Australasia Digital Communications and Media Forum 2026

Australia’s 29th Prime Minister (2015-2018) had international careers in law, business and the media before entering politics at the age of 50.

As Prime Minister, he reformed Australia’s personal income tax, education and childcare systems, oversaw the legalisation of same sex marriage and announced the construction of Snowy Hydro 2.0 the biggest pumped hydro scheme in the southern hemisphere. Mr Turnbull embarked on the largest peacetime investment in Australian defence capabilities and set out Australia’s first national cybersecurity strategy.

Globally, Mr Turnbull played a leading role in reviving the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP-11 or CPTPP) after the United States withdrew. He also struck deals with US Presidents Obama and Trump to accept refugees who tried to arrive in Australia illegally by boat.

As a young lawyer, Mr Turnbull successfully defended former MI5 agent Peter Wright against the British Government in the 1986  “Spycatcher” trial before entering business where he ran his own investment banking firm for a decade before joining Goldman Sachs as a partner in 1997. Both before and after his political career, Mr Turnbull has been a successful venture capitalist. He co founded OzEmail Limited, the first Australian tech company to be listed on the NASDAQ.

Since leaving politics, Mr Turnbull has resumed his business career. He is a senior adviser and an investor in many Australian technology businesses. He is President of the International Hydropower Association. Mr Turnbull speaks and writes on a range of issues including cyber security, geopolitics and renewable energy.

Adam Suckling was until 2022 the Chief Executive Officer of Copyright Agency. Copyright Agency is a not-for-profit company that licences intellectual property on behalf of Australian writers, journalists, publishers, media companies and visual artists.

Prior to this, Adam has had over 20 years’ experience in a range of senior leadership, commercial, policy, regulatory and corporate affairs roles for companies such as Optus, Singtel (where he undertook an Asia-Pacific role based in Singapore), Foxtel and News Corporation.

In these companies, he ran significant business areas, provided strategic and commercial advice to board members, conducted a range of successful policy advocacy campaigns, and oversaw major copyright litigation and regulatory cases.

Adam is also a part-time Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) appointed on 28 May 2024 to 24 July 2028.

Adam has policy experience across a wide range of areas including media and telecommunications policy, spectrum allocation, micro-economic reform, telecommunications network pricing, copyright and intellectual property policy, and Australian content and cultural policy.

Alastair is Australia’s foremost cyber security leader, and is the Chief Strategy Officer at CyberCX.

Following a 15-year career as a Federal Agent in the Australian Federal Police, where he established Australia’s High Tech Crime Centre, Alastair held senior cyber security and safety roles across the private sector, including head of eBay’s Asia Pacific Trust & Safety team.

Upon returning to public service, Alastair was appointed Australia’s inaugural eSafety Commissioner, before going on to roles as National Cyber Security Adviser, head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Cyber Security.

Bio coming soon…

Andrew Molivurae is a Ni-Vanuatu currently employed as the Officer In Charge for ICT and Internet Governance with the Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) and has been with the organization since 2015.

His current role at TRBR is mainly to manage the .vu ccTLD and also assist the broadcasting department. Andrew has other voluntary roles, two of which are the current vice chair of PICISOC and chair of the Pacific Islands Internet Governance Forum (Pacific IGF)

Andrew has more than 20 years of technical experience in the ICT/Telecommunication industry and also holds a Master’s in Business Administration degree from the University of the South Pacific (USP).

Andrew Ure leads Netflix’s public policy and government affairs team in Asia-Pacific, leading teams that engage with governments and institutions across Asia-Pacific, helping countries make the most of the creative economy.

Prior to this, he spent twelve years at Google where he held a number of senior leadership roles in Australia, Singapore, India, Japan and Hong Kong, and was the Managing Director of Google’s public affairs team in Asia-Pacific. He has also been the Managing Director of OgilvyEarth Australia, a sustainability consultancy in Sydney.

He has also spent a decade as a diplomat with the Australian Government. His recent focus was multilateral climate change negotiations, and he co-chaired the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership. Between 2005-2008, he was posted to the Australian Embassy in Iran.

He has degrees from Oxford University and Australian National University, and lives in Singapore.

Angela is a partner of Australian law firm Quay Law Partners.  Angela has over 20 years’ experience as a partner in private practice and in senior Australian Commonwealth Government roles. She has broad commercial law expertise in transactional and regulatory matters, with a focus on telecommunications, media and technology, as well as data and cybersecurity.

Ms Flannery’s areas of expertise include assisting clients in making submissions to Government consultation processes on regulatory reform (particularly in the areas of digital markets, content regulation and privacy), providing advice to clients in investigations and interactions with government agencies and assisting clients in obtaining licences and regulatory approvals, as well as advising corporates regarding compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act, the Telecommunications Act, the Broadcasting Services Act and other Australian law and regulation, including consumer protection and privacy issues relating to telecommunications, technology and ad tech.

Ms Flannery is also a member of the auDA Licence Review Panel (auDA is Australia’s domain name administrator).

Click here for Linkedin profile.

Annabelle Herd has been CEO of ARIA and PPCA since February 2021, bringing extensive media, political, government, and copyright experience to Australia’s music industry.

Prior to ARIA Annabelle worked in broadcast TV for 16 years at Network 10, including as Chief Operating Officer overseeing operations, strategy, and regulatory affairs. Her background includes senior political roles with former Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon. Richard Alston working on broadcasting and copyright issues including the Copyright Digital Agenda reforms. She started her career working in copyright policy, including at the Attorney-General’s Department. Annabelle is a member of the CAIRG Steering Committee and was a key advocate for creators and artists on AI in the recent TDM debate.

