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Kindly hosted by the University of Technology Sydney
We were delighted to be working in partnership with our Australia Chapter to shine a spotlight on several of the IIC’s core discussion themes, but with an Australasian flavour. Regulators, industry, academia and civil society from the region convened to share views on the role of regulation in today’s world – with international speakers and delegates providing comparisons and regional experiences. The University of Technology Sydney provided the perfect stimulus for lively discussions on the disruptive potential of new technologies including artificial intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things.
In Australia, the UK and the US, policies have been driven primarily by opportunities to develop industries and services, and by the desire to maintain dominant social arrangements. The three major communication policy agencies, the Australian Communication Media Authority, the UK Office of Communications and US Federal Communications Commission, have many similarities.
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.
Brendon Riley is the Group Executive, Telstra Enterprise, which is responsible for providing services to thousands of enterprise, government and international wholesale customers. With revenues in excess of A$8 billion per annum and operations in 20 countries, Telstra Enterprise offers connectivity, platforms, applications and tailored industry solutions to its enterprise and government customers and operates the largest submarine cable network in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr Riley joined Telstra in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer (COO) with responsibility for all aspects of Telstra’s operating environment including networks, field services and the National Broadband Network. During his time as COO, Telstra deployed its award winning 4G LTE mobile network, developed the Network Applications and Services business and transformed the division’s operating model to align to the company’s long term strategy.
Prior to joining Telstra, Brendon spent more than 25 years with IBM and held a number of senior executive positions in Europe, Asia and Australia, including the Head of Europe and CEO of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Mr Riley is currently a member of the boards of Foxtel, Ooyala and Telstra Ventures. He has also served as a member of the President’s Council of the Confederation of British Industry and as a director of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Mr Riley holds a Bachelor of Business in Information Processing from the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University).
Dan Lloyd joined Vodafone Hutchinson Australia as Chief Strategy Officer and Corporate Affairs Director in 2014. Mr Lloyd’s areas of responsibility include company strategy, public policy, regulatory, corporate affairs and inter-carrier. Mr Lloyd was elected Chair of the Vodafone Australia Foundation in 2017.
Mr Lloyd previously served in a number of global leadership roles with Vodafone Group, including Director of Public Policy for Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, Vodafone India’s Head of Regulatory, and a range of global strategy, business development and governance roles. Before joining Vodafone, Mr Lloyd was a Senior Associate at Sydney commercial law firm Gilbert & Tobin.
Mr Lloyd has Honours degrees in Law and Arts from the University of Sydney.
Deena Shiff is currently the Chairman of global communications company, BAI Communications, which own Broadcast Australia in Australia, as well as communications companies in North America , the UK and Hong Kong.
Ms Shiff is also the Chairman of the German Supervisory Board of Marley Spoon AG (asx :mmm), the Chairman of a CRC, and is a non-executive director on the boards of Appen (asx:apx), Infrastructure Australia and Opera Australia. She was Chairman of the Government’s Regional Telecommunications Review in 2015.
Ms Shiff was a Group Managing Director at Telstra until 2013, where she managed the Wholesale Division; established the business division, Telstra Business; and set up and led Telstra Ventures, Telstra’s corporate venture capital arm.
Prior to that, Ms Shiff had a legal career including as in-house counsel at Telstra and as a partner at law firm Mallesons, Stephen Jacques.
Since leaving Telstra, Ms Shiff has served on the board of Australia’s export credit agency, Efic, as Deputy Chair as well as the boards of a number of venture capital backed or asx listed software companies.
Megan Brownlow leads the media and entertainment industry practice at PwC and is the National Leader of the Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) Industry. In her practice she performs strategy, due diligence, forecasting, and market analysis work for clients. She has over 25 years’ experience in media, marketing and managing digital disruption ranging from designing cross-media strategies to assessing new digital opportunities. At PwC Ms Brownlow also leads the industry thought leadership program: The Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook which provides forecasts and commentary on twelve media segments covering advertising and consumer spending.
Ms Brownlow is a board member of the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) and the Deputy Chair of Screen Australia.
Ms Brownlow is also a member of the Department of Communications’ Bureau of Communications Research Advisory Committee and the Research Strategy Panel for the Australia Council.
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 Harris is Chairman of the Productivity Commission. Mr Harris previously served as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy; the Victorian Government agencies responsible for Sustainability and the Environment; Primary Industries; and Public Transport.
