President

Helen is the NSW Branch Chair and currently act as an Ambassador to ICT industry championing causes, cohorts, groups as they address the challenges and initiative of our Profession, primarily focused on Women in ICT, Hack-a-thons, Start-ups and Agile and Disruptive Service delivery, Not-For-Profits. My career has contributed to the success of policy strategies in Federal Government Service Delivery Objectives in senior roles advising corporate leaders. I am the current ACS NSW Chair 2021-2022. I have held a number of other positions in ACS as a volunteer including NSW Vice Chair for 3 years and Chair and member of ACS Women NSW for 5 years. Groups I support are: TechGirls, RareBirds, NSydInnovation, Scrum Alliance to name a few.

Vice President – Academic Boards

Vice President – Communities Boards

Vice President – Membership Boards

Jeffrey is a current CEO/Managing Director and former CIO and has practical knowledge and experience in governance, cyber security, and business transformation with international enterprises. His personal understanding of neurodiversity helped him create and manage world-class teams of high-performing individuals and reinforced his passion for education and helping people discover their best way to learn. Jeff holds a Master's in both Business and Cyber Security, is a graduate of the AICD, and uses this mix of experience and knowledge to bring a high level of entrepreneurial business thinking to ACS. He is the first Regional Ambassador appointed by the ACS and works with ICT educators and professionals in regional and rural to increase awareness of, and improve, the ICT profession.

National Treasurer

Chris has over 45 years of extensive experience in business and technology, having held senior leadership roles across industry, government, university, and charity sectors. He excels at strategic, tactical, and operational use of data to inform decision making, fostering collaboration and mutual benefit, empowering staff and partners to deliver greater value and services to clients and the community. With nearly 30 years as an ACS certified Professional contributing to improved use of technology to benefit society, Chris is committed to enhancing member outcomes and promoting quality standards (ISO/IEC), continuing to volunteer in various ACS leadership positions for more than 13 years.

Immediate Past President

Nick Tate has over 45 years’ experience in ICT, including 20 years in Cybersecurity, 16 years as a CIO/Head of IT at two London banks and the University of Queensland (UQ) and 11 years as head of the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT), which dealt with cybersecurity incidents nationally. He is co-author of “A Director’s Guide to Governing Information Technology and Cybersecurity”, an AICD published book and has 20 years’ experience as a Company Director in 16 Australian and 2 US companies. He is an Adjunct Professor at UQ, has degrees in Physics and Computer Science and a PhD in Cybersecurity. He is both a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the ACS. Nick is currently Immediate Past President of ACS, President of the South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) and led an APEC project on ICT Skills Frameworks. His work experience includes working on the development of antimissile systems and real-time air traffic control systems before spending 20 years working for investment banks in both London and Australia.

Director – Membership Advisory Board

With a strong focus on strategic member engagement and industry impact, Hari Viswanathan has been a driving force in strengthening the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and expanding its reach. As Chair of the Victoria Emerging Professionals Committee (EPC) and a member of the Victoria Branch Executive Committee, he has led initiatives that enhanced member value and built pathways for emerging professionals. Under his leadership, the Supported Student Membership Program was piloted and refined, laying the foundation for a national EPC model. A seasoned product leader with senior roles at Woolworths and Coles, Hari has delivered large-scale transformations, including a major cloud migration that significantly improved Net Promoter Scores. His priorities include elevating ACS’s recognition programs, driving strategic partnerships, advancing diversity through measurable action, and strengthening feedback loops between members and leadership. Committed to strong governance, Hari is prepared to serve as a Member Advisory Board Director focused on ensuring all members feel heard, valued, and connected.

