Ian Dennis FACS

Chairman

Ian Dennis has served the IT industry for thirty-eight years, in his roles as a software developer, software company and consulting company director, and through his various honorary positions.

 

He was awarded an Australian Design Award for software in 1987 and was made a Life Member of the Software and Services Industry Federation in 1989 for his services to industry.   He served continuously on Federal or State boards of   Information Technology   trade bodies from 1981 to 1996, including serving as President of both the Australian Software Houses Associations and the Software and Services Industry Federation,   and a Director of the AIIA,   and was one of the Australian founders of the regional trade association ASOCIO (Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation).  

In 1990 he was elected a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

In 1993 he was awarded the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia - Microsoft Excel Award.

In 1997 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, and elected an honorary Fellow of the Australian Computer Society for significant contributions to the Australian information technology industry.

In 1998 he founded, and continues to chair, the Pearcey Foundation.

Ian is also a member of the Roster of Experts in Technical Consultancy Services, United Nations approved International Trade consultant (UNCTAD/GATT) International Trade Centre, and a Registered Expert in Information Technology, Research Directorate DGXII, European Commission.

 

He is Managing Director of Whitehorse Strategic Group Limited, a consulting company specialising in IT and innovative industry policy and strategy, and the publishers of the Whitehorse "Top 250" regular analysis and reports on the Australian ICT industry.

Email  ian.dennis@whitehorsestrategic.com

Richard Hogg MACS HLM

Vice Chairman

Chairman Advocacy Committee

Richard Hogg has served the IT industry for the past 40 years and has held a wide variety of positions. Having been active in the Australian Computer Society for more than 20 years, he has previously held the position of National President, Branch Chairman, Branch Vice-Chairman and Branch Committee during this period.

‘Although there is a view that those who have held such positions should be seen and not heard, i.e. marked “not to be recycled”, I believe that I can still offer something to the Victorian Branch Members’  explained Mr Hogg, during his election presentation.

By working closely with educational bodies, Richard has vowed to continue to work to pursue issues facing the development of the ICT Industry in Victoria, such as raising the standard and awareness of ICT in schools and therefore, raising the awareness of the career potential of ICT.

Richard believes the IT Industry is the best industry to be involved in. It’s diverse, it’s challenging, and jobs are secure, as without it, Australia’s doesn’t have an economic chance. And the best thing is, once you think you know it all, there are always new technologies emerging.

Being involved with the Australian Computer Society gives me the opportunity to ensure the future of this exciting industry and help shape the economic future of Australia’s ICT industry.

Email  richardhogg@ozemail.com.au

Chris Avram FACS
Branch Secretary

After graduating BSc with first class honours from Monash in 1973 and undertaking graduate studies in 1974, Chris joined the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission as a Computer Systems Officer. He left government service and returned to academia in 1988 as a computer technology lecturer at Chisolm Institute of Technology (now a part of Monash University). Chris retired from Monash University in 2006, having served as a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Computer Technology and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Information Technology. Chris is currently an Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of IT at Monash University.

Chris became a member of the ACS in 1979 and joined the BEC in 1998. In 2006 he became the Director of the ACS National Technical Board in Computer Systems and Software Engineering. He developed the web based teaching material for the ACS Certification Program elective subject Data Communications 2 and has managed and examined both Data Communications 1 and 2 for six years. He has organised professional development seminars in the area of database management. Chris is involved in government liaison, academic liaison and is a member of the Professional Development sub-committee.  Chris was ACS National Vice President for 2004 and 2005.

Email Chris.Avram@infotech.monash.edu.au

Denis Street FACS
Treasurer

Chairman Administration Committee

Denis works with Nolan, Norton & Co., an IT Strategy firm of KPMG Consulting, specialising in IT strategic sourcing and Governance. Prior to that he served as a specialist IT and communications engineer in the Royal Australian Air Force.

Denis has been involved with the ACS for many years at both Branch and National level. He joined the Society in 1982 and is a member of the Membership, Finance and Marketing sub-committees and has been Branch Treasurer since 2004.

Email denis@acslink.net.au

Wayne Moncur MACS(Snr.) CPA
Immediate Past Chairman

Wayne has a degree in Business Studies and has worked in the IT Industry for over 25 years. Starting out as a microfiche operator, he has worked in many roles, both in permanent and contract positions. At last count he had programmed in over 25 languages over micro, mid-range and mainframe computers.

Currently Wayne is a Data Warehouse Specialist and works on contract to select companies. In addition to his involvement in the computer industry Wayne is involved in martial arts, holding black belts in both Judo and Jujitsu.

Wayne joined the BEC in 1995 and has been a member of the ACS since 1986. He was the Honorary Treasurer for six years, Vice Chair in 2003 and 2004 and Branch Chair for the past three years. He is a member of the Branch Finance and Marketing Sub-Committees and the Victorian representative on National Council and a member of the Discipline Committee and Deputy Director of National Membership Lifecycle Board.

Email wmoncur@acslink.net.au

Andrew Parbury MACS

Chairman Communication Committee

Andrew has worked in a range of roles, from operations through to IT management and project management. More recently he has specialised in project quality assurance and risk management. Andrew has experience in many industries, including insurance, banking, retail, utilities, mining, telecommunications and higher education. He is currently involved in projects that focus on improving business processes throught the implementation of ERP systems.

Andrew's membership of ACS goes back to 1968, and he joined the BEC in 2000. Andrew sits on the Professional Development sub-committee and the IT Quality SIG committee.