Mr Harris has worked for the Ansett-Air New Zealand aviation group and as a consultant on transport policy. He has also worked in Canada on exchange with the Privy Council Office (1993-1994). His career with the government started in 1976 with the Department of Overseas Trade and included periods with the Treasury; Finance; the Prime Minister’s Department and Transport; he worked for two years in the Prime Minister’s Office on secondment from the Prime Minister’s Department as a member of then Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s personal staff.
In 2013, Mr Harris was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.
He has a degree in Economics from the University of Queensland (1975).
Professor Robert G Picard is a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at University of Oxford, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale University Law School. His scholarship focuses on the nexus between economic of media and communications systems and public policy.
Professor Picard has been a professor for four decades at Universities in Europe and the United States. He has taught at both the University of Oxford and Harvard University, is the author and editor of 32 books, and has been editor of the Journal of Media Business Studies and The Journal of Media Economics.
Professor Picard has consulted and carried out assignments for governments in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia and for international organisations including the European Commission, UNESCO, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation. He has been a consultant for leading media companies in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Professor Picard received his PhD from the University of Missouri, Columbia. and had post-doctoral study and fellowships at University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and University of Oxford.
Rod Sims AO is a Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, Canberra; Chair of the Superpower Institute, a non-profit organisation dedicated to Australia moving quickly to, and benefitting from, the transition to net zero emissions; Chair of Opera Australia, Australia’s largest performing arts company; Chair of the Competition Research Policy Network at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Paris; and Chair of Australia’s National Data Advisory Committee. He is also an Expert Adviser to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority on digital platform issues.
From 2011-March 2022 Professor Sims was Chair of The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Prior to that he had a range of senior corporate positions, including on Boards based in Australia, the UK and Singapore, and advising many major Australian companies on corporate strategy issues. He has also worked in the Australian Public Service including as the Deputy Secretary in charge of all domestic policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, one of three positions working to the Head of that Department. From 1988-1990 he was the Principal Economic Adviser to Australia’s Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
Stuart Cunningham AM is Distinguished Professor of Media and Communications, Queensland University of Technology. He directed the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation from 2005 to 2014. He has served in leadership roles in advocacy, advice and governance in research and higher education, and in the screen and library sectors. His most recent book was Media Economics (with Terry Flew and Adam Swift, Palgrave, 2015) and his forthcoming book (with David Craig) is Social Media Entertainment: The new intersection
Toby Walsh is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales. He was named by the Australian newspaper as a “rock star” of Australia’s digital revolution. Professor Walsh is a strong advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve our lives. He has been a leading voice in the discussion about lethal autonomous weapons (aka killer robots) speaking at the UN in New York and Geneva on the topic. He is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science. He appears regularly on TV and radio, and has authored two books on AI for a general audience.
Ms Aileen Chia is currently the Deputy Chief Executive (Connectivity Development & Regulations) and Director-General (Telecoms and Post) of the IMDA, a statutory board in the Singapore government which regulates the infocomm, media and postal sectors, and comprises the Personal Data Protection Commission. She has served as a Board member of the Singapore Network Information Centre (a subsidiary of IMDA) since 2009 and has been its Chairman since 2020.
Ms Chia seeks to create a competitive, internationally-connected and trusted environment to enable the development of the infocomm, media and postal sectors in Singapore through the formulation and implementation of policy and regulatory frameworks, and development strategies for these sectors.
Ms Chia holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics (Honours) and a Masters of Public Policy from the National University of 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).
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Belinda Moffat was appointed Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) in New Zealand in May 2016. The BSA was established in 1989 and is responsible for overseeing the content standards regime for television and radio in New Zealand. The BSA deals with complaints about breaches of broadcasting standards, undertakes research on community attitudes to standards issues and works in a co-regulatory model with broadcasters to develop and promote broadcasting standards in New Zealand.
Ms Moffat is a qualified lawyer and was a commercial litigation lawyer for 17 years in New Zealand and the UK. Her litigation career included regulatory, commercial, criminal and human rights cases, including cases taken to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UNHRC on behalf of death row prisoners in the Caribbean. In 2012 Ms Moffat was appointed as the Director of Enforcement for the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority.
Ms Moffat has a law and arts degree from Victoria University of Wellington and an M. Phil from Cambridge University.
Ben Heap is a Founding Partner of H2 Ventures, a venture capital investment firm focused on innovation and digital disruption in the wealth and financial services sector. He is also a non-executive director and a member of the Australian Commonwealth Government’s ‘Fintech Advisory Group’.
