ACS WA State Tech Summit: Bridging the Future - Navigating Cybersecurity and Data/AI Landscapes

Welcome & Opening Address

Josh, a seasoned executive with 30+ years in IT and Telecommunications, is a transformation specialist known for doubling revenues and building high- performance teams. 

As a CEO, VP, and Sales Director, he achieved a remarkable 183% revenue growth, leading to the $1 billion sale of Metronode Data Centres. Instrumental in Optus Business, he drove a 500% growth in government portfolio orders and transformed the ICT Portfolio from $100 million to $500 million annually. 

Committed to talent development, he boasts an 85% internal promotion rate. With a focus on strategic execution and visionary leadership, Josh is a driving force in the ICT industry.

Keynote Address

Tim is responsible for leading the Peoplebank Group in Australia which incorporates Peoplebank and Leaders IT.

Working with a talented team, Tim's role is to support the business in building and delivering a strategy that will see the Peoplebank Group be recognised as the leading provider of Staffing and Technology Talent Solutions in Australia.

Concurrent Session 1 - Cyber Security

Tom is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society and former U.K. Police Officer turned cyber security specialist. His ICT experience goes back to when malware was an academic matter and not a daily fact of life. That perspective has allowed a unique viewpoint to develop, and the wisdom of his take on the value of cyber secure processes to evolve. His broad experience and deeply considered beliefs will make his presentation fascinating and useful to hear.

Concurrent Session 1 - Data & AI

Graham joined Main Roads Western Australia in 2006 as a graduate engineer. Throughout his career at Main Roads Graham has been involved in a variety of projects including:

• Asset condition profiling
• Heavy vehicle dynamics
• Traffic and transport modelling
• Network performance analysis

Concurrent Session 2 - Cyber Security

Adam is a globally recognised cybersecurity leader, innovator, ethical hacker, and industry expert. His passion and driving vision is to provide comprehensive cybersecurity protection to all businesses.

Accumulating over twenty years of industry experience within network operations, security, and professional management, Adam has also served as a board-level advisor and member on a wide array of organisations and holds numerous industry association memberships.

Adam is a qualified Industry Specialist across several disciplines and holds certifications in Auditing and Cyber security, as well as qualifications in Big Data and Social Sciences, Computer Science and Information Security. 
Adam is a prolific contributor to the IT and Developer industry. He is a professional presenter and regular lecturer on the topics of network security and encryption. As an industry advocate since the late 1980’s, Adam actively participates within the cybersecurity community and has authored and contributed to multiple industry and research papers, professional blogs and podcasts.

Concurrent Session 2 - Data & AI

Philipp finished his PhD in Applied Bioinformatics in 2016 at the University of Queensland. Through a Forrest Fellowship and a subsequent DECRA he worked on implementing machine learning methods in comparative plant genomics and plant breeding pipelines. 

He now works with the Minderoo Foundation in the OceanOmics program on methods and AI development in environmental DNA with the ultimate goal of revolutionising how we measure, observe, and protect our oceans.

Panel - How Data and AI are Transforming the Workforce in Western Australia

Natasha is one of the world’s pre-eminent smart contract, artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology experts. She is ranked in the Chambers 2023 FinTech Legal Practice Area.  

Natasha sits on the Law Council of Australia’s Digital Commerce and Financial Services Committees and is a Member of the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation and Digital Assets Advisory Panels for the Law Commission of England and Wales. Natasha co-authored the Oxford Smart Legal Contracts text and was named the Financial Times’ Most Innovative Lawyer and Lawyers Weekly Thought Leader of the Year.

Panel - How Data and AI are Transforming the Workforce in Western Australia

Kathryn is a passionate and experienced Analytics executive and SAFe Agilist, specialising in Digital and Data Transformation. Kathryn has spent more than 15 years in government, financial services, retail and health insurance combining analytics, innovation and customer-first thinking in a variety of analytics leadership roles. Having begun her career as a practitioner in Advanced Analytics, Kathryn brings an appreciation for the technical capabilities required to generate insight out of data.

Kathryn is Vice-Chair of the IAPA Advisory Committee and brings to IAPA the same drive, enthusiasm and uber-cool nerdiness she has injected into industry roles for the past 15 years. Other advisory board positions include RMIT Digital3 and Corinium CDAO Conference series.

Panel - How Data and AI are Transforming the Workforce in Western Australia

Deepshika is a Director at Deloitte Australia and a leader in the Data & AI team. She has over 15 years' experience, and is responsible for shaping, designing and delivering complex Data & AI projects. 

She helps clients across the full spectrum of Data & AI capabilities, from Data Strategy, Data Management, Data Modelling to Data Analytics. Deepshika has worked across several different industries and delivered outcomes for clients with a unique perspective on how to unleash the power of data and decision making.

Panel - How Data and AI are Transforming the Workforce in Western Australia

As an executive partner who advocates for the development of business partnering data analytics capabilities to improve agility, efficiency, and profitability, Bobby believes that to ensure sustainable success, application of data and insights needs to be embedded into a business‘ DNA, shaping decisions from the boardroom to the frontline.

Bobby has successfully influenced C-suite management and the board of three major organisations to invest in analytics initiatives and implement an analytics-driven approach for decision-making in multi-year programs, since 2021. He is a passionate analytics leader who is dedicated to supporting and empowering analytics communities across all organisations. His mission is to develop and mature analytics communities as a whole. His leadership has empowered analytics communities in 3 major organisations since 2021, democratising data and connecting strategy to analytics.

Panel - How Data and AI are Transforming the Workforce in Western Australia

Christian is an agile and future-focused CIO with a proven track record of driving successful digital transformation in complex global organisations. Demonstrates natural aptitude for exponential thinking to develop enterprise strategy & architecture which drives the continuous improvement of business performance.

He is a technology specialist with a strong people-focus and evident commitment to enabling change through active engagement of stakeholders at all levels; fostering adaptive, high-performance organisational culture.