She is on the Sound NSW Advisory Council and was previously on boards including the AFTRS Council, Save the Children Australia, Freeview Australia, and Free TV Australia. She holds law and Asian Studies degrees from the Australian National University.

Bel Clough is an experienced Senior Analyst, engaged in regulatory and security services at Telstra. With advanced qualifications in cybersecurity, law, and commerce, Bel has had adventures across various industries including energy, mining, financial services, and higher education. Bel is an experienced and trusted advisor who provides advice about regulation and policy to support the operation of Telstra’s network, and the technology used in the network.

Belinda Dennett is a highly respected public policy specialist with more than 20 years experience at the forefront of Australia’s digital economy and technology ecosystem. She is Chief Executive Officer of Data Centres Australia, the peak body for data centres and the AI infrastructure sector in Australia. Belinda was previously Head of Government Relations at AirTrunk and earlier spent more than a decade leading Microsoft’s Australian Corporate Affairs and Policy team. Belinda is a former Federal ministerial advisor with a focus on digital economy policy. She has qualifications in law and business.

Ben joined Snap Inc’s Sydney office to lead Public Policy for Australia and New Zealand in September 2023. He previously led public policy for IGEA, the peak body representing the Australian and New Zealand video games industry. Prior to industry, Ben held a number of roles in the Australian Government, including working in online safety, classification, cyber policy, criminal justice and national security.

Ben Saint is Head of Government Affairs, Oceania at Nokia, based in Sydney. He brings over two decades of experience in government, having served as a political staffer and public servant across local, state, and federal levels in Australia – including as an adviser to the Minister for Communications. Earlier in his career, Ben worked in the not-for-profit sector, earning an Australian Honours Medal for his contributions. At Nokia, Ben leads engagement across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, advocating for public policy that supports innovation, investment, and sustainable digital infrastructure. His work includes collaborating with governments and other partners to advance trusted connectivity that supports socioeconomic outcomes in Pacific nations.

Brent Carey is the Chief Executive Office of Netsafe, New Zealand’s online safety charity. He has broad and extensive experience in regulatory, privacy, safety and justice environments along with a good understanding of both local and global online safety ecosystems. He was New Zealand’s second Domain Name Commissioner (2017 -2022) overseeing the .nz domain name space. He has worked for two Privacy Commissioners and an Australian Senator.

He has previously lived and worked in Australia holding senior positions at various integrity bodies, for example, the Australian Telecommunications Ombudsman, the Independent Broad Based Anti-Corruption Commission, the Victorian Institute of Teaching and the Victorian Privacy Commissioner’s Office.

Mr Carey serves on the Governance Committee of the Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Practice for Online Safety Harms adopted by Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Google (You Tube), TikTok, Twitch and Twitter. He is involved with several international bodies, including the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution and the Global Internet Forum to Counter-Terrorism. He is an Associate member of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand and Member of Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa iwi, the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). He is Co-Founder of Taranaki Agribusiness Green Meadows Beef.

He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand with Law and Arts Degrees and has a Graduate Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution ( Industry) from Boxhill Institute of TAFE Melbourne, Australia.

Some of his recent collaborations include the development of Global Principles on Digital Safety: Translating International Human Rights for the Digital Context for the World Economic Forum, Project Dragon with the University of Swansea to develop Online Grooming Spotting Tools and Advisor to the University of Otago Department of Marketing on its Datification of Children Project ( 2023-2026). He is an industry representative of the Human-Centred Phishing Susceptibility Research programme, comprising of researchers and partners from The University of Auckland, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Tainui Group Holdings, NIWA and ESR, Datacom. The research program is examining aspects of social engineering, psychology and cyber security to focus on the people side of phishing attacks.

Carolyn is a member of the Australian Commonwealth Attorney-General’s AI Reference Group on Copyright and AI, and also a member of the Steering Committee for the Reference Group, providing expert perspectives on the legal and regulatory issues on AI and copyright.

During her time at Google, Carolyn was part of global product teams developing world-first algorithmic solutions for addressing regulatory compliance and consumer protection in technology products, including Google Street View (developing privacy protective blurring technologies) and YouTube (ContentID for managing online copyright licensing).

She also worked with Netflix engineers in designing a world first algorithmic classification system which is now used by Netflix globally.

She currently advises a range of clients and Boards on the legal and ethical implications of AI deployment. Carolyn’s ability to bridge the gap between emerging technologies and regulatory frameworks enables her to assist clients to craft effective strategies for innovation, compliance, and maintaining social licence amid fast paced technological innovation.

Carolyn Lidgerwood has worked in leading organisations for more than 30 years, specialising in broadcasting and data privacy law and compliance.

Immediately prior to being appointed as an ACMA Authority Member, Carolyn was for 12 years the Head of Privacy at Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining and metals corporation. Carolyn managed Rio Tinto’s data privacy compliance program across its global operations (which included more than 50,000 employees across 35 countries).

Carolyn was also General Counsel & Company Secretary at Southern Cross Media (then Australia’s largest regional commercial radio and commercial television broadcaster), and Special Counsel at Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers, where for more than 10 years she acted for clients in every part of the Australian broadcasting industry. In the early years of her career Carolyn worked at the former Australian Broadcasting Authority (joining the ABA on the same week that subscription television services commenced in Australia).

