Colin Renouf, Chief Information Security Officer, Healius
Colin is a senior cyber and cloud architecture leader with deep expertise across critical infrastructure, healthcare, defence, and government. With a background spanning CISO leadership, distributed cloud design, and advanced security architecture, he specialises in resilient cloud models, operational technology security, and AI-driven cyber threat intelligence. A published author and contributor to multiple industry texts, Colin is recognised for his work implementing AWS Outpost and Azure hybrid architectures, advising government and major enterprises on critical infrastructure resilience, and building threat intelligence capabilities that enable rapid, automated response.
Sam Mackay, Executive Director, Chief Information Security Officer, 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.
Elena Chan, General Counsel & Chief Risk Officer, Prezzee
Elena Chan is General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer at Prezzee, with more than 15 years’ experience in financial services across legal, risk and transformation leadership roles. Prior to joining Prezzee, she spent four years at Beforepay and nine years at Westpac, where she held senior positions including Head of the Group Transformation Office, Head of Data Transformation & Integration, and Head of Business Controls for Group Data.
Earlier in her career, Elena worked across leading law firms and global organisations including Morgan Stanley, PwC and Simmons & Simmons, advising financial institutions on legal, risk and compliance matters across Australia and the United Kingdom.
Nigel Hedges, Chief Information Security Officer, Chemist Warehouse
Nigel is Executive General Manager Cyber & Risk at Chemist Warehouse, providing CISO-level leadership across the enterprise. He specialises in strategy, program development, operations, and building highly engaged, capable, and resilient teams. Known for his pragmatic and collaborative approach, Nigel works closely with stakeholders across the business to strengthen security and support organisational objectives. He is a Fellow of the Australian Information Security Association (FAISA) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
James Ng, Chief Information Security Officer, Insignia Financial
With over 15 years of experience in technology and information security roles across several prominent organizations, including Telstra, Belong, Tabcorp, and Deloitte, James brings a wealth of expertise to his new role. Most recently, he served as the General Manager of Security Operations at AARNet (Australia Academic and Research Network), where he led teams in establishing cyber governance and managed a security operations centre dedicated to protecting the education and research sector, particularly Australian universities.
Arun Singh, Chief Information Security Officer, Tyro Payments
CISO at Tyro, Arun is a cybersecurity leader specialising in securing real-time payments while maintaining speed and efficiency. He leverages behavioral analytics, adaptive authentication, and real-time risk detection to build robust, trusted payment ecosystems. Singh is a strong advocate for digital identity and accountability, ensuring both security and customer confidence. His expertise spans designing and implementing cutting-edge cybersecurity controls and technologies that enable safe, seamless financial transactions.
Doug Hammond, Chief Information Security Officer, Uniting
Doug has been the Chief Information Security Officer at Uniting since arriving in Australia in 2019. Before that he headed Information Security functions at multiple organisations in New Zealand include Inland Revenue, ANZ Bank, Vodafone and Air New Zealand.
James Court, Chief Security Officer, Cleanaway
James Court is Chief Security Officer at Cleanaway Waste Management, where he leads the organisation’s security strategy across cyber, physical security and risk management. With extensive experience in enterprise security leadership, James focuses on strengthening organisational resilience, protecting critical infrastructure, and aligning security strategy with business transformation.
He brings deep expertise in cyber risk, threat management and security governance, helping organisations navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape while enabling safe and secure operations at scale.
Keith Howard, CISO & Executive General Manager, Cyber Security & Risk, Suncorp
Keith Howard was appointed Executive General Manager, Cyber Security & Risk in February 2024, leading the Cyber Security and Risk team for the Group, and is responsible for keeping the Group and its customer information safe and secure. Prior to joining Suncorp, Keith held key senior roles at Commonwealth Bank, including Group CISO, CIO Product & Marketing, General Manager Customer Engagement Platform, where he led large cross-functional teams delivering transformational change, such as the successful SAP upgrade, and delivering powerful customer experiences using machine learning. Keith has also delivered technology transformation programmes and managed global teams across multiple industries including petroleum, transport, and software, having lived in both the UK and Asia prior to moving to Australia.
Gemma Kyle, Chief Risk Officer, Rest
Gemma has over 25 years’ experience in risk management and governance across multiple industries including government, engineering and financial services. She is known for her ability to drive organisational change and achieve business objectives in complex and dynamic environments.
