Adam Spencer, Drawcard MC
A math genius, radio and television presenter, author and TEDx speaker whose talk attracted over two million views, Adam has interviewed bestselling authors, astronauts, CEOs, and CIOs of some of the world’s largest companies, winners of Nobel Prizes, and every Prime Minister on-stage since Gough Whitlam, among others.
Adam Spencer has been a breakfast radio announcer on Triple J and ABC Sydney, TV personality on everything from comedies Good News Week and The Glasshouse to weekly sports wrap The Back Page, and is a member of the Sleek Geeks Science Team with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki.
David Walker, Group Chief Technology Officer, Westpac Group
David Walker joined as Westpac Group’s Chief Technology Officer in 2019. David commenced his technology career in 1987 as an engineer, coding systems for various Australian based companies. After a decade of evolving his software engineering craft, David founded a consultancy specialising in the use of data, in what is now known as data science. For the last 15 years, David has been in large, complex organisations. He worked in ANZ across a number of executive roles, in both Australia and Singapore. It was in Singapore where David subsequently joined DBS, which transformed from a traditional bricks and mortar bank to be recognised as the Best Bank in the World and the Best Digital Bank in the World by Euromoney.
Leonie Valentine, Chair, AOMedia (Former Chief AI Officer at Regional AI Network & MD at leading companies including Google, Australia Post & Telstra
Leonie Valentine is a distinguished executive with extensive experience in technology and telecommunications and is the Chair of AOMedia a computer vision and AI enabled digital media company. She was previously with the Australian Regional AI Network and has held c-level executive leadership positions at Telstra, Google and Australia Post. Leonie is a digital industry leader with 30 years’ experience in general management, sales, marketing and operations, including 20 years in digital technology and telecommunications. Over the years Leonie has been an active member of a number of boards including Not For Profits and ASX-listed Pro-Pac Packaging Ltd. She currently serves as a board member for Save the Children Australia.
Chris Fechner, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Transformation Agency
Before joining the Australian Public Service, Chris was the Queensland Government Chief Customer and Digital Officer throughout 2020 and 2021. Chris was previously the Chief Digital and Product Officer at Service NSW. Prior to that, Chris held a number of senior positions across the NSW and Queensland governments as well as in freight and rail organisations. As CEO, Chris is responsible for leading the DTA to ensure it delivers on the Government’s digital transformation agenda, in accordance with the agency’s executive order and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. Chris is also the Head of the Digital Profession; he started his two-year term in January 2023.
Su Jella, Executive & Board Member, Womens Tennis Foundtation & Winner of Women in AI 2025 APAC
Su is a visionary leader who harnesses the power of data and AI to drive innovation and transform challenges into enlightening journeys of discovery. Her work fuels smarter business decisions and catalyzes transformative growth in top-tier organizations. Recognized globally for her contributions, Su has received numerous prestigious awards, including being named among the Global Top 100 Innovators in Data and Analytics, winning the Women in AI (Asia Pacific) award, and being listed as one of the Top 25 Leaders in Australia.
Martin Granell, Domain Lead for Generative AI, Commonwealth Bank
At CBA, Martin is responsible for enabling the safe and effective use of Generative AI across the group. This domain will develop tools, platforms and frameworks to power Generative AI based solutions supporting more personalised experiences for our customers and our people. We bring a customer first mindset into every decision; every day, whilst taking a holistic change management approach to drive organisational adoption.
Dr Greg Adamson has worked in cybersecurity since 1993. Greg is also the chair of IEEE Meta Issues in Cyber Security, Board member of the Australasian Cyber Law Institute, and Technical Activities VP in IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. He has tertiary qualifications in engineering, IT and law, and a PhD in Internet e-business. He is a published researcher on shortcomings of explainable AI and is an honorary associate professor at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
Michelle Fitzgerald, Group Chief Digital Officer, St Vincent's Health Australia
Michelle leads the digital innovation and tech agenda for St Vincent’s Health Australia. Michelle is recognised as a high performing digital strategy executive and non-executive director with a proven track record in leading and governing strategy, design, testing and implementation of high impact, customer-led change in purpose-driven organisations that operate in disruptive environments. Michelle balances strategic foresight and vision with practical implementation, builds high performing teams, and has been recognised as a leading digital innovator in Australian government and industry.