Carolyn has been a board member of iappANZ, and has previously served on the Privacy Committee and the Media & Communications Committee of the Law Council of Australia. Carolyn holds honours degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Melbourne.

Chris Hofer joined Amazon Leo in 2020 as Head, international spectrum management and strategy, with responsibility for spectrum policy and satellite coordination. An engineer by training, Chris leads Amazon Leo’s work at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) and operator-to-operator satellite radio frequency coordination. He also leads Amazon Leo’s collaboration with astronomers and currently serves as the co-chair of the Industry and Technology Hub at the International Astronomical Union’s Centre for the Protection of the Dark & Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. In 2021, Chris co-chaired the industry subgroups for the SATCON2 and Dark and Quiet Skies 2 astronomy conferences.

Before Amazon, Chris served as director of regulatory affairs for Viasat, representing Viasat’s satellite interests in the ITU’s Working Party 4A preparations for the WRC. He also served as the elected international chairman of ITU-R Study Group 4 for two terms, from 2012-2019.

Previously, Chris was the lead representative for WRC activities for the Chief Information Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense. Earlier he worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), acting as the chairman of the Space Systems Subcommittee under the U.S. interagency spectrum group, Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC).

He holds a master’s degree in telecommunications from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University.

Chris Whelan is a Principal at RBB Economics based in Melbourne, and joined the firm in April 2011. He has close to 20 years of economic consulting experience based in Melbourne and London. Chris co-authored the research report “Cost Pass-Through: Theory, Measurement & Potential Policy Implications”, published by the UK Competition and Markets Authority in 2014 and is listed in Who’s Who Legal.

Chris leads technology innovation and strategic engagement for Ericsson across the Asia Pacific region focusing on communications & AI infrastructure and enterprise solutions. He brings more than 25 years of global ICT experience from across Europe, the United States and Japan, in executive roles centred on communications and cloud technologies.

A former director on both the Linux Foundation and OpenStack boards, Chris has been at the forefront of major industry transitions—from early software-defined architectures, cloud-native operations including AI technologies. He combines deep practical experience in open source, standards and industrial product development to drive impactful, market-ready technology initiatives.

Clare O’Neil is Director of Corporate Affairs at SBS and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. She has more than 20 years’ experience across media, communications, regulation and public policy, spanning senior roles in industry and government.

Since joining SBS in 2016, Clare has led a broad and complex portfolio encompassing stakeholder and government relations, policy and regulatory affairs, legal, codes and guidelines, corporate communications, education, and Board governance. Her role sits at the intersection of public value, editorial integrity, regulatory accountability and institutional trust.

Clare is deeply committed to SBS’s purpose and to the role of public media in strengthening social cohesion, inclusion and understanding through powerful storytelling and trusted services. She works closely with government, regulators, industry, community partners and the SBS Board to support SBS’s long-term sustainability and impact.

Clare holds degrees in Law and Political Science from the University of New South Wales and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the UTS Centre for Media Transition, an alternate Board member of Freeview, and a Board member of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter.

Prior to SBS, Clare was Director of Legal and Broadcasting Policy at Free TV Australia and has held senior roles at the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Colin Engelbrecht is an experienced Investigator, and the Team Leader of the Digital Messaging side of the ‘Digital Messaging and Violent Extremism’ unit within the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. Colin joined the team four years ago while completing a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies at Victoria University, Wellington. The Digital Messaging Team is responsible for regulating the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007. This Act sets out the rules and responsibilities related to the sending of commercial messaging across email, SMS, instant message and fax. This Act also includes provisions for the regulation and enforcement of scam messaging.

For the last three years the Digital Messaging Team has been responsible for leading Operation Cargo, a flagship operation investigating serious scam SMS criminal offending impacting New Zealand. Operation Cargo sought support from law enforcement agencies from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as deeply embedded cooperation with the telecommunications providers in New Zealand.

Colin has led complex investigations focussing on sophisticated criminal enterprises exploiting the New Zealand SMS network to distribute high harm scam messaging. These investigations have resulted in the disruption of several transnational criminal organisations and criminal prosecutions resulting in prison sentences. Colin’s experience includes planning and leading search warrant activity resulting in the seizure of large volumes of SIM boxes, over 90,000 SIM cards, illegal firearms & ammunition and the restraint of over $500,000 of cash and assets.

Colin has assisted in the deployment of the 7726 Spam Reporting Service towards automated scam intelligence and disruption tools and the Team’s work in strengthening and maintaining productive relationships with both domestic and overseas government agencies and members of the telecommunications, banking and technology sectors.

Dave Poddar is a partner with Quay Law Partners, a specialist Australian regulatory firm. He has over 20 years’ experience as a partner in private practice. Mr Poddar’s practice focuses on competition (antitrust) and consumer matters in Australia. Mr Poddar’s experience managing significant clearances for Australian and international M&A, joint ventures and alliances including for Emirates in its partnership with Qantas as well as competition and consumer litigation under the Australian Competition & Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)(CCA).

He has worked on infrastructure access and regulatory matters, including for Glencore in access applications and arbitrations in relation to access under Part IIIA of the CCA to the Port of Newcastle, as well as advising on investigations and cartel matters involving the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).

He is a member of and former chair of the Law Council of Australia’s competition and consumer committee and a past co-chair of the International Bar Association’s antitrust committee and is on its Advisory Board.