Prior to joining Rest, Gemma held senior positions at MLC Life Insurance, MLC Wealth, Parsons Brinkerhoff and Federal Treasury. She is a Director on the Board of the Fund Executives Association Limited.
Gemma holds a Master of Arts from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Economics, Social Science (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Simon Revelman, Chief Information Officer, Craveable Brands
Simon Revelman is Chief Information Officer at Craveable Brands, where he leads the organisation’s technology strategy, digital transformation and cybersecurity initiatives. With extensive experience across retail, communications and manufacturing sectors, Simon specialises in modernising IT environments, implementing enterprise platforms such as ERP and point-of-sale systems, and strengthening security and operational resilience.
Simon holds a Master of Technology from Swinburne University of Technology and a Bachelor of Applied Science from University of Technology Sydney. He is passionate about leveraging technology to drive innovation, improve customer experiences and enable scalable growth in complex organisations.
Maria Paz, Chief Technology Officer, Epworth Healthcare
Maria Paz is a seasoned leader with over two decades of experience driving transformative business and technology initiatives across diverse sectors. Driven by values of integrity, excellence, and collaboration, Maria is passionate about leveraging emerging technologies and data to drive business transformation. She excels in aligning business and technology strategies to maximize value delivery and is particularly adept at managing change and innovation to enhance social and community outcomes.
Maria’s accomplishments have earned her recognition, including being ranked in the top 25 of Australia’s CIO50 in 2022 and 2023. Her achievements include the development and deployment of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, delivering substantial cost savings, and driving significant improvements in governance, security, and data analytics capabilities. Maria’s leadership has also facilitated research partnerships to evaluate emerging technologies’ effectiveness in diverse care settings, securing substantial government funding in the process.
Kurt Brissett, Chief Technology & Digital Officer, Built
With more than 25 years of experience across the military, public sector and ASX-listed enterprises, he is a technology leader known for delivering large-scale, high-impact digital transformation. A former military captain with seven overseas deployments, he built his foundation in cyber security, ICT, telecommunications and mission-critical communications before transitioning to senior roles at Deloitte, Leighton Contractors and Lendlease, and now Transport for NSW. He has led major national initiatives, including Australia’s largest contactless payments system for the Opal network, next-generation digital citizen services, and the award-winning Transport Connect mobility platform. Recognised as Australia’s CIO of the Year (2024) and a Top 50 Global Government Innovator (2023), he specialises in AI- and data-enabled product strategy, large-scale digital experience design, and building high-performing teams.
Andrew Hottes, Chief Digital Information Officer, Cranbrook School
Andrew brings 25 years of ICT experience driving digital transformation and cybersecurity excellence. He led the first Australian school to achieve ISO27001 certification, setting a gold standard for information security in education. Hottes also guided a rapid shift to cloud-based learning during COVID-19, enabling seamless online education within five days. Recognised for his strategic vision, he continues to strengthen digital capabilities and security posture, protecting sensitive data while fostering innovation and operational resilience.
Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Information & Transformation Officer, HBF Health
Sanjeev leads HBF Health’s information and transformation divisions, driving digital strategies that elevate customer experience and operational performance. Known for streamlining processes and delivering impactful transformation outcomes, he combines strong commercial insight with a customer-first mindset. Alongside his corporate role, he is the Co-Founder of Potiki, an award-winning pet-insurance venture recognised for reshaping a key market gap through innovative, customer-centric design. His work across both organisations reflects a commitment to digital innovation, strategic clarity and building solutions that genuinely meet user needs.
Alexey Bocharnikov, Director & Global Emerging Technology Lead in Cyber, Macquarie Group
With over 15 years of expertise in cybersecurity strategy, risk management, quantum risk, and cryptography. He currently holds the position of APAC Quantum Security Lead and A/NZ Cyber Strategy Delivery Lead. Prior to Accenture, Alexey honed his expertise at EY, contributing to the Global Innovation Quantum Technology Lab and leading Global Quantum Security efforts. In parallel with advancing quantum security, he successfully delivered over a dozen cyber strategy projects for clients across the A/NZ region. Before EY, Alexey served as a County Information Security Officer at Deutsche Bank’s Moscow Branch. His focus was protecting business interests and infrastructure from cyber threats and balancing headquarters objectives with local branch needs. Alexey is a vocal advocate for best practices and proactive risk management in cyber strategy and quantum security.