He was formerly the Managing Director of UBS Global Asset Management in Australia. During his tenure at UBS, Mr Heap was a non-executive director of the Financial Services Council, the peak industry body for the financial services industry.
Mr Heap has 25 years of financial services and investment experience, predominately in Australia and the United States.
Bridget Fair is Chief Executive Officer of Free TV Australia, the industry body that represents Australia’s commercial television licensees. She previously held a number of senior roles with Seven West Media, most recently Group Chief of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs.
Prior to joining Seven, Ms Fair worked as General Counsel for SBS, legal counsel for the ABC and in private legal practice. She is also a former Chairman of Screenrights and has been on the Boards of OzTAM and Freeview. She is also a non-executive Director of iSelect.
Ms Fair holds a BA/LLB from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and is a Graduate of the AICD.
Bruce Meagher was Group Director of Corporate Affairs at Foxtel between 2012 and 2018. He was responsible for government relations and policy, corporate media management, stakeholder relations, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. He was one of Foxtel’s representatives on the Board of ASTRA.
Mr Meagher was a policy adviser to the Federal Communications Minister during a major period of reform of communications legislation and regulation. While at Freehills Mr Meagher was a legal adviser to Austar and later he worked there as Corporate Affairs Director during and after Austar’s float. He has also been a senior executive at Optus Vision and then Optus Communications. Most recently, Mr Meagher was Director, Strategy and Communication at public broadcaster, SBS.
He has been a director of Freeview Australia Limited, a committee member of the International Institute of Communications (Australia) and a member of the Federal Government’s Digital Switchover Taskforce Industry Advisory Group.
Mr Meagher has degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney.
Bárbara Navarro joined Google in 2008 as Head for the South of Europe in the public policy and government relations team, moving to Hong Kong in November 2014 as Head of Operations and Strategy for Public Policy at APAC.
Before joining Google, Ms Navarro was at NBC Universal as Director of Regulatory affairs for Spain and Portugal.
Ms Navarro has a Law degree and an executive MBA at IESE business school.
Chris Althaus was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) in 2005.
AMTA is the peak industry organisation representing Australia’s mobile telecommunications sector and operates programs covering all aspects of the mobile ecosystem such as – telecommunications policy, mobile network infrastructure, radiofrequency spectrum, health & safety, product stewardship / e-waste and recycling, national security, content regulation and consumer awareness & education.
Prior to joining AMTA Mr Althaus held Chief Executive roles leading national industry associations representing the Australian road transport and logistics industry and the Australian forests and forest products sector.
Mr Althaus has a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University, Graduate Diploma in Economics from the University of Canberra and Business Administration Diploma from Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Chris Chapman was appointed President of the International Institute of Communications on 1 April 2016. He is also a member of the IIC Advisory Council and Former Chair of the IIC Nominations Committee.
Mr Chapman previously held the position of Chairman and CEO of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). He was appointed in February 2006 and was re-appointed for a 2nd five year term in October 2010 until April 2016. He was appointed an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in September 2007.
Mr Chapman is a seasoned executive with experience in the media, broadcasting and film, internet, telecommunications, sports rights and infrastructure development worlds.
Before joining ACMA, Mr Chapman held a number of senior management positions with the Seven Network, Stadium Australia Management, Optus and Babcock & Brown. He has also been the Chairman of Film Australia and Sports Vision Australia, and a previous member of the National Film and Sound Archives’ Advisory Council.
Mr Chapman has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and has completed the Harvard Business School AMP program.
Clayton Noble is a senior legal counsel for Microsoft Australia and New Zealand. Mr Noble leads commercial transactions, advises Microsoft’s commercial and consumer businesses and manages litigation and intellectual property policy and enforcement for Microsoft in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Noble has previously worked in technology fields with law firms Minter Ellison in Sydney and Fenwick & West in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, as in-house counsel for software company Cognos, and with corporate advisory firms Carnegie, Wylie & Company and Ironbark Strategy & Transactions.
Darren Kane has been the Chief Security Officer at nbn™ since March 2015. Under his leadership the Security Group has become a converged centre of physical and cyber security enabling nbn to better protect its people and assets against evolving threats.
Mr Kane’s career history includes, 13 years with the Australian Federal Police, 6.5 years with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission the last role as Assistant Director of National Enforcement. Darren moved to Telstra in 2004 where he completed 11 years in varied management roles culminating in 4.5 years as the Director, Corporate Security & Investigations.