Director – Professional Standards Board

Anna has a PhD in computer science (health informatics) with a strong research background in health, cross cultural education, access and equity in healthcare, technology policy and governance, industry integration and more recently mental health and neurodiversity in the technology sector. Anna has over 12 years experience as a senior higher education leader both in Australia and overseas. She spent 4.5 years working in Viet Nam followed by 18 months as an independent higher education quality assurance expert who designed and built a QA framework for all of Viet Nam’s medical universities. Anna has significant experience in leading and conducting accreditation for higher education providers and in designing innovative and high performing higher education degrees and certification short courses with industry integration. She firmly believes that modern universities should be the centre of transformative, creative thinking, problem solving and capability building and this can only be achieved through open, integrated and equitable conversations with industry and community stakeholders. Anna is a registered company director, has previously owned her own start-ups and been engaged as a health and higher education consultant with EY.

Director - Technical Advisory Board

Mathias Gaertner is a publicly accredited and sworn in expert witness for IT, Vice President at NIFIS e.V. MACS Snr CP (Cyber Security), IP3P Lecturer at the University of Applied Science in Darmstadt/Germany, Information and Computer Science.

Canberra Congress Representative

Roger's career has mostly been in private sector professional, managerial and consultancy roles, interrupted by a decade as a senior academic. His consultancy focus is on strategic and policy impacts and implications of transformational and disruptive IT, including security and privacy aspects. His Board experience is deep and diverse, across for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, and associations. He's held a wide variety of positions within ACS, including two periods on the governing committee, a decade as a national committee chair, a lengthy period on Congress, and years of service as a Branch office-bearer. He has a long record of public interest advocacy in the privacy and consumer rights areas. His degrees are from UNSW and ANU, he has long been a Fellow of the ACS, and he is a Visiting Professor in Computer Science at ANU and in Law at UNSW.

Canberra Congress Representative

Michael Hawkins is current Vice Chair of the Canberra Branch. Over his time with the ACS, he has made a sustained, significant and substantial contribution to the Australian Computer Society over the last ten years. His term as Director of the MLMB saw him lead the society to re-brand itself after 40 years, introducing a new look and a new culture to the society nationally. As National Congressional Representative Member of Management Committee, Michael has led significant projects, shifting the ACS website infrastructure to new technology approaches twice, leading the highly successful 50th Anniversary celebrations, and currently leading the Heritage Committee, published a history of computing in Australia. At the Branch level, Michael has been a visionary leader of the branch, delivered successful Annual Conferences variously as chair and key organising committee member for years, and is a driving force in the mentoring program’s operation in Canberra and nationally. Michael is an outstanding ambassador of the ACS across industry and government sectors and exemplifies the Australian Computer Society leadership and ethics of senior executives in the IT industry.

NSW Congress Representative

Cindy Chung is a seasoned IT professional with expertise in service management, systems architecture, and data management. She is the 2024 Chair of the ACS NSW Branch Executive Committee, having previously served as Vice Chair in 2023 and Director of the ACS Membership Advisory Board (2021–2022). Cindy has also contributed as Treasurer and member of the ACS NSW BEC, and as part of the ACS NSW Women’s Committee, championing diversity and excellence in the ICT sector.

NSW Congress Representative

Richard is program director specialising in PMO project governance (certified in PRINCE2, Agile, and PMP) and with extensive understanding of regulated governance environments having been the General Manager of Transformation for Employers Mutual Insurance; Group Commercial Manager for TransGrid, and EPgMO Executive Director for the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Each of these roles required the establishment of an EPMO and the integration with new PPM software. Richard has over 25 years experience successfully delivering complex and varied technical programs including regulatory and business projects (Peoplesoft, SAP, Oracle, MinCom-Ellipse and Sage ERPs) for Zurich Financial Services, Employers Mutual, Attorney General and Justice, RailCorp, TransGrid, Metcash, Westons Foods, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the NSW Dept of Transport; amongst others. Richard drives capability enhancement and business process improvement in all of his roles. His skills include: planning, benefits realisation, program governance, vendor management, risk control, and dependency coordination. He has a passion for helping people grow and works as a volunteer coach and mentor through his professional associations.

Northern Territory Congressional Representative

Damien Charles is an IT professional based in Darwin and currently working at NEC. With extensive industry experience and a proven track record of success, Damien is a valuable member of the local IT community. He is passionate about improving efficiency and promoting innovation in the industry and is committed to building a strong and diverse workforce in Darwin. Through his work at NEC and his contributions to the local IT community, Damien is helping to drive the future of the industry in the region.