Mr Poddar’s has acted in many high-profile mergers and acquisitions in Australia such as for SABMiller in relation to the acquisition of Fosters, Oracle’s acquisition of Aconex and Cerner and various acquisitions for Bunnings Group in Australia.

Mr Poddar’s has acted for various global tech companies in relation to the ACCC’s Digital Platform Investigations and resulting consultation by the Australian Treasury in relation to the proposed mandatory Codes of Conduct for Digital Platforms. He has been published in various law journals and newspapers on antitrust matters including in relation to Artificial Intelligence.

Bio coming soon…

Deirdre has extensive experience as an executive in the domestic and international screen sector. Prior to joining Screen Australia in 2024, Deirdre was the Chief Operating Officer of WildBrain, a global independent media entertainment company spanning content production, distribution and brands licensing. Previously, Deirdre worked at BBC Worldwide Australia as the Director of Television, General Manager and Director of Content. Her former roles include Head of Children’s Television at the ABC TV and General Manager of Universal Kids at NBC Universal.

Edward Wee is a seasoned Online Trust & Safety leader with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. He is currently the Director of Online Safety & Content Regulation at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore, where he leads the development and operationalisation of Singapore’s online safety and internet content regulations.

Prior to IMDA, Edward led Meta’s APAC Strategic Response and Content Policy teams from 2017 to 2021, where he oversaw whole-of-company responses to major complex geopolitical, regulatory and online safety incidents and crises, and developed product policies and operational processes for Meta’s family of apps.

From 2014 to 2017, Edward was BP’s APAC Head of Intelligence and Geopolitical Risk where he provided actionable strategic intelligence updates to BP’s Executive Leadership. Before that, Edward served in the Singapore Armed Forces for 12 years, during which he was the Military Assistant to the Chief of Army, a Branch Head in Army Intelligence, and a Company Commander, among other appointments.

Edward graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors in International Relations and History, and received his Masters in Political Science from Columbia University.

Ian Robertson is a corporate, media and regulatory lawyer who heads the media and communications practice of national law firm Holding Redlich. He is also the Chair of Holding Redlich. He became a partner of Holding Redlich in Melbourne in 1990 and established the firm’s Sydney office in 1994.

Ian has held a number of public and private sector Board appointments including President of the Board of the Victorian Government screen agency, Film Victoria, Deputy Chair of the Australian Government screen agency, Screen Australia, board member of the Australian Broadcasting Authority, director and Chair of Ausfilm, director and Deputy Chair of Film Australia Limited, and director of the ASX-listed screen production and distribution group, Beyond International Limited. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

James Konidaris is Special Counsel at Squire Patton Boggs, and Co-Vice President of the Australian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications.

He has extensive legal and regulatory experience in communications and technology, spanning Australia, the UK, Europe and the Middle East. He advises on a broad range of regulatory, policy and commercial matters and disputes, including international and multijurisdictional advice and transactions. He regularly advises global companies in the IT, communications, and automotive sectors, as well as regulatory authorities and not-for-profit organisations. James is co-author of the ‘EU Electronic Communications Code Handbook’ (Bloomsbury Professional), and a contributing author to the LexisNexis Practice Notes on ‘The European Electronic Communications Code’ and ‘Radio Spectrum Regulation’.

Jamie is Head of Industry & Policy at Macquarie Technology Group (ASX: MAQ), Australia’s leading publicly listed sovereign cyber security, data centre, cloud and telecommunications services company.

He is a communication and policy specialist with over 20 years’ experience in public and corporate affairs, both in Australia and internationally.

Jamie has held senior in-house and agency roles with large multinational companies in Australia, Asia and the Middle East.  He has been a Partner and General Manager at public affairs consultancy SenateSHJ, Managing Director at global consultancy Hill & Knowlton Strategies, and Campaign Communications Manager at BAE Systems.

His work has directly influenced multi-billion-dollar government procurement programs, regional trade agreements, electoral voter registration, and safer, more efficient workplaces.

Jamie is currently on the Board of telecommunications sector interest group Commpete, and was a Board member of the Australian Telecommunications Alliance between 2023 and 2025. He has a Master’s Degree in professional communications and is based in Canberra.

Jane van Beelen Joined nbn on 1 October 2020 and joined nbn’s Executive Committee from 1 September 2021. As Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer, Ms van Beelen is the General Counsel of nbn and leads the company’s legal and regulatory functions. She is responsible for the provision of legal and regulatory expertise to our board and executives, leading our engagement with regulatory stakeholders and facilitating legal and regulatory compliance. The Legal & Regulatory business unit also incorporates the company secretary and non-discrimination obligations compliance office.

A telco industry veteran, Ms van Beelen joined nbn following a 25-year career across the legal, regulatory and corporate affairs functions at Telstra, where she led the company’s regulatory strategy and engagement for ten years and played a leading role in numerous reforms and regulatory outcomes across the telecommunications industry in Australia. Most recently she led the compliance and regulatory affairs function, with responsibilities extended to the company’s compliance framework and compliance programs including ethical behaviour, regulatory and privacy.

Ms van Beelen was also inaugural chair of the GSMA Asia-Pacific Policy Group and a global Policy Group member, served on the Boards of TIO Ltd and AMTA, including two years as AMTA chair, and continues to serve as a Director of Communications Alliance.