Mr Kane has a Master’s in Business Administration, a Diploma of Financial Markets and is a Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors.
David Anderson was appointed as Director Entertainment & Specialist in February 2018, expanding his previous role as Director Television to be responsible for all ABC radio music networks (triple j, Double j, Classic FM, Country and Jazz) podcasts and specialist radio content (Radio National) as well as broadcast television networks (ABCTV, ABC Kids, ABC Comedy, ABC ME). This also includes all on-demand products and services (iview, ABC Listen, ABC Kids Listen, ABC Kids), and the relevant network web and apps.
Mr Anderson has enjoyed a successful career in the broadcast television and media industry for nearly 30 years, with a long history as a television executive and a strong track record in television production and commissioning successful programs across all genres.
Prior to his tenure as Director Television, Mr Anderson was the Director of the ABC’s Digital Network and Strategy & Planning divisions. In his capacity as Director of Strategy & Planning, Mr Anderson worked to refocus expenditure in the organisation towards audience-focused content, products and services; and as Director of Digital Network, DMr Anderson was afforded the opportunity to lead the organisation’s digital transformation by looking at ways to engage new audiences online and creating a personalised and connected online network.
Mr Anderson also maintains positions on both Screenrights and Freeview Boards.
David Havyatt has spent over thirty years in the telecommunications industry in a variety of roles. From December 2011 to June 2014 he was a senior adviser to the Minister for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy (both Senator Stephen Conroy and Anthony Albanese), and then Labor’s Shadow Minister (Jason Clare).
His career in telecommunications started with Telstra (then Telecom Australia) in roles covering customer service, corporate sales and strategy before a stint consulting when his principal client was Austar. For the fifteen years prior to working for Senator Conroy he was in lead regulatory and corporate affairs roles at Hutchison, AAPT and vividwireless, as well as a fixed term assignment with the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
After his employment with Senator Conroy he resumed his consulting career as a public policy professional, blogger and freelance columnist with focus on the Digital Economy and ‘traditional’ telecommunications and media regulatory issues. From October 2015 he has been Senior Economist at Energy Consumers Australia.
Mr Havyatt is a former Board member of the TIO, ACIF (now Communications Alliance) and AMTA, and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
He is also an active member of the Australian Labour Party, and was that party’s candidate for the seat of Epping at the 2015 NSW State election.
Mr Havyatt holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Economics. He is about to commence candidature for a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Wollongong.
Dean Ormston was appointed Chief Executive of APRA AMCOS in July 2018. APRA AMCOS is Australia and New Zealand’s largest music industry organisation with over 95,000 members who are songwriters, composers and music publishers. APRA AMCOS license businesses and organisations to play, perform, copy, record or make available members’ music and distribute the royalties to members.
His appointment as CEO follows over 20 years with the organisation leading its member services, licensing and advocacy work and comes at a time of major change for Australian and New Zealand music creators and the industry that supports them.
In recent years he has worked in partnership with Federal and State Governments for the recognition and support of creators’ rights and advocating the potential of the local music industry as a key economic and cultural asset that drives exports and educational outcomes across the country.
Mr Ormston has initiated research relating to the economic contribution of the Australian venue-based live music industry, the potential application of tax-offsets to the commercial music industry, and most recently the issues of gender equity in the Australian contemporary music industry.
He holds a Bachelor of Education in Music, a post-graduate qualification in marketing and is a graduate of the High Potentials Leadership program at Harvard University. In a former life Mr Ormston was a high school music teacher.
A media entrepreneur, company director and philanthropist, Deanne Weir has over 25 years’ experience in media and communications.
Ms Weir is a globally recognised leader, strategist and communicator, with a deep interest in how new forms of media affect business and society. She chairs the boards of two private companies in which her company WeirAnderson.com is a significant investor: Hoodlum, an Emmy and BAFTA award winning production company, and Ai-Media, a technology and social innovation company.
Ms Weir is a member of, Women Moving Millions, and was previously Chair of the Australian Women Donors Network, organisations seeking to increase the amount of social investment that reaches women and girls.
A board member of Screen Australia for eight years until 2016, Ms Weir was instrumental in the development of its Gender Matters program. She remains a member of its Gender Matters Taskforce, and is also Chair of the Sydney Film Festival.
