Hani Arab, CIO, Seymour Whyte
Hani is a seasoned technology executive with over 25 years of experience in construction, asset management and media. Currently leading Seymour Whyte’s technology function, Hani is transforming its ICT services to enhance operational efficiency and support the delivery of strategic outcomes. His work includes transforming the cultural mindset and the perception of how technology can enable and empower their workforce. With a deep understanding of business and technology, Hani is passionate about using a human-centered approach to solve business challenges. Hani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Macquarie Business School and a Master’s in Information Technology Management from the University of Melbourne. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, researching how does the Cyber Security paradigm adopted by an organisation influence response capability.
Jihad Zein, Global Head of Governance, Risk & Assurance, Group IT, Toll Group
Jihad is an information technology and business transformation executive with over 20 years of international credentials in strategy development and execution, program and project management, service management, IT governance, risk and compliance. He joined Toll Group in November 2018 as the Global Head of IT Governance, Risk and Assurance. Prior to that, he spent 19 years working for Diageo where he performed different roles across different geographies based out of Dubai, Stockholm, London, Paris and moved to Sydney in 2011 as the Head of Information Systems for Diageo ANZ.
Kevin Tham, CISO, Rich Data Co
Kevin is a seasoned information security veteran and CISO leader in the Australian digital banking sector. He began his career as an academic researcher, educator, and security engineer, developing and implementing security controls. Currently, Kevin is the CISO of a fintech organization focused on innovative banking solutions. He also volunteers with the ISACA Sydney Chapter, where he served on the board for 8 years and was a former President.
Sam Mackay, CISO, NSW Department of Customer Service
Sam is responsible for protecting the information and data of NSW’s 8.3 million citizens. He leads a dedicated team of about 100 professionals working around the clock to safeguard public trust in government services. Sam’s experience ranges from defending highly sensitive military systems in international war zones to mitigating cyber risks in corporate environments. He specializes in protecting information and data against cyber threats, adversaries, and malicious actors.
Stevie-Ann Dovico, CIO, Beyond Bank Australia
Stevie is a technologist, strategist, innovator and leader in banking and financial services, where she has worked across Asia Pacific for over 17 years. She has run critical technology platforms and global teams for some of Australia’s largest organisations. Stevie has led large-scale change to deliver exceptional customer experiences and transformed digital and data capabilities across both NAB and Westpac. Stevie has a larger-than-life energy and a passion for developing people and teams. She was awarded Executive Leader of the Year 2022 by Women in Digital and CIO50 in 2024.
Leron Zinatullin, CISO, Linkly
Leron is a forward-thinking technology executive specialising in cyber strategy, management and delivery. He has led large scale, global, high value digital and security transformation programs to improve cost performance and support business strategy. Leron is also a book author, international speaker and advisor to startups helping them grow and innovate while protecting them against cyber threats.
Chirag Joshi, Founder and CISO, 7 Rules Cyber
Chirag is a globally respected cyber security leader, author, and the Founder and CISO of 7 Rules Cyber – an innovative cyber security consulting and thought leadership organisation. Chirag has experience across various industries including financial services, government, energy, consulting, healthcare, NFPs, and higher education. Chirag also serves as a National Ambassador for Critical Infrastructure ISAC Australia, advocating resilience across essential sectors.
Elena Chan, Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel, Beforepay
Elena has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Beforepay, Elena spent almost a decade at Westpac holding various business, legal, and risk roles. Elena was the Head of Group Transformation Office, the chief of staff to the Chief Strategy Officer and the Head of Business Controls for Group Data. She also headed-up the Financial Markets legal team for Westpac’s Institutional Bank for several years. Elena has also served a number of law firms and corporations in Australia and the United Kingdom, including Morgan Stanley, Simmons & Simmons, Henry Davis York (now Norton Rose Fullbright), and PwC. She has extensive experience in advising financial institutions across a full range of domains.