Vishwanath Nair, General Manager Cyber & IT Risk, BaptistCare
Vishwanath is a seasoned cybersecurity and risk management leader with over 25 years of global experience. As Head of Cyber Risk & Compliance at BaptistCare, he drives agile, future-focused strategies to protect one of Australia’s most vulnerable communities. Previously, he was the inaugural CISO at the NSW Electoral Commission, establishing end-to-end cybersecurity services that safeguarded democratic integrity, earning the CSO30 Business Value Award 2024. Vish has also held leadership roles at Emirates Airlines, advancing IT and business continuity practices. A collaborative leader and multi-award winner, he actively contributes to ISACA, AISA, and BCI, mentoring future leaders and fostering high-performing teams.
Jim Marinos, Head of Security Advisory, REA Group
Jim is a Senior Security Advisor at REA Group with deep expertise across cybersecurity, data analytics, and cloud security. With a background that includes senior leadership roles at Commonwealth Bank, Jim brings a rare blend of technical depth and strategic insight spanning cyber risk analytics, IAM, KMS, certificate management, cloud automation, and security architecture. His data-focused capabilities extend across warehousing, modeling, AI/ML, big data, and enterprise analytics, enabling him to bridge the gap between security, technology, and business intelligence. Jim is recognised for his ability to translate complex security and data challenges into practical, scalable solutions that strengthen organisational resilience and support digital innovation.
Santosh Basker, Cyber Security Leader – Portfolio Operations, Macquarie Bank
Santosh Basker is a cybersecurity and technology leader with more than 25 years’ experience across banking, digital transformation and enterprise security. He currently leads Identity Transformation at Macquarie Group, where he is driving initiatives to modernise identity capabilities, strengthen privileged access controls, and advance Zero Trust and identity-mesh strategies to support secure digital growth.
Previously, Santosh held global leadership roles including Global Head of Strategy & Planning for Information and Cyber Security at Standard Chartered, where he led the development of a multi-year cybersecurity roadmap and managed a large global portfolio. He has also served as CISO at BRUCE, overseeing security operations, risk assessments, incident response and threat intelligence services.
Santosh is a certified CISM professional with a cybersecurity certificate from Harvard University and is passionate about making cybersecurity practical, scalable and effective for organisations navigating complex digital change.
Guy Lupo, Executive Vice President, AI & Data Innovation, TM Forum; AI/ML Researcher, Swinburne University of Technology
Guy Lupo, Executive Vice President – AI & Data Innovation, is responsible for driving the responsible adoption of AI and data technologies at scale. He leads the development of Open Digital Architecture (ODA) solutions to support AI- and data-native organisations, focusing on advancing real-world AI innovation, accelerating enterprise AI adoption, and enabling future-ready digital infrastructure.
With more than 30 years’ experience in senior roles across global telecoms and enterprise technology, Guy brings deep expertise in AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, cloud and networks. A TM Forum Distinguished Fellow, he was recognised for his pioneering work on Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) standards during his time at Telstra.
Daswin De Silva, Professor of AI & Analytics, La Trobe University
Daswin is Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Analytics, and Director of AI Strategy at La Trobe University, Australia. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Lulea University of Technology, Sweden. His expertise is in AI; algorithms, systems, applications, ethics. Daswin is on the editorial board of four research journals (ranked in Scopus top 10%), an invited keynote speaker, and consulted by the ABC News, Channel 7 News, AAP, The Australian, Forbes, Cosmos, Times Higher Education and The Conversation for AI expertise.
Farina Riaz, Research Scientist, CSIRO
Farina is a scientist at CSIRO Data61 and recipient of multiple awards for her outstanding contributions in Quantum Artificial Intelligence (AI). She is leading research in Cybersecurity for Quantum Generative AI. She has developed advanced quantum generative models that outperform classical methods and has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers advancing Quantum Machine Learning. She initiated and is now leading Australia’s first real-world use case of Quantum AI. Her outstanding research has led to awards including “Australia’s Most Outstanding in IT Security” (2025) and “Best in Quantum in Cyber Champion” (2024).She also serves as Quantum Women Lead with Women in AI (Australia), championing diversity, inclusion, and mentoring the next generation of women in STEM.