Debra Richards took up the role Director of Studio & Production Affairs at Netflix in September 2019, covering studio affairs, production and content policy for the APAC region. She has over 35 years communications, media & screen industry experience, previously as CEO of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA), a director of Australia’s broadcasting regulator, then the Australian Broadcasting Authority (& Tribunal) and as the immediate past CEO of Ausfilm, attracting major production and post production work to Australia.
Ms Richards has been involved in most screen content policy and production industry issues during her working life as regulator, stakeholder and advocate covering local content, sports rights, copyright, digital conversion and distribution disruption. She was also an advisor to a previous federal Communications & Arts Minister, Michael Lee.
Ms Richards is a Vice President of the Communications and Media Law Association (CAMLA) Board; a Director of the International Institute of Communications, Australia (IICA); Deputy Chair of the Alcohol Beverage Advertising Code (ABAC) adjudication panel; a Director of Northcott, a professional member of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) and a marriage celebrant.
Ms Richards has recently been reappointed as a Member of the Australian Film, Television & Radio School’s (AFTRS) Council (and is currently Deputy Chair) and a member of the NSW Film & Television Industry Advisory Committee.
Frank Zeichner is an industry leader and influencer in building the collaborative Internet of Things (IoT) eco-system in Australia and is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the IoT Alliance Australia, the peak Australia IoT body. The IoTAA now has over 400 government, industry and research corporate members and over 750 participants.
Mr Zeichner is also Director of the Knowledge Economy Institute, an Internet of Things (IoT) industry/research collaboration hub focussed on Smart Cities, based at University of Technology Sydney, and Industry Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and IT, School of Systems, Management and Leadership.
Professor Glenn Wightwick joined UTS as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) in August 2014 and he recently became Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and Enterprise).
Professor Wightwick joined UTS from IBM, where he was Director, IBM Research, Australia and IBM Australia Chief Technologist.
Professor Wightwick, is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
Guillaume Mascot is Senior Manager Global Regulatory Policy, Shure France.
He was in previously in charge of Government Relations for Nokia in APJ (Asia-Pacific, Japan) & India. He oversaw all aspects of current and future policy and regulation in the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, he was working with institutions and other relevant stakeholders to create a favourable political and regulatory environment to foster public and private investment in the digital and broadband industries with a focus on innovation for sustainable growth, competitiveness, and quality of life in a connected environment.
Previously, Mr Mascot also led Alcatel-Lucent’s EU representation in Brussels, managed European Affairs and engaged with the European institutions. He was a board member of the EIF (European Internet Foundation) – a European think tank supporting European political leadership for the development of European multilateral public policies responsive to the political, economic and social challenges of the worldwide digital revolution – and was also an associate member of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT).
Mr Mascot holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science with a major on Public Administration and Public Policy from the University of Lille.
Harry Iles-Mann is a patient/consumer advocate, and speaker from Sydney, Australia, who has a vision for a future in which the public are health literate, and enjoy access to health care services which support and enable their own health and well being management. He has over 20 years of experience as a patient relying on health systems for the treatment and management of several serious physical chronic and mental health issues.
Among other clients which include peak State and Territory, Federal, and international organisations – he works closely with the Australian Digital Health Agency on the delivery of its MyHealth Record, and sits as a consumer representative on a number of national panels and committees focusing on similar digital, chronic, and mental health initiatives.
Mr Iles-Mann is currently completing a law, and a philosophy degree, with plans to specialise in health law and public policy.
After studying economics, Henry Ergas worked at the OECD in Paris, where he was responsible for structural adjustment issues and counselor for microeconomic policies in the Economics Department. He has written on a broad range of topics, including innovation, labour markets, regulation, tax and health policies, and taught at a number of universities, including France’s École nationale de la statistique et de l’administration économique, the Kennedy School of Government and (most recently) the University of Wollongong, as well as being a columnist for The Australian.
Additionally, he has been a member of and chaired a number of government inquiries, covering intellectual property law, telecommunications regulation, export infrastructure and defense. His most recent publications include work on the history of ideas, public economics and Australian economic history.
In 2016 Mr Ergas was awarded an Order of Australia for distinguished service to infrastructure economics, higher education, public policy development and review, and as a supporter of emerging artists.
Hong-Wei Jyan is the Director General of Department of Cyber Security, Executive Yuan. His experience and professional specialty mainly includes parallel and distributed computing, algorithms, object-oriented design, information security, and project management. He is in charge of cyber security policy making of the government.