Email aparbury@bigpond.net.au

Basil Vujacic MACS

Chairman Professional Development Committee

With over 25 years experience in the IT field, of which 11 years have been in technical testing, Basil has in-depth knowledge and experience in software testing, project management, system integration, commercial and scientific software development, and networking. Basil’s experience includes volume and performance testing, automation of regression and functional testing, local recovery process, sociability, system, integration testing,  and security testing  for some of the largest IT projects in Australia and overseas.

A founding member of the Mercury Interactive Australia User group, he is a Mercury Strategic Partner and a Mercury  Certified Product Specialist.

Basil is also a director of Qtest Pty Ltd, the recruiting agency specializing  in placements of IT testing professionals.

After re-election to the BEC, he has been promoted to Chairman of the ACS Victorian Professional Development Committee. As a Convenor of the ACS E-Commerce Special Interest Group since early 2000, he has been engaged in organising regular monthly E-Commerce presentations, panel discussions and conferences for the Victorian E-Commerce community.

Email basil_vujacic@acslink.net.au

 Simon David M.Sc (MIS), MACS (Snr.), MBCS, CITP, PMP 

With over twenty-five years of extensive experience in Information Technology (IT). Started career with application development i.e. Programming which followed the IT career path to Analyst, Project Leader, Senior Consultant, and Project Management/Director.

 

Been a member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) since 1980 and the British Computer Society since 1976. With the ACS I have been involved with Office Automation Association Australia (OAAA), National Office System Committee and more recently with the Contractors and Consultants SIG (CCSIG) as a committee member and lately as a Convenor. I have also been involved with Focus User Groups as committee member, conference organiser and President.

Started my working career with Plessey UK, and then worked at SECV, and National Mutual on a fulltime basis. I have been contracting through my own company, Destina Computer Consultants.   My contracts have taken me through a number of Vic. Govt. Agencies (i.e. DHS, DTF, DPC, DOI, DOJ, and DSE), Classified Computing, Yarra Valley Water, Telstra, ANZ, HealthSMART, CA and EDS. 

Simon holds a Master of Science in Management Information Systems, also a Graduate Diploma in Computer Science and Higher National Diploma in Computer Studies. He is also a Certified PMP with the Project Management Institute.

Email destina2@optusnet.com.au

 Ian Wells FACSnr)

Ian has had extensive line, consulting, and senior management experience in large and medium scale IT environments over a diverse range of industries and companies during the last thirty years.

Ian has developed innovative strategies to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness in IT service delivery for businesses.   Within this context, he has directed and managed the outsourcing and contractual arrangements for major corporates; managed large-scale IT operational environments; managed large teams of staff, and directed multiple concurrent IT projects. He has also been responsible for the development and delivery of both short and long term strategic plans and change in large and complex environments.

Ian has been an ACS member since 1982 and joined the BEC at the beginning of 2005. He has an MBA and is currently studying for a doctorate.

 

Email  ianwells@acslink.net.au

Nemir Raffoul MACS PCP

Nemir began his career by undertaking and completing a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science from RMIT University.   Upon completion Nemir went on to complete multiple industry standard certifications that include technical certifications, IT Project Management and IT Service Management certifications.

His career has involved challenging roles within the ICT industry working in the Retail, Water and Health Sectors.  Nemir has held multiple roles and responsibilities over the years, gaining considerable experience in Technical and Project Support, Business Systems Analysis, Project Management and IT Service Management.

Nemir is currently employed within the ICT Deparment of the Royal Children's Hospital as Manager of the ICT Service Desk and DBA/Systems Administration teams.  Nemir has been a member of the ACS since 1997 and joined the Branch Executive Committee in 2006.

Email:  n_raffoul@optusnet.com.au

Keyur Patel

Keyurkumar Patel received his Bachelor of Engineering (First Class) from the Bangalore University and Masters of Engineering (Robotics) from Swinburne University of Technology in 1997 and 2000 respectively and is currently studying towards a professional doctorate. At present, he is employed as a Department Manager - IT & Multimedia with Chisholm Institute. In past, he worked for Box Hill Insitiute, University of Ballarat and Swinburne University of Technology. He has successfully executed commercial and R&D projects which include MNCs like Cisco Systems, Boeing (ex ASTA) and Microsoft and to date, authored more than forty research studies in international refereed conferences, journals and books and has been editor of one international refereed conference proceedings.
 
He currently serves as a member on the Technical Advisory Board with International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) for the term 2004-2007 and is a Branch Executive Committee Member with Victorian Australian Computer Society (MACS) (PCP), IEEE (Comm. Soc.) (Comp. Soc.) and a volunteer member with State Emergency Services (Malvern Unit).

Email:  keyurpatel@ieee.org

Linda Batson began her IT career in 1996. She completed her Bachelor of Commerce over seven years whilst working and raising a family.

Linda is an expert analyst, facilitator, and trainer, having worked with global corporations and Government organisations over the last ten years, including Zinifex Limited, Deakin University and Godfrey Hirst Australia. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce in E-commerce & Management Information Systems and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

She is Managing Director of Linda Bagu Batson Consulting, dedicated to helping organisations achieve innovation, creativity and sound planning.

Linda is a professional member of the Australian Computer Society (MACS PCP) and a founding board member of ACS-W (Australian Computer Society Women) and AWISE (Australian Women in IT and Science Entity).

She is inspired by her own experiences, and those of others, to actively encourage more women to enter the industry, believing that more diversity in development and management will help Australia produce better IT systems and compete in the international marketplace.

Email:  linda.batson@acslink.net.au