone Edge, a transformation consulting company with a focus on translating human capital and technology capability into business benefits. As a transformation consultant, Melanie combines large scale program management with behavioural sciences and design thinking, to accelerate transformation in large and small projects. She has a focus on the mindset, behaviours and culture required by large organisations to leverage new technologies and to build organisational capability.

Melanie has extensive Australian and international management, human resource, consulting and IT leadership experience incorporating strategy, business and IT transformation and digital capability development. As a leader of consulting businesses for over 20 years, Melanie has worked extensively with clients in the public sector and financial services. She has lead significant change programs in complex multi-stakeholder environments and is a skilled facilitator and communicator at executive level.

Human Scientist, ANU

Amy McLennan is a human scientist working at the intersections of technology, society and wellbeing. She is a Research Fellow at the 3A Institute, Australian National University and a Research Affiliate with the School of Anthropology at the University of Oxford.

She is trained in biomedicine and medical anthropology, and has experience working in the private and policy sectors, including with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Partner Cognitive Process Transformation, IBM

Leanne (Lee) Ward is the IBM Partner responsible for Cognitive Process Transformation working with customers to deploy cognitive solutions that address business challenges and create new insights. Services include business process re-engineering and services, data analytics, IoT and Artificial Intelligence solutions including IBM’s Watson.

Lee has a substantial background in running very significant P&Ls and major transformation and change programs. She has led groups from small professional teams through to large organisations and her attention to customer satisfaction and retention is second to none.

Lee has worked across many industry sectors including Federal and State Government and Infrastructure, Finance and Banking, IT&T, maintenance and facilities management and commercial small business.

She is a long-term lobbyist for Diversity and Inclusion in business in both a corporate and voluntary capacity and has led several programs to improve diversity in the workplace. She has been a voluntary executive coach with Menttium (a US NFP) for 13 years aimed at development of women in Asia Pacific, including emerging economies. As such she has exceptional skills in coaching, developing others and cultural sensitivity.

She was the Chairman for the Unisys Australia Superannuation Committee for 7 years during and post the Global Financial Crisis and Vice Chairman for Integricare NSW – a NFP in the children’s services sector.

Lee has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematical Computing from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia and an MBA majoring in Human Resources from the University of New England, Australia and is currently completing a Doctorate in Business Leadership exploring ethics in emerging and new technologies and the development of courageous followers in organizations.

Human Resources Executive, Cenitex

Cath Proud is an experienced Human Resources Executive with a strong focus on organisational culture and change for Victorian Government public sector entities. Cath joined Cenitex as a member of the Executive Team reporting to the Chief Executive in 2014.

The digital landscape is evolving rapidly, As the Victorian Government provider of shared ICT infrastructure and custodian of critical ICT assets, Cenitex is implementing a major technological program to ensure we meet the needs of our customers. To achieve this, Cenitex is undergoing significant cultural and structural change to build a high performing and engaged organisation that focusses on our customers’ outcomes and our employees take personal responsibility for the experience they deliver to our customers.

KPMG

Director of Cyber Physical Systems

Sue Keay is Research Director, for Cyber Physical Systems. Sue set up the world’s first robotic vision research centre. Last year, she developed Australia’s first Robotics Roadmap highlighting how advances in robotics (and AI) will impact on every sector of the Australian economy.
With a PhD in Geoscience and an MBA, Sue has interests in entrepreneurship and disruptive technologies, and started QUT’s social robotics program.

She serves on the Board of the CRC for Optimising Resource Extraction and the Expert Advisory Panel of Queensland.AI.

Sue has been recognised as one of RoboHub’s 2018 ‘Women in Robotics you need to know about’, as one of Queensland’s most influential people (Courier Mail’s Power 100), as a Superstar of STEM (Science and Technology Australia), and is responsible for bringing the Grace Hopper Celebration to Australia.

Chief Technologist and Head of Software Professional Services, ANZ, Micro Focus

Aaron Bernays originally started out developing ITSM solutions to support organisational ITIL processes. This then progressed into designing corporate IT management solutions to not only support IT business, but to also drive service quality and staff efficiency with a reduction in risk to the business.

In his current role as a Chief Technologist and the Head of the Micro Focus Professional services business unit in Australia & New Zealand, Aaron works closely with clients to design solu-tions to address business issues, helping customers to perform better and drive true value from their IT investments. This is ac-complished by ensuring they undertake a holistic approach to driving business value through the IT4IT reference architecture, underpinned by tools and products to support their desired out-comes.

What really motivates Aaron is working with people to improve service delivery and operational efficiencies. He enjoys taking on problem areas and finding ways to improve service quality and reduce risk. What sets him apart from others is his ability to en-gage with a business, understand what areas are affecting the quality of service they provide and to define solutions to assist and improve their service delivery.

Aaron’s strengths help organisations to effectively managing their IT investments, reduce their operational budget and improve the quality of services provided to their business customers.