Jean-Jacques Sahel was appointed Asia-Pacific Information Policy Lead at Google in November 2019, overseeing Google’s public policy approach in the region for issues including misinformation, online safety and intermediary liability.

He has been involved in international government and regulatory affairs for over 15 years in both the private and government sectors. Before joining Google, Mr Sahel was Managing Director of ICANN’s Brussels office and led the organisation’s corporate strategy and operations across the European region. He also led ICANN’s strategic plan for outreach, support and engagement with governments, private sector, and user groups throughout Europe, and worldwide for civil society.

Previously, Mr Sahel headed government and regulatory affairs for Skype, then digital policy at Microsoft for Europe, Middle-East & Africa regions. He had started his career in the City of London, before spending several years in the UK Government, leading in particular its international telecommunications policy.

Ex officio, Mr Sahel chaired the UK Chapter of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) from 2009-2019. He was a member of OSAB, the Advisory Board of UK communications regulator Ofcom for 2 terms until 2016. He has authored articles and research in both mainstream media and academic publications particularly on Internet policy and governance.

John Jack is the Director in the Department of Communications & Digital Transformation for the Vanuatu Government. In 2018, John published an article titled “E-government in Vanuatu: a whole of government approach” with the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration. In 2025, He co-authored the chapter on Cybersecurity in the Pacific Islands in the Palgrave Handbook on Cyber Diplomacy. John holds a Master’s Degree in Information Technology & Systems from the University of Canberra, Australia.

Julie Eisenberg is an independent consultant who has worked in senior roles in public broadcasting and public policy and as a lawyer for news media. She is the author of a report jointly commissioned by UTS Centre for Media Transition and the International Institute of Communications Australian Chapter, Finding the Way Forward for Australian News: An Examination of Local and International Interventions and the upcoming CMT report Funding the Way Forward for Australian News: A Review of Local and International News Funding Distribution Mechanisms. She is completing a PhD at UTS on the topic: Saving the News: The Dynamics of Regulating for a Sustainable Australian Media. She is also a past President of the IIC Australian chapter.

Justin Mining is Google’s lead for Competition Policy in the Asia Pacific.

He joined Google in 2021 and is part of the team that leads Google’s Government Affairs and Public Policy work on competition issues globally. He engages closely with stakeholders across Government and industry in the APAC region on competition policy that promotes consumer choice and innovation in the digital economy. Prior to joining Google, Justin had a broad range of experience across competition issues having practised as a competition lawyer in the private sector and serving as a competition policy adviser to the Australian Government.

Justin has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and International Relations) (BA) from the University of NSW. His academic background and experience across the private and public sectors enables him to offer unique perspectives on competition law and policy.

Kate Davies is Ofcom’s Group Director for Strategy and Research, leading its strategy and research work and engagement with domestic and international policymakers.

Kate joined Ofcom in 2016 working as both Strategy Director and Public Policy Director during that time. Prior to joining Ofcom Kate worked in the Treasury for six years in a range of Public Spending roles.

Kate Marks was appointed as Ausfilm’s CEO in October 2019. As CEO, Kate leads the Ausfilm team in Australia and the USA and is responsible for developing international market strategies to ensure Australia is a globally competitive production location for international film and television projects.

Working with Ausfilm’s membership and industry, Kate regularly engages with, and delivers advice, data and information to, the Australian Government regarding screen production to ensure Australia’s screen industry policy settings support Ausfilm members, Australian crew and international productions filming in Australia.

Prior to Kate’s appointment as CEO, she was Ausfilm’s Los Angeles based Executive Vice President of International Production, responsible for connecting Ausfilm members to international filmmakers and working closely with US development, finance, physical and post/vfx executives to help them bring their productions to Australia and Australian companies. Projects secured for Australia during Kate’s tenure in Los Angeles include Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings; Clickbait; Season 4 of Preacher; Monster Problems; Godzilla vs Kong; Dora and the Lost City of Gold; Alien: Covenant; Thor: Ragnarok; Season three of The Leftovers; Pacific Rim Uprising; Kong Skull Island; Bleeding Steel and The Shallows.   Kate held this role from September 2014 – December 2019.

Kate held the position of  President of the Board of Australians in Film (AiF) for four years  in Los Angeles. AiF is a Los Angeles based non-profit film, television and digital content foundation that supports, develops and promotes Australian screen talent and culture in the United States.

Prior to Ausfilm, Kate worked with Film Victoria for 10 years and from 2009-2013 as General Manager – Incentives, Locations and Production Services.

Kate Reader has been the General Manager of the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Branch (formally the Digital Platform Inquiry) since 2017. The original inquiry looked at the impact of social media platforms, search engines and other digital content aggregators on the media and advertising markets. The current 5 year Inquiry requires 6 monthly reports to the Treasurer on various digital platform services.

Ms Reader has previously been a Director of Merger Investigations, a Principal Lawyer and a Director of the Mobile and Consumer Engagement at the ACCC.  Ms Reader has worked across a number of significant issues including international mergers, NBN related matters, mobile roaming and gas and electricity matters.

Prior to joining the ACCC, Ms Reader was a Principal Lawyer at the Australian Communication and Media Authority. She also worked in regulatory roles at Ofgem and the Office of Rail and Road in the United Kingdom. Kate has Bachelor degrees in Law and Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in EC Competition Law from Kings College London

Kelly Tallon is the Executive Manager of Industry Compliance & Enforcement at the Australian Office of the eSafety Commissioner (eSafety). Her branch leads eSafety’s work to improve online services’ systems and processes through Industry Codes and Standards, transparency reporting against the Government’s Basic Online Safety Expectations, and roll out of the new Social Media Minimum Age.