Doug English, Founder & CTO, Culture Amp
Doug is a seasoned technology leader and entrepreneur with a distinguished career spanning over two decades. As the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Culture Amp, Doug has played an instrumental role in building Culture Amp into the world’s leading employee experience platform, revolutionizing how over 25 million employees across more than 6,500 companies create a better world of work. Since the company’s inception in 2010, he has steered its technical vision, first as Vice President of Engineering and later as CTO, fostering innovation and scaling its engineering capabilities to meet the demands of a global customer base. Under Doug’s technical leadership, Culture Amp has become a trusted partner to thousands of organisations, empowering them to create high-performing, people-first workplaces. His forward-thinking approach to technology and commitment to building collaborative teams have been central to the company’s success. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Doug is passionate about leveraging technology to enhance organisational culture and drive meaningful change. In addition to his work at Culture Amp, Doug serves as a Board Member for The Startup Network, a position he has held since March 2024, contributing his expertise to support the growth of emerging ventures.
Priyanka Paranagama, Chief Technology Officer & EGM, AI Transformation, Suncorp Group
Priyanka leads the development and activation of Suncorp’s technology strategy, in alignment with the business strategy, priorities and customer objectives. He also leads formulation of Suncorp’s AI, advanced analytics and data strategies and is accountable for delivering AI-enabled operational transformation across the enterprise. Priyanka has over 25 years’ experience as a Data and Technology leader working across a number of industries, organisations and roles. He has led data and analytics strategies and transformation programs in many large institutions in financial services and the public sector. Prior to joining Suncorp, Priyanka held a Partnership at Ernst & Young Australia. Previously, he has been a Partner at IBM Global Business Services, and held leadership positions at National Australia Bank (where he was NAB’s first ‘head of data’), ANZ Banking Group (Divisional CIO for Corporate Centre) and Ansett/Traveland (CIO, Traveland, Australia’s largest travel agency at the time).
Craig Rowlands, The General Manager Enterprise Data, Australian Unity
Craig’s role is to provide thought leadership, expertise in supplying pragmatic business focussed data, analytics, AI and automation solutions. Whilst leading highly skilled teams to deliver on Australian Unity’s strategic aim of delivering Real Wellbeing for Members, their communities and broader Australian society. As General Manager Enterprise Data & Analytics, Craig is the ultimate custodian of data strategy, governance, AI and capability for Australian Unity. This group wide role harnesses the power of advances in AI, data analytics and automation to deliver enterprise-wide digital and data ambitions and responsible for monetising and exploiting the information assets of Australian Unity. Craig worked for blue chip banking and finance industry leaders such as Barclays, First Direct, GE and Hbos in the UK. His first role in Australia was with ANZ as Head of Decision Systems. Craig has also held senior data roles at Bupa, Medibank, and Latitude Financial Services (formally GE) where he led large teams responsible for data strategy & design, data governance, data visualisation, data operations, data engineering and analytics.
Eloise Leaver, Industry Program Manager, National AI Centre
Eloise Leaver is an AI Industry Program Manager at the National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC), part of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. In her role, Eloise is committed to advancing Australia’s AI ecosystem by designing and delivering industry-facing programs that drive capability development and collaboration. She has a strong background in working with startups, having supported early-stage businesses across various sectors to innovate, scale, and succeed. Eloise’s experience and passion for entrepreneurship underpin her work in building connections and fostering growth within the AI industry.
Andre Bertrand, Chief Information Security Officer, Transurban
Andre Bertrand has 22 years of technology experience with a number of cyber and information security and risk management roles. Currently Andre is the Chief Information Security Officer at Transurban where he has created a global Cyber capability and delivered risk outcomes. Previously he has held leadership positions in international digital, finance, technology and media organisations. Andre has experience creating world class, engaged teams to deliver complex cyber risk management programmes that adapt to changing regulatory, business model, risk and threat challenges.
Damian Beltrami, Chief Information Officer, Toll Group
Damian is an experienced, strategic technologist and leader with a proven track-record in management, strategy & architecture, large-scale program delivery, new technology adoption, organisational transformation, and operational excellence.With 30 years’ experience in Financial Services, Consulting and Technology Damian brings a wealth of experience in building, transforming and leading high performing technology organisations.