Mr Jyan has worked for several agencies before joining the Executive Yuan, including Director General of Department of Information Management, National Development Council (NDC)., Deputy Director of Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission(RDEC), section chief of Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC), Taiwan; technical specialist of Central Weather Bureau (CWB), Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), and private sectors.
Mr Jyan is also an assessor of information security management system, and held certificates for ISMS LA (Information Security Management System Leading Auditor), CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), and CISM (Certified Information Security Manager).
He holds an MS degree in Computer Science and Information Management from National Chung Cheng University.
Ian McGill is a partner of Allens. He is a corporate and regulatory lawyer in the Technology Media and Telecommunications team who specialise in media and telecommunications industry transactions, policy and regulation, with particular emphasis on broadband and telecommunications industry regulation, mobile telephony and pay television. Mr McGill is ranked in Chambers 2018 as a leading lawyer in TMT (Band 1 in Media and Band 2 in Telecommunications). Based on peer review, Mr McGill is listed in The International Who’s Who of Regulatory Communications Lawyers (2005 to date).
James Cameron is an Authority Member with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, having been appointed in August 2013.
Mr Cameron has over 25 years Australian Government public policy experience, including senior executive roles in the telecommunications, radio communications, broadcasting and digital economy fields. Mr Cameron has also held executive positions managing government policies and programs supporting Australia’s arts and sports sectors and, immediately prior to joining the ACMA, was Chief Executive Officer of the National Water Commission.
John Broome is a recognised marketing leader in the Australian FMCG industry having held various VP Marketing or CMO roles with blue chip companies such as Reckitt Benkiser, Nestle, Kellogg and most recently, Unilever. Mr Broome has broad international experience having worked in the US, UK, Canada and Europe and Australia.
Mr Broome has a passion for brands and brand led growth and recognises that winning in today’s marketplace requires strong commercial acumen and a highly collaborative way of working, collectively aimed at delivering both short and long term results. Mr Broome is a strong believer in the maxim of ‘sales today, brands forever’ and he describes his approach as calm, pragmatic & approachable whilst being tenacious & decisive in commercial situations.
Mr Broome has a long track record building businesses through brand and category-led marketing strategies. He is skilled in motivating and empowering teams to deliver superior results, often in turnaround situations.
John Stanton is a seasoned communications industry executive with over 18 years of experience.
From 2006-2009 Mr Stanton was Chief Executive Officer of ASX and NZX-listed telecommunications carrier, People Telecom. Under his leadership, People Telecom became profitable and was recognised as Australia’s Best Regional Service Provider in the Australian Telecom Awards 2007. In early 2009 the Company was sold to M2 Telecommunications.
Prior to that Mr Stanton was an executive with Intelsat, the largest provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. Based in the UK from 2001-2005, he was President and Director of Intelsat Global Sales & Marketing and of the Data, Carrier and Internet Business Unit. Mr Stanton also spent two years in the US with Intelsat as Vice President of Sales and Marketing from 1999-2001.
Mr Stanton joined Telstra in 1992 as a result of the merger with OTC where he was Manager of Public Affairs. From 1992-1999 Mr Stanton held a number of roles with Telstra including Managing Director of Payphones and Card Services. From 1996-1997 he was also Chairman of the Intelsat Board.
In his early career, Mr Stanton worked as a journalist and as a press secretary with the Australian Government.
Dr Michelle Zeibots is a transport planner, specialising in the analysis of sustainable urban passenger transport systems. Her research, consultancy work and teaching draws together operational, behavioural and governance features relating to multi-modal urban transport networks. Dr Zeibots has a continuing split appointment at UTS between theInstitute for Sustainable Futureswhere she is a Research Director responsible for strategic oversight within the transport area, and a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology in the School of Civil Engineering where she lectures in transportation engineering. Dr Zeibots is also the Research Director for the UTS Transport Research Centre, a multi-disciplinary, cross-faculty research hub within UTS dedicated to applied transport research, teaching and learning programs within a customer service paradigm.
Mike Mrdak AO is Secretary, Department of Communications and the Arts, a position he has held since 18 September 2017.
The portfolio has responsibility for broadband and the National Broadband Network (NBN); communications infrastructure; spectrum; communication, broadcasting and media regulation and fostering Australian arts and culture.
Mr Mrdak began his Australian Public Service career in 1988 as a Graduate with the then Department of Transport and Communications. Since then he has held a number of senior positions across the Australian Public Service.