Kelly joined eSafety in early 2019 and has held a variety of legal, policy and strategy positions across the organisation, including leading the development of an age verification roadmap, position papers on generative AI and recommender systems, and many of eSafety’s policy submissions.

Prior to joining eSafety, Kelly worked in NGO and government roles at the intersection of technology, education, criminal justice and children’s rights. She holds law degrees from Harvard Law School, where she participated in the cyberlaw clinic at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society, and from the University of New South Wales, where she studied media and technology law with the support of a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Bio coming soon…

Leon is SPI’s CEO, leading and delivering high-level strategic advice, insight and business planning for SPI’s global client base.

Current and recent projects include a Production Infrastructure and Capacity Analysis (PICA) of Australia’s Screen Production Sector, an Economic Impact Assessment of the Greek Film and Television Cash Rebate, an economic impact study of potential improvements to the Illinois Film and Television Production Services Tax Credit, an assessment of the Arkansas Digital Motion Picture Incentive, and a full update and expansion of Best Practice in Screen Sector Production for the Association of Film Commissioners International.

Leon is also involved in the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded CoSTAR network in the UK, and has delivered the Creative Industries Tax Evaluation for HMRC (with Ipsos and London Economics), Screen Business for the BFI, The Cultural Dividend Generated by Ireland’s Section 481 Film and Television Incentive, a ground-breaking study for Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, and a White Paper on Global Film Production Incentives for the MPA. He has also led on projects in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Iceland, and the US states of Georgia, New Mexico, Connecticut, Utah, and others.

With extensive knowledge of screen sector strategy, Leon has overseen the creation and development of successful sectoral policy and funding mechanisms in a wide range of markets.

Leon has interacted with legislators and other key stakeholders globally regarding the screen sector and has been a speaker at multiple international events, including the Marché du Film – Festival De Cannes, the Berlin Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival, the San Sebastián International Film Festival, FOCUS, Screen International’s Finance Forum, AFCI’s Cineposium and AFCI Week, the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Durban FilmMart, and the Reykjavik International Film Festival. Leon is also a judging chair for Screen International’s Global Production Awards.

Prior to joining SPI in 2013, Leon was a film business journalist and editor for 15 years. He is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Bio coming soon…

Luke Woodward commenced his 5-year appointment with the ACCC on 10 October 2025.

Luke has over 30 years of competition and consumer law enforcement experience. He has advised on a wide range of matters, including competition and consumer law matters, acquisition and merger transactions, and infrastructure regulation, across telecommunications, gas, electricity, water, airports, seaports and rail industries.

Prior to this appointment, Luke was partner in private legal practice, specialising in competition and consumer law and market regulation.  He was the national head of practice at leading Australian law firms. He also previously worked at the ACCC as an Executive General Manager, General Counsel and Senior Assistant Commissioner between 1993 and 2000; and commenced his career as a specialist competition law litigator in the Australian Government Solicitor’s Trade Practices Unit.

Luke chairs the Enforcement Committee, is a Deputy Chair of the Mergers Review Committee and is a member of the Energy Markets Board, Compliance and Product Safety Committee, Scams and Digital Markets Committee and Water and Agriculture Committee.

Luke graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School with a Master of Public Administration and the University of Sydney with degrees in Economics and Law.

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

Bio coming soon…

Marcus is a regular presenter on the regional economic outlook, and on issues such as international trade, economic and industry development, and sustainability.

Michael Coonan joined Free TV Australia in January 2024 as Director of Public Policy, having previously held policy, regulatory and government affairs roles at SBS and Foxtel. Prior to Foxtel, Mr Coonan worked at the Australian Communications and Media Authority, in both broadcasting and telecommunications regulation.

Michael is Vice President of the Australian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications, and a member of the Board of the Restless Dance Theatre.

Michael is a leading technology lawyer and partner at King & Wood Mallesons based in Melbourne.

 Michael has a strong interest in the development of emerging technologies and the data economy. He is an active thought leader on matters relating to privacy, data governance, cyber security, online safety and other areas of digital regulation.

 In recent years, he has had a particular focus on the development of online safety regulations, such as in relation to industry codes made under the Online Safety Act and the roll out of Australia’s social media minimum age regime.

 Michael’s clients include major listed corporations, multi-national technology providers and platform operators, and successful Australian tech start-ups.

Nerida O’Loughlin was appointed Chair and Agency Head of the Australian Communications and Media Authority from 14 October 2017, initially for five years. Nerida has since been reappointed until 13 October 2027.

Prior to joining the ACMA, Nerida was Deputy Secretary in the Australian Department of Communications and the Arts providing policy advice across telecommunications, broadcasting, online content and the arts. Nerida has also been responsible for major projects in the communications portfolio, including leading the Digital Television Switchover Program. Over her career, Nerida has also held senior positions in the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, predominantly across the technology and cultural sectors.

Nerida is also an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and has been reappointed until 13 October 2027.

In 2019, Nerida was awarded an Australian Public Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours for outstanding public service.

Peter Lewis is the founder of Per Capita’s Centre of the Public Square, and the owner and director of Essential, a progressive strategic communications agency. Peter is a regular columnist with the Guardian Australia, host of the Burning Platforms podcast, and the author of five books including Webtopia and The Public Square Project.