Arul Arogyanathan, Chief Information Officer, Village Roadshow Group
Since stepping into the role of Group CIO in September 2021, Arul Arogyanathan has spearheaded Village Roadshow’s transformation into a modern, digital-first entertainment company. His strategy has tightly aligned technology with business priorities—enhancing guest experiences, boosting employee satisfaction, growing customer loyalty, and driving innovation and efficiency. A comprehensive review of customer journeys and internal processes led to a bold digital roadmap, removing friction points and enabling seamless, scalable service delivery. Arul was named a top CIO in 2024.
Sinan Erbay, Chief Information Officer, RMIT University
A highly regarded Technology Executive with more than 25 years of experience, Sinan is an innovative and goal-oriented leader with a record of accomplishment in establishing advanced technology strategies in large scale business environments. A proven IT Executive driving results across the entire enterprise, Sinan aligns performance for success leading to improved quality, capability and risk reduction. Sinan has Technology and Business experience which spans industry sectors: Insurance, IT Outsourcing, Retail, Financial Services and Education to name a few. Enjoying fast paced environments, Sinan is highly experienced in leading sourcing strategy, transforming IT services and building teams for the future. Sinan’s skills cover IT Strategy, architecture, program and people management, service delivery and commercial negotiations. He has proven experience on both applications and infrastructure architecture, leading teams of 500+ across geographical and multicultural environments.
Simon Bush, CEO, AIIA
Simon represents both global and local companies to federal and state governments and media. Appointed to numerous government policy and industry advisory roles including the current Government AI Experts Advisory Committee that has developed the AI guardrails and proposed new laws for Australia. Simon has led major policy reforms in Australia driving legislative and regulatory changes in the digital, media and tech sectors on issues such as: tech skills, cyber security, sovereign procurement, AI, Quantum, R&D and tax policy, privacy law, copyright law and industry policy. He has authored major white papers that have generated significant policy changes and investments by governments. Prior to the AIIA, Simon ran his own successful business advisory practice for 20 years advising some of the world’s largest tech companies on how to grow their government business winning major procurements worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Clients included SAP, Accenture, Fujitsu, Telstra, Google among others. Simon was also CEO of the Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association (AHEDA) representing the Australian home entertainment film and TV industry in a part-time capacity. Members included Disney, Sony, Roadshow, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Foxtel, Telstra and Fox. Simon started his career as a senior adviser to a federal cabinet minister and 3 years working for Accenture helping grow its public sector consulting business in Australia driving major transformation deals and head of public affairs for AN/Z.
Surge Singh, Co-Founder & CEO, Locumate.ai
Surge is the Co-Founder and CEO of Locumate.ai, a workforce technology platform using AI to transform how organisations manage on-demand talent. Under his leadership, Locumate was named one of Australia’s Top 100 Innovators in 2024. With a background in HR tech, Surge has led the company’s expansion across Australia and the US, and is passionate about ethical AI, digital transformation, and building technology that solves real human problems.
Samir Shah, ICT Business Services Executive, Rinnai Australia
Samir Shah is the ICT Business Services Manager at Rinnai Australia, bringing over 25 years of experience in technology leadership and business transformation. Throughout his career, Samir has led digital initiatives that drive operational efficiency and sustainable growth, with a strong track record of managing large ERP and analytics projects. He is deeply passionate about innovation and the adoption of AI, consistently focusing on how advanced technologies can deliver measurable business outcomes and enhance decision-making. Samir’s expertise positions him as a driving force behind Rinnai’s evolution as an industry leader in smart, technology-enabled solutions.
David Siroky, Chief Technology Officer - AI, Cisco
David brings the latest insights from leading edge AI deployments across the region, along with learnings from Cisco’s internal AI usage which spans over 1000 GPUs and multiple cloud providers – to clients to help align solutions with business strategy, and unlock the full potential of AI. Previously – David built and lead the Dell APJ team focused on Generative AI, HPC and Data Analytics. His team designed some of the largest AI systems in the APJ region, ran organization wide AI transformation and upskilling programs. At Microsoft David was Director of product management & marketing at Microsoft – leading multiple product cycles from engineering spec to market introduction. David has a background in computer science, market research, analyst relations, economics, and public relations.