NT Congressional Representative

Qld Congressional Representative

Nick is a senior technology executive and director with a successful career in large, diverse, customer-focused organisations. He has significant technology and leadership experience, which includes the successful implementation of numerous Award-winning innovation initiatives and corporate technology transformation programs. Nick has been the Chief Information Officer for a number of leading, technology-focussed organisations, including BDO in Australia, Brisbane City Council, the global GHD Group and Virgin Blue Airlines, during which time the airline achieved numerous technical and innovation successes. He has also worked with a number of other leading technology vendors, and has founded, sold and worked with several technology startups. Nick holds a Bachelor of Science and a Graduate Diploma in Information Systems, and has been appointed an Adjunct Associate Professor at both Griffith University and CQUniversity. He is a member of the Queensland BEC, the Industry Advisory Board and Cyber Studio Industry Reference Group for the School of ICT at Griffith University, and the ICT Course Reference Committee at CQUniversity. He is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders, a Member of the Australian Institute of Project Managers, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Queensland Congressional Representative

Beau has over 20 years’ experience in senior leadership, advisory, and consultancy roles in the technology sector in Australia and the APAC region. Having spent many years living and working in the Pacific, Beau has seen how technology and innovation can change lives. Along with his roles on several ACS boards and committees, Beau is also the Treasurer for the Australian Smart Cities Association (ASCA) and a founding independent review member for the Internet Society Foundation. Beau is also on several University advisory boards. He is passionate about how technology can change lives and mentoring the next generation of tech leaders.

Vice Chair

An outcome-focused, result-oriented leader who is passionate about helping people and organisations realise their potential through technology driven opportunities. Over past two decades I have worked across and transformed organisations within the automotive industry, construction, education, legal, finance and wine world by aligning technology with businesses strategy and delivering value based outcomes.

South Australia Congressional Representative

Brian Peel has been a dedicated member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for over 15 years and is an active contributor to the South Australia Branch Executive Committee. He regularly attends member events, reinforcing the importance of member engagement and representing the Branch Executive Committee while building connections across the professional network. Brian holds the status of MACS (Snr) CP – IP3P and has successfully completed the SFIA Certification assessment, achieving the highest level—SFIA Level 7. He also serves on a sub-committee of the ACS Member Advisory Board, where he helps develop strategies aimed at growing and strengthening ACS membership. Professionally, Brian is the Managing Director and Owner of Academy IT, a Microsoft and AWS training partner that provides IT training services across all industry sectors, including Defence. Academy IT is also a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), delivering nationally accredited courses from Certificate III to Diploma level in Information Technology.

Tasmania Congressional Representative

Officially a member of ACS since 1983 but joined in Sydney around 1972 when I worked for IBM. Past Branch Chair of ACS Tasmania and a past Vice President (Academic) on Management Committee. Member of the ACSW Board responsible for producing recent Gender Equity paper. Current member of Tasmanian Branch Executive. Retired lecturer in Computer Security (University of Tasmania).

Tasmania Congress Representative

A seasoned professional with a passion for building sustainable business structures, Joel Harris excels at delivering strategic outcomes by aligning strategy, people, processes, and technology. With a strong foundation in strategic planning and execution, he is committed to creating environments where teams are empowered, operations are optimised, and technology drives transformative change. Joel brings a holistic, integrated approach to problem-solving, recognising that true business success comes from harmonising all elements of an organisation. Their work consistently focuses on developing practical, sustainable strategies that balance innovation with long-term resilience. With a deep interest in partnering with forward-thinking organisations, Joel seeks out opportunities to support companies that are committed to making a positive impact in their industries. By promoting sustainable business practices and strategic alignment, Joel helps organisations thrive in complex and evolving business landscapes.