Rachael is a Partner in Ashurst’s Risk Advisory practice and a leading authority on cyber security and regulation in Australia. She advises Boards and executive teams on high-profile incidents, governance reviews and resilience, bringing deep operational, legal and regulatory expertise.

Before joining Ashurst, Rachael was Chief Executive Officer of the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre for more than six years, where she led cross-sector collaboration and the Independent Review of the Australian Government’s response to two major cyber incidents. Her work contributed to significant reforms, including Australia’s new Cyber Security Act and updates to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act.

Previously, she spent over a decade as an in-house legal and cyber adviser at a major telecommunications company. A recognised thought leader, Rachael co‑authored the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Governing Through a Cyber Crisis and both editions of the Cyber Governance Principles, and serves as a Distinguished Advisor at the ANU National Security College and on the RAND Australia Advisory Board.

Rosemary Sinclair AM was CEO of auDA until 31 December 2024. She has a distinguished record in the telecommunications, technology, energy and education sectors, driving transformation, high performance and advocacy.

Prior to joining auDA, Rosemary was CEO of Energy Consumers Australia, responsible for enhancing consumer advocacy in the national energy market on issues including price, quality and security of supply.

Rosemary has served on local corporate, government and international boards, including CPA Australia, the Communications Alliance, International Telecommunications User Group (INTUG) and West Tigers Rugby League Football Club. She is also a past part-time Member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Rosemary has over 20 years’ experience in international policy development and multi-stakeholder engagement with bodies including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and has been engaged in market developments in Asian economies over this time.

Rosemary received the Order of Australia Award for service to the telecommunications sector in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, the same year in which she was a finalist in the QANTAS AFR Top 100 Women of Influence. In 2022, Rosemary was inducted into the Communications Day Edison Awards Hall of Fame for her contributions to Australia’s telecommunications industry.

Rosemary is a member of Chief Executive Women, a qualified Fellow of CPA Australia and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds degrees in Arts, Law and Business from the University of Sydney and a Master of Commerce degree from UNSW.

Rosemary is also an Advisory Council member at the International Institute of Communications.

Samantha Yorks has been appointed as a Full-time Member of Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on 28 August 2023 for 5 years.

Ms Yorke is an accredited mediator, technology lawyer and policy advisor with over 24 years’ experience working within the digital media and technology sectors both in Europe and the Asia Pacific.

Prior to being appointed as an ACMA Authority Member, she worked in Google’s Government Affairs and Public Policy team leading their privacy, online safety, scam and mis/disinformation efforts in Australia.

Ms Yorke established the regulatory function at the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia, worked as General Counsel AUNZ and Legal Director for Yahoo! Asia Pacific and spent 10 years working for Microsoft in London where she supported the MSN business through a period of exponential growth and contributed to the launch of the Xbox gaming console across Europe.

Sarah Kruger is Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at IAB Australia, and Co-Vice President of the Australian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications. She has extensive experience in government affairs, policy, legal and regulatory work across the Australian, US and European media and technology sectors. Sarah joined IAB Australia from Seven West Media where she was Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, and was previously Chief Legal & Government Affairs Officer at Commercial Radio & Audio. Before coming to Australia, Sarah was a Senior Associate at US firm Covington +  Burling, where she worked  for the tech industry on international policy issues from London and Washington DC. Sarah holds BA (Hons) and MA degrees from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Mr Shun Lee has been working in the areas of spectrum management and technical regulations in the Office of the Communications Authority (“OFCA”) of Hong Kong for over 20 years.  Mr Lee is currently working as the Assistant Director (Operations) of OFCA overseeing a technical team consisting of telecommunications engineers for planning of radio spectrum to support the development of radiocommunications networks in Hong Kong, and assigning specific frequencies to relevant spectrum users in both government and non-government sectors.  Besides, he also manages an enforcement team consisting of technical inspectors to undertake radio monitoring duties and enforcement actions.  Moreover, he also supervises a licensing and support team consisting of a number clerical staff and technical inspectors, handling applications of various telecommunications licences and inspection of radio equipment respectively.

Chief Executive Stacey joined the BSA in September 2022. Stacey studied Law and English at Otago University and journalism at Massey University in Wellington. She worked as a reporter for the Dominion Post for several years before joining the legal profession, first in intellectual property law before going in-house. Before joining the BSA Stacey was a General Manager at Te Ao Rangahau Engineering New Zealand, overseeing the organisation’s legal, policy, public affairs and governance functions.

Stan Ahio is the Director of Communications at the Ministry of MEIDECC, Government of Tonga. With over 21 years of experience in information and communications technology across both government and the telecommunications industry, he works at the intersection of policy, regulation, and digital development.

Mr. Ahio focuses on strengthening ICT and telecommunications frameworks, advancing resilient digital infrastructure, and enabling inclusive connectivity that delivers economic and social benefits for communities and businesses. He is passionate about leveraging technology to support sustainable development and Tonga’s long‑term digital future.

Dr Stephen P King commenced a 5-year term as a full time Commissioner with the Productivity Commission in July 2016. Stephen was reappointed for a further 5-year term as a part time Commissioner in January 2022. He was recently a Professor of Economics at Monash University in Melbourne where he also held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics from 2009-2011.

Prior to joining Monash, Stephen was a Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), where he chaired the Mergers Review Committee. Previous roles include, Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne and a Professor of Management (Economics) at the Melbourne Business School.