Jonathan Butow, Head of AI & Innovation, SAS
Jonathan is a seasoned analytics expert with over a decade of hands-on experience in data science. Armed with a master’s degree in science, he thrives at the intersection of innovation and digital transformation. His passion lies in harnessing real-time streaming analytics to create impactful solutions—driven by a commitment to address challenges of national and global scale.
Joe Locandro, Executive Vice President & Global Chief Information Officer, Rimini Street
Joe leads Rimini Street’s mission-critical IT operations and drives strategic innovation across its global application landscape. With more than 25 years of experience as a transformative technology leader, he has held senior executive roles including CTO, CIO, CDO, and Chief Transformation Officer across industries as diverse as aviation, energy, manufacturing, utilities, and construction. His impressive career includes leadership at global powerhouses such as Emirates Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Fletcher Building, and China Light & Power. Renowned for his ability to lead in complex, multicultural environments across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and China, Joe fosters a collaborative culture that unites people and purpose. His passion lies in unlocking business value through emerging technologies and delivering measurable impact through innovation, agility, and transformation. Beyond the corporate sphere, he lends his insights to advisory boards for governments, universities, and regulatory bodies—bringing vision, strategic clarity, and a future-forward mindset to every challenge he tackles.
Gary Crosby, Founder & Lead Architect, Intelligent Pathways
Gary is a technology leader with over 25 years’ experience in IT design and development, including 7 years with multinational organisations across the UK, US, and India. He specialises in integration, AI, and large-scale solutions that help organisations navigate complex technology landscapes with clarity and purpose. Since founding Intelligent Pathways in 2003, Gary has delivered impactful solutions across a range of sectors including aviation, environmental management, fleet, construction, health, emergency services, and education, streamlining operations and building resilience. With deep expertise in integration and emerging technologies, he bridges business needs with technical execution. As a strategist and solution architect, he makes complexity accessible and ensures systems function seamlessly to deliver lasting impac.
Bianca Pickett, Senior Strategy Executive, Cenitex
Bianca leads the Strategy, Engagement, and Design team with a clear mission: to empower Victorian Government departments to harness the transformative potential of technologies such as AI and data analytics automate large, complex problems. Bianca has deep expertise in technology, business strategy, and leadership. She has held pivotal roles across IT, Government, and Professional Services, excelling as a Head of Department, CXO, and Strategic Leader. With a consultancy foundation, Bianca specialises in driving business growth, building resilient teams, and delivering impactful results. Her leadership has been instrumental in developing Whole of Victorian Government (WoVG) solutions, including a Data Platform in Snowflake and a safe, secure closed-loop AI platform.
Thuy Lam,CEO & Founder, Blackbook.AI
Thuy is the founder and CEO of Blackbook AI, one of the first Australian-owned global AI consulting companies with a presence in Asia Pacific and North America. He is passionate about growing local talent in the communities where Blackbook has established operations, ensuring delivery is driven locally. Last year, he launched Australia’s first agentic AI platform, a testament to Blackbook’s seven-year journey of combining AI, automation, digital and data to solve and automate large, complex problems.
Nathan Smith, Head of Security APAC, Splunk
As Splunk’s Head of Security (APAC) Nathan Smith leads a team of Security Advisors across APAC, dedicated to helping organisations in the public and private sectors address Security Operations challenges with the ever evolving threat landscape. Working with organisations on modernising Security operations, elevating Cyber Defense and response capabilities with the goal of achieving an elevated level of Cyber and Digital resilience..
David Irecki, Chief Technology Officer, APJ, Boomi
David leads the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region’s efforts in advocating and evangelizing the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in business with intelligent integration and automation. He is instrumental in helping organizations across the APJ region thrive in the digital age and on their AI journeys. David leads a team of pre-sales professionals across APJ. Under his leadership, his team helps customers transform their business by solving integration and data management challenges. David is an IT veteran with over 20 years of experience in the enterprise integration and embedded computing markets. David joined Boomi in June 2015 as the first Solutions Consultant in APJ. Prior to Boomi, David worked for MuleSoft, where he led the APJ Solutions Consulting team.