Between June 2009 and September 2017, Mr Mrdak was Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. His work with the infrastructure and regional development portfolio includes management of infrastructure investment; policy initiatives to increase productivity; security, safety and regulation in road, rail, aviation and maritime transport; regional development; local government; and services to Australia’s territories.
Mr Mrdak was appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday 2016 honours list for his distinguished service to public administration through executive roles in the infrastructure, transport and logistics sector, and through the development of policy reform initiatives.
As CEO and Managing Director of Research Australia for 4 years, Nadia Levin champions transformative change in health driven by health and medical research. She is engaged with our top leaders in research, universities, research institutes, pharmaceutical companies, biotech, innovators and all levels of government.
She is at the table influencing and advocating for a strong and globally integrated health and medical research sector. She challenges traditional thinking and constantly encourages new approaches and ways to fund our best and brightest innovations in health and medical research.
Nadia came to this role with a strong record in executive leadership at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. She positively positioned ANSTO with a wide range of stakeholders both in Australia and globally. Successfully translating the impact of research, discovery and innovation into compelling stories and collective opportunities, she drove the development of new landmark research infrastructure. Nadia was also a Director of the Australian Synchrotron Board.
Peter Leonard is a data and technology business lawyer. He has worked as a legal and commercials adviser to global and Asia Pac data, communications and technology businesses for over thirty years.
Mr Leonard was a founding partner of Gilbert + Tobin. Following his retirement as a G+T partner in 2017, he continues to assist corporates, government agencies, start-ups and professional firms.
Mr Leonard chairs the Australian IoT (Internet of Things) Alliance’s Data Access and Use workstream, the Law Society of New South Wales Privacy and Data Committee, and the Australian Computer Society’s Artificial Intelligence and Ethics Technical Committee. He serves on a number of advisory boards, including of the NSW Data Analytics Centre and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s AI Program, and a number of boards of directors, including Enome Pty Limited (a medtech company), Iridium Satellite Australia and Allscripts Healthcare IT Australia.
Rebecca Lindhout is a Special Counsel in the Commercial Team at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, specialising in media, telecommunications and technology, including data protection, privacy and cyber security.
Prior to joining HWL Ebsworth, Ms Lindhout worked at Slaughter and May (London), King & Wood Mallesons (Sydney) and most recently as Senior Legal Counsel at FOX SPORTS Australia.
Having worked in both London and Sydney, and in private practice and in-house roles, Ms Lindhout has advised her clients in relation to a wide range of data protection, privacy and cyber security issues, including in relation to the competing interests of commercialisation of personal data and the protection of such data. She also regularly advises on the local impacts of, and implementation of, global data policies for Australian based companies, particularly in relation to cloud computing and innovation.
Ms Lindhout is also a member of the executive committee of the Communications and Media Law Association.
Ms Lindhout obtained her Law degree from Oxford University
Richard Hooper CBE has devoted his career to the converging worlds of telecoms, media and technology. After senior management roles in the BBC, BT and satellite television he has spent the last thirty years advising Governments and businesses and sitting on a range of Boards. He was founding deputy chairman of Ofcom (the UK communications regulator) and Chairman of its Content Board. He has just stepped down from the Board of VocaLink which runs the national payments infrastructure in the UK, after its successful acquisition by MasterCard.
He is Chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group which advises Government and Ofcom on broadband policy.
In 2016 Richard Hooper was a member of the panel of experts advising the Australian Government on the future of the ACMA.
Dr Rob Nicholls is an associate professor of regulation and governance at the UNSW Business School and a visiting professional fellow at UTS Sydney Law. His research interests focus at the intersection of technology and regulation. Dr Nicholls has had a forty-year career concentrating on competition, regulation and governance. His first degree was in electronics and communications engineering from the University of Birmingham, and he was awarded his PhD and MA by UNSW Sydney.
Dr Nicholls is director of the UNSW Business School Regulatory Laboratory, a deputy director of the UNSW Institute for Cybersecurity, and a member of the UNSW Business Insights Institute.
Before moving to academia, he worked for Webb Henderson, the ACCC and spent twelve years as a client-facing consultant at Gilbert + Tobin, including as a partner. Dr Nicholls is an accredited mediator.
Sebastian Robertson is a recognised entrepreneur and executive, with a strong social focus. Mr Robertson is the Co-Founder and CEO of BIRDI, a technology platform that enables businesses to integrate drones into their operations by providing an ‘end to end’ drone management platform.