Stephen’s main areas of expertise are in microeconomic theory, competition economics, regulation and industrial organization. His research has been published widely, including articles in major international economics journals.

Stephen is a Professor of Practice at Monash University, a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a lay member of the High Court of New Zealand. He has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He received the Distinguished Public Policy Fellow award from the Economics Society of Australia in 2021 for his contributions to economic policy.

Steven Matainaho is the Secretary of the Papua New Guinea Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). He is responsible for national leadership and implementation oversight of digital government, digital identity, cybersecurity, and government ICT infrastructure.

He has led the formulation and rollout of Papua New Guinea’s core digital policy and legal framework, including the Digital Transformation Policy, the Digital Government Act 2022, the Digital ID Policy, the Data Governance and Protection Policy, the Government Cloud Policy, and the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy. These instruments provide the legal and institutional foundation for the country’s digital public infrastructure agenda.

Steven oversees the delivery of key national platforms, including the e-government services portal, SevisPass Digital ID, SevisWallet, interoperability and data-exchange frameworks, and government cloud services. His work focuses on enabling secure, interoperable digital services, strengthening trust in digital systems, and expanding access to government and financial services.

He has over 15 years’ experience in senior public-sector leadership, including as Deputy Secretary for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Instrumentation from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing and Communications from Wuhan University, China. He was self-taught in computer programming at an early age and regularly represents Papua New Guinea at regional and international forums on digital government, digital identity, connectivity, and ICT policy.

Suanne Russell is the Lead Ombudsman for Small Business and Transactions at the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). In this role, she oversees the management of small business complaints relating to financial services, as well as consumer and small business complaints involving banking transactions, payment services, and merchant disputes—currently with a strong focus on scam‑related matters.

A qualified banking and finance lawyer, Suanne joined AFCA in 2021. Her previous experience includes senior leadership roles within the St.George Bank and Westpac Group, where she served as Head of Institutional and Business Banking Legal for St.George, and as Head of Consumer Bank Legal and Head of Business Bank Legal for Westpac. In these roles, she provided oversight across business lending, deposits, and merchant and payment services.

Suanne has worked extensively on large‑scale remediation and regulatory projects and has collaborated closely with regulators and industry bodies. Her career also includes significant experience in major national law firms in both Sydney and London.

DIGI is led by Sunita Bose, who is its Managing Director. Sunita Bose was previously the Head of Global Policy for the online petition platform Change.org, based in San Francisco. She developed the company’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Community Guidelines and policy infrastructure to manage harmful user-generated content, in areas such as bullying, hate speech, defamation, misinformation, data privacy and child protection.

Before that, Sunita spent seven years working in a range of international and Australian advocacy and strategic communications roles at humanitarian aid agencies Oxfam and UNICEF, and has a Masters of Policy from the University of New South Wales. A leading advocate for the tech sector and the democratising power of the Internet, Sunita sits on the Government’s Digital Experts Advisory Committee and her opinions have been published in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian.

Bio coming soon…

Bio coming soon …..

Tim Webb is Head of IP and Co-Head of Digital at Clayton Utz and advises on all aspects of intellectual property law in both contentious and non-contentious matters.  He has a special interest in copyright, trade marks and designs and has won landmark Australian cases in each of those areas.  Tim also regularly acts for clients in the Copyright Tribunal of Australia.  Tim advises across industries, with a particular focus on the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sectors.

Dr Tobias Schmid is Director of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is also elected as the European Affairs Commissioner of the Conference of Directors of the German Media Authorities (DLM).

Dr Schmid is also Chairman of the Federal Media Committee of the German Music Council. Since 1st April 2021, he is also a Member of the Expert Committee for Communication and Information of the German UNESCO-Commission.

Dr Schmid holds a doctorate in law.

Tristan Gilbertson was appointed Telecommunications Commissioner in June 2020. He is a commercial lawyer with extensive international experience in telecommunications law and regulation. After an early career in private practice, Mr Gilbertson was appointed Legal & Regulatory Director – Asia-Pacific at Vodafone Group Plc, where he was closely involved in the expansion and diversification of Vodafone’s business. He then joined Telecom New Zealand Ltd where he was Group General Counsel and played a leading role in the structural separation of Telecom and the re-set of the regulatory framework in New Zealand. Most recently, he was Group General Counsel of Digicel Group Ltd, where he focused on transformation and change across Digicel’s 32 global markets.

Mr Gilbertson holds a BA/LLB(Hons) from the University of Auckland and has completed the Executive Leadership Development Programme at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr Gilbertson chairs the Commission’s Telecommunications Division and Fibre Regulation Division, and is a member of the Consumer Division, Retail Payments System Division, Groceries Division, and Market Studies Division.

I joined the Internet Society in June 2025 as an IXP Development Expert, focusing on supporting Internet infrastructure growth and interconnection initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region. With a career in IT that began in 1994, I bring a broad range of experience from technical consulting to Internet community training. I previously served as a Senior Network Analyst/Technical Trainer at APNIC, where I delivered technical workshops and provided support to Internet operators throughout the Asia-Pacific.

My technical expertise spans Windows systems, CISCO equipment, virtualisation, technical support, and training delivery. Beyond technical skills, I am deeply committed to building capacity within Internet communities, helping individuals and organizations enhance their knowledge and operational capabilities. I actively contribute to knowledge sharing and am passionate about ensuring that communities have the skills and resources to access and develop the Internet in an inclusive way.