Nikolai Blackie, Principal Architect & Co-Founder, Adaptiv
Nikolai is a highly respected integration authority and specialised cloud architect. As a co-founder of Adaptiv in 2010, he has been instrumental in shaping the company’s vision for cutting-edge integration and cloud solutions across Australia and New Zealand. With deep expertise in designing and delivering tailored enterprise integrations, Nikolai has made a lasting impact across industries such as finance, education, FMCG, manufacturing/distribution, and non-profits. As Principal Architect, he leads enterprise clients in defining integration strategies, setting technical standards, and implementing best practices to drive efficiency and scalability. With over a decade of hands-on experience in enterprise-scale web application integration and SaaS solutions, Nikolai combines technical excellence with strategic insight—helping organisations future-proof their digital ecosystems.
Richard Davies,Regional Lead ANZ, Airia
Richard has spent the last 15+ years providing transformative technologies to clients across APAC. With a passion for emerging or disruptive technologies and start-ups looking to expand into the region, he previously served as the ANZ Regional Vice President at Lacework before it’s acquisition to Fortinet. In his current role, he is tasked with building the GTM team and strategy across the ANZ region for Airia, a leading enterprise AI management platform.
Lee Naidoo, Head of Solution Architecture, Outsystems
A solution architect at heart, Lee helps customers design and implement scalable, high-performance applications. With deep expertise in low-code development, he partners with organisations to modernise legacy systems, streamline operations, and accelerate digital transformation—ensuring customers maximize the platform’s capabilities for faster development and long-term success. Drawing on his extensive expertise in platform innovation, Lee advises organisations on harnessing AI-driven low-code solutions to accelerate time-to-value and seamlessly integrate intelligent agents that enhance business workflows.
Angelo Joseph, Head of ANZ Cloud Engineering, Oracle
Angelo leads the Cloud Engineering team for Oracle Cloud for business, government and education in Australia and New Zealand. Angelo brings more than two decades of experience in the IT industry and has been on the forefront of adoption of new IT such as Java, Networking, Thin Clients, Security & Identity Management to Cloud. Before Oracle, Angelo held leadership and presales positions at IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Google.
Peter Graves, Area Vice President, Australia & New Zealand, UiPath
Peter Graves leads the UiPath Australia and New Zealand customer engagement and sales strategy by raising awareness about how UiPath can help businesses achieve enhanced efficiencies, productivity, and innovation in their operations using agentic automation. Peter is a growth-oriented enterprise sales leader with more than 20 years of experience in SaaS, software development, digital media and consulting across ANZ and the Asia Pacific region. Formerly the Regional Vice President for Enterprise Salesforce Marketing Cloud with Salesforce, he has extensive experience in managing, scaling and enabling high growth teams with a focus on customer success, developing a high-performance culture and embedding process efficiencies.
Rafael Garcia-Krailing (Raf), Chief Operating Officer, AutogenAI
Raf leads the Asia-Pacific region for one of the world’s fastest-growing AI companies, transforming how major organisations write bids and proposals. With a career spanning more than a decade across the health, education, infrastructure, and tech sectors, Raf has delivered large-scale transformation programs, operational turnarounds, and commercial growth initiatives in both the public and private sectors. Previously, Raf played a key role in AutogenAI’s global expansion — helping to launch operations in the Americas and Australia. Prior to this, he led and exited UK Education Guide, acquired by MTM Consulting in 2023. He has overseen capital programs exceeding £300 million, including serving as a university governor during the £330M redevelopment of Waterside Campus in Northampton — one of the UK’s largest education infrastructure projects. Raf holds an MSc in International Business from Warwick Business School, a PRINCE2 Practitioner certification, and has been recognised internationally for his leadership in sustainability and innovation.
Peter Kokkinos, Vice President & Managing Director, Udemy
Peter heads up Udemy, an AI-powered skills development platform designed for both individuals and organisations. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the learning industry, including over 18 years in sales leadership. He is widely recognised as a thought leader in enterprise learning and skills development across the APAC region and has been featured in prominent media discussing topics such as workforce transformation, upskilling, and the future of learning.