Victoria Congress Representative

Dolly Brtan is a multi-disciplined IT consultant and financial advisor who has been in the FinTech industry for over 30 years. She studied the Bachelor of Business in Information Technology at Victoria University and soon started her career in 1993 working in the IT industry for large corporates and federal government agencies. Her broad spectrum of projects includes software development, network design and deployment for international hotel brands and car manufacturers. Her career highlight was involved in the IT infrastructure architecture for Anzac Class frigate ship called HMNZS Te Mana for the Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. Her entrepreneurial flair and experience parlayed in 2000, when she founded her business into the finance world with an emphasis in technology. Most recently she studied blockchain at RMIT University, on how to develop a strategy and design a solution using blockchain technology. Her keen interests led to become a convenor of the Blockchain Community of Interest group at the Australian Computer Society, with a mission to collaborate, engage, and educate the members of the association on all things blockchain. She is currently also working on developing a lending platform that will adopt blockchain technology.

Vic Congressional Representative

Digital Transformation Catalyst, Trusted Advisor, Educator, Change Agent, Diversity and Inclusion Champion. Rod is a results focussed digital leader with a proven ability to influence complex stakeholder networks and drive transformational change. He an executive consultant with experience spanning over 25 years focused on Construction & Asset Management, Banking & Finance and Education. He is a founding Director of William Bethwey & Associates and an internationally recognised thought leader in strategic and architectural transformation. Rod is a highly motivated catalyst of digital change, he is results focussed and has an inclusive leadership style He is an Industry Fellow at The University of Melbourne where he researches and lectures in Higher Degree programmes. He has authored over 20 publications and a book on Organisational Change. Consequently, he is a sought-after expert for leading companies confronting challenges brought about by disruptive technologies and the need to transform organisational cultures to adopt radically different paradigms of work and the creation of value. Rod is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, A Fellow of the British Computer Society, former National Director of the ACS Membership Advisory Board and was recognised as the ICT Professional of the year, 2013 in the national iAwards.

Western Australia Congress Representative

Jerome, embarked on his career in the healthcare sector in 2004, as the IT manager for a pharmacy group. In 2010, Jerome founded his own IT company, specialising in supporting primary care and allied health providers, ensuring their IT enables compliance with health regulations, standards, and policies. Jerome was Vice Chair of ACS WA Branch and was later elected as Chair. He works hard to connect members with each other, with the help of the Branch Executive Committee. Jerome also contributes to the community as a management committee member at Cura In-Home Care, an approved not for profit Aged Care Services Provider. Additionally, he dedicates time to mentoring high school students through EdConnect and guiding emerging IT professionals within the ACS.

Western Australia Congress Representative

Brian is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Law, School of Management, Information Systems Discipline, at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia (WA). He is interested in data science and network analysis in the context of learning analytics and ICT education, and the development of professional skills like leadership, teamwork, and project management. He is recognised as a Certified Professional by the Australian Computer Society (ACS). Additionally, Brian was elected a Fellow of the ACS in recognition of his contribution to computing and software engineering education. He was elected to serve the ICT profession in Western Australia as a member of the ACS WA Branch Executive Committee commencing in July 2018. From 2012 to 2016, Brian was the Chair of the ACS Accreditation Committee. Until 2011, he was a member of the ACS Professional Standards Board (PSB) where he took a leadership role in defining the ACS Core Body of Knowledge. Previously, he has served as the Head of Department for CBS Flexible Learning, and as the Course Coordinator for Curtin University degree programs in Software Engineering in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. He has extensive experience in the ICT industry that includes nine years as an employee of Hewlett-Packard. Delivering cultural and organisational change as part of any transformation is critical to its success. Utilising skills associated with listening, understanding, empathy, team and customer obsession, have enabled me to be successful within my previous organisations. Leading from the back, coaching and mentoring, while being the “leader you wished you’d had” are all key motivating factors for me. Success in the people I interact with are my true measure of value.

Chief Executive Officer

With over thirty-years in IT and Telecommunications, Josh has broad experience across the Australian technology sector. He has held senior C-level and Director roles at leading national organisations including Metronode Data Centres and Optus Business. During his career roles he’s been committed to talent development, strategic execution, and visionary leadership with a focus on building the nation’s IT capabilities, particularly in bringing together business, government, and representative associations.