Prior to BIRDI, Mr Robertson founded the social enterprise batyr and was its founding CEO for 5 years, establishing batyr as a national leader in innovative programs focusing on the engagement and education of young people in mental health. Mr Robertson remains actively involved in the organisation as its Chairman.
The transition from finance (formerly worked at General Electric), to mental health and now implementing drone technology might not sound like the normal career path, but Mr Robertson has always remained focused on ensuring his time, energy and skills are utilised in addressing major society challenges.
Mr Robertson graduated with a double degree in Economics and Commerce from the Australian National University. In 2011 Mr Rob ertson was named Sydney Social Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2013 was recognised by his alma mater as Young Alumnus of the Year.
Simon Milner was appointed Facebook’s Vice President, Public Policy for APAC in March 2018 and is based in Singapore. He was previously the company’s policy director for UK, Middle East and Africa based in London. He joined Facebook in January 2012 to be Director of Policy for UK and Ireland, taking on the broader region in early 2015. Previously he was BT’s Director for Group Industry Policy having joined the company as Head of External Relations for the Equality of Access Office in 2005. Before BT he worked for the BBC (1997-2005) including holding the position of Secretary (2000-2004), responsible for the Corporation’s governance and accountability.
He has a PhD in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics.
Sophie Dawson joined Bird & Bird ‘s Sydney office in February 2018 after 23 years in the TMT practice at another firm specialising in areas including privacy. She is now part of Bird & Bird’s leading global data protection team.
Ms Dawson’s privacy work has in recent years included advising on cybersecurity and data breach issues, acting for clients in relation to investigations by the OAIC, preparing Privacy Impact Assessments of key State and Commonwealth Government projects affecting privacy (including in relation to changes in relevant laws), and advising on privacy and surveillance aspects of popular home devices, telemetry and other projects. Ms Dawson and her team also regularly assist private and public sector clients with day to day privacy policy and other compliance issues, including privacy clauses in agreements. At Bird & Bird, this work includes a significant amount of compliance and other work for clients who collect, use and disclose data in multiple jurisdictions around the world and who utilise Bird & Bird’s extensive coverage in this area.
Ms Dawson has written the privacy and surveillance chapter of a popular Thomson Looseleaf service entitled Media & Internet Law & Practice for over 10 years.
Ms Dawson has also acted for clients in privacy-related litigation including as early as 1998, when she acted in the successful defence of a newspaper in one of the early cases seeking to establish a cause of action in tort for publication of private information.
Ms Dawson is on the executive committee of the Australian Chapter of the IIC. She is also on the executive committee of the Communications and Media Law Association, and sits on the advisory board of the Centre for Media Transition.
She has a first class honours degree in Law and an Economics degree from the ANU.
Teresa Corbin is a co-founder of ACCAN, which formed in July 2009. Teresa was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2010. From 1995 Teresa worked in various roles at Consumers’ Telecommunications Network (CTN) and was chief executive officer from 2003-09. Teresa has 20 years’ experience working in telecommunications policy and her community sector links span a 25-year period. In 2015, she was awarded the Charles Todd Medal by the Telecommunications Society for having made an outstanding contribution to Australian telecommunications in recent years.
Tom Burton is the Publisher of The Mandarin, the leading digital venue for Australasia’s public sector managers and executives . Mr Burton has been working at the intersection of business, government, media and technology for over 30 years and is a specialist in regulatory and policy design, modern data led public administration, and citizen and stakeholder engagement. He has a passion for economics, smart regulation, technology and great public policy that contributes real value to citizens and the broader community.
Through his career Mr Burton has worked in and out of government, most recently as an Executive Manager at the Australian Communication and Media Authority, where he oversaw that agency’s digital engagement.
He has been Canberra Bureau Chief for the Australian Financial Review, Managing editor for smh.com.au, Executive Editor for the Sydney Morning Herald and Online Director at the Centre for American Progress in Washington DC. Before the Mandarin, Mr Burton had also founded a number of start-ups, including social media news hub, Australiatalks.
Mr Burton has won three Walkley awards and chaired the Walkley Board for several years.
He holds degrees in Law and Commerce from UNSW and an executive diploma from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Chicago.
Valeska Bloch’s practice focuses on all aspects of the technology, media and telecommunications sectors and in technology-led innovation across all sectors. She also advises on data governance, privacy and cyber security, and is a member of the Business Council of Australia’s Cyber Alliance group. Ms Bloch also co-leads the firm’s Allens Accelerate high-growth companies practice.
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