Paul Gladigau, CTO, Aus/NZ, Equifax
Paul Gladigau is a senior technology executive with more than 33 years’ experience delivering value-based services. Recently appointed as Chief Technology Officer at Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency, Paul is responsible for the region’s technology strategy and execution in line with regional and global strategies. He leads a team of technology employees, contractors and partners, who will deliver Equifax’s Transformation roadmap and drive operational excellence. Paul works at the forefront of technologies and techniques including agile, cloud, cyber defence, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Prior to joining Equifax, Paul was General Manager of Technology Service Management at CBA and he has previously held executive technology roles at JPMorgan, BlackRock, Barclays and IBM. Paul holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Comp Science) from UTS and an Executive MBA from AGSM.
Nicola Dorling, Group CIO, Downer
With over 25 years of experience working alongside ASX-listed companies, global multinationals, and government departments, Nicola has led strategic transformations across business, finance, and technology. As Group CIO of Downer Digital, she collaborates with clients to design and implement digital transformations. Her passion for emerging technologies, strategic vision, digital finance leadership, and operational excellence drives her to deliver exceptional outcomes for clients and strategic partners, with a focus on SAP cloud solutions.
Jeremy Hubbard, Chief Data and Technology Officer, Rest
Jeremy is responsible for charting and executing Rest’s technology, delivery and data insights strategy. His remit includes leading Rest’s functional areas of data, insights and analytics, digital architecture, software engineering, information security and strategic delivery. Jeremy has more than two decades of experience in innovation and technology roles across corporate, SME and consulting organisations. He joined the digital UBank in 2008 and was part of the bank’s executive team from 2015 to 2019. Before joining Rest he was UBank’s General Manager, Digital & Innovation. Jeremy was previously Head of IT for fintech start-up Once Australia, and worked in consultancy roles for Capgemini, Morse and Oracle Corporation. He has been the Director of two small consultancies between 2007 and 2018.
Tom Gao, Chief Technology and Digital Services Officer, City of Sydney
A senior digital and technology executive with a comprehensive background in project and line management in digital and Microsoft technology platforms. Tom has proven success in digital and application management leadership roles within large complex environments. He is a highly regarded technical director with an ability to integrate teams to deliver complex IT-enabled change projects, with skill to align and inform stakeholders at all levels.
Muhammad Usman, Head of Quantum Systems Team, CSIRO Data61
Dr Muhammad Usman is a Team Leader and Principal Staff Member at CSIRO’s Data61 which is Australia National Research Organisation. He has over 15 years of research and teaching experience in the field of quantum computing with a track-record over 100 research papers in high-impact international journals. At CSIRO, Dr Usman is leading a team of over 20 researchers working at the forefront of quantum algorithms, quantum software engineering, and quantum security. He is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics and serves on the executive editorial boards of two international journals, a committee member of Standards Australia to help in standardisation of quantum technologies and have honorary Associate Professor positions at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. Dr Usman is the chair of organising committee of International Conference on Quantum Techniques in Machine Learning 2024, has delivered numerous invited talks in international conferences and has been invited on several panel discussions at national and international meetings. His work was the Winner of the State of Victoria iAward 2024, Innovative of the Year 2023 Award by Defence Industry, Winner of the Australian Army Quantum Technology Challenge in three years in a row (2021, 2022 and 2023), Rising Stars in Computational Materials Science by Elsevier in 2020, and Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research (Early Career) at the University of Melbourne in 2019. Dr Usman is a recipient of prestigious international research fellowships from Fulbright USA (20005-2010) and DAAD Germany in 2010. Dr Usman is a passionate quantum educator and has been promoting quantum education among school children as part of the CSIRO’s STEM Scientists in Schools program.
Asaf Ahmad, NSW Cyber Security Ambassador, Investment NSW
Bio coming soon..
Andrew Webster, Global CISO, Bluescope Steel
Andrew is a Security and Technology Leader with a proven track record of more than 25 years of building and leading high-performing global teams to deliver exceptional quality security services. His expertise spans critical infrastructure protection, product engineering, enterprise security risk management, data and Al, and delivering advanced cybersecurity operations in compliance with operational, risk and regulatory requirements. Andrew has a masters in cyber security and is passionate about using his earned skillset in protecting people, and businesses.