| Plenary Speakers |
 | MC: Dr Peter Woodgate CEO, CRC for Spatial Information Peter has been the CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information since its inception in 2003. Peter is currently Foundation Chair of the Global Spatial Network (GSN), a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Digital Earth; Director of the Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network; Board member of AUSCOPE and Board Member of the UNESCO International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST) based in China. Peter was previously CEO of RMIT’s Geospatial Science Initiative, helping create RMIT’s first spin-off company Spatial Vision Innovations Pty Ltd. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration from RMIT University, a Master of Applied Science from the University of New South Wales and a Degree in Forest Science from the University of Melbourne. He has research interests in satellite imagery, natural resource inventory and business analysis. |
 | The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP Minister for Communications Malcolm was elected to Federal Parliament as the Member for Wentworth in 2004. Prior to this, he had a wide-ranging career working in the private and public sectors. After graduating from Sydney University with degrees in Arts and Law, Malcolm won a Rhodes scholarship and completed a further law degree at Oxford. During and after his studies, Malcolm worked as a journalist for The Bulletin, 2SM, Channel Nine and the London Sunday Times. He began legal practice in 1980 and successfully represented former MI5 agent Peter Wright against the British Government in the “Spycatcher” trial. In 1987 Malcolm established his own investment banking firm and during that time co-founded a number of Australian companies including OzEmail Ltd — one of Australia's first large internet service providers. He joined Goldman Sachs & Co in 1997 as Chairman of its Australian business, becoming a partner of the global firm in 1998. Malcolm was Chairman of the Australian Republican Movement from 1993 to 2000, which included the 1999 Referendum. He later authored a book about the period, Fighting for the Republic. Since entering public life, Malcolm has held a number of parliamentary positions including Shadow Treasurer, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for national water policy and Minister for Environment and Water Resources, where he initiated the Murray Darling Basin reform. He was Leader of the Opposition from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009 and was later Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband. |
 | Hon Maurice Williamson Minister for Land Information, New Zealand Maurice Williamson is a Minister outside Cabinet in the National-led Government. He has been MP for Pakuranga since 1987. He is a former Ministr for Research, Science & Technology, Communications, Statistics, Information Technology, Transport, Local Government and Broadcasting. He is a member of the Pakuranga Rotary Club and a member of the International Federation of Operations Research Societies (IFORS). He was Auckland Toastmasters Club Communicator of the Year in 1993 and appointed a Fellow of the NZ Computer Society in 1995. |
 | Drew Clarke PSM Secretary, Department of Communications Drew Clarke was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Communications in March 2013. The portfolio includes the ABC, SBS, Australia Post, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency and the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co). Drew was previously Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. His earlier roles included leadership roles in energy policy, AusIndustry and science agencies. He holds an MSc from Ohio State University and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2009 for his work in energy market reform and clean energy. Drew began his public sector career as a surveyor working in Australia and Antarctica. |
 | Peter Mersi Chief Executive, LINZ Peter has been Chief Executive of LINZ since September 2012. He joined LINZ from Inland Revenue where he was the Deputy Commissioner for Business Transformation. Peter has also served for six months as the Acting Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs. Prior to this, Peter was a Treasury Deputy Secretary, where he was responsible for State Sector Performance. Peter has worked in the public sector for most of his career, except for a short period with the Bank of New Zealand. His public sector experience includes positions with the Department of Labour, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and a number of different roles during his fourteen years with The Treasury. Peter has a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration degree in Economics from Victoria University, Wellington. |
 | Susan Harris Chief Executive Officer, ITS Australia With over 20 years’ experience across the transport and supply chain sectors Susan is eager to harness the benefits that technology can deliver to business and the Australian community. As CEO of ITS Australia Susan is able to draw on experience from consulting and in industry to look at collaborative solutions involving government, industry and academia. This industry experience is combined with professional qualifications including a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Environmental Management and an MBA from Melbourne Business School. Through the global network of ITS Associations, Susan has strong linkages with the international ITS community, ensuring Australian advances can be shared overseas while also keeping abreast of international developments in this rapidly evolving field. |
 | Brett Bundock Managing Director, Esri Australia Considered a market visionary and GIS expert, Brett Bundock’s passion for the science has seen him build a career spanning more than three decades and four continents. As the Managing Director of: Esri Australia; Esri South Asia; Esri Indonesia; Esri Malaysia; and MapData Services, Brett is regarded as one of the Asia Pacific Region’s most influential contributors to the spatial industry. Since his appointment to the role of Managing Director in December 2006, Brett has: tripled the size of the company; seen Esri Australia become the 9th largest software supplier to the Australian Government; and, guaranteed the company’s involvement in some of the largest and most exciting GIS projects ever undertaken within the region. An avid supporter of various spatial industry associations and of the broader Esri user community, Brett’s vision to have GIS make a real difference in all Australian organisations has had a significant impact on the growth of spatial technology into new, non-traditional markets. |
 | Chris Tucker Creator, MapStory, USA MapStory is a new dimension to the global data commons that empowers a global user community to organize knowledge about the world spatially and temporally. Chris has done and continues to do lots of other things too, including serving on a variety of corporate, non-profit and government Boards. |
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Glenn Appleyard Chairman, PSMA Australia Glenn Appleyard, an economics consultant, joined the PSMA Australia Board as an independent director in October 2011 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in October 2012. In addition to this role, Mr Appleyard has been a member of the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority since its establishment 2011, has been a member of the Commonwealth Grants Commission since 2004 and is Chairman of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator (member since 2008). He is a former member of the Accounting Standards Board, where he served between 2002-2011. Between 1991 and 1999, Mr Appleyard held Deputy Secretary roles in the Tasmanian and Victorian Governments for the respective Departments of Treasury and Finance where he was responsible for Economic and Financial Policy. He then held roles with the Australian Bureau of Statistics as Regional Director in Tasmania before taking up a role as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, Tasmania. In 2001, Mr Appleyard left the public sector to pursue a career as an economic consultant where he has performed a diverse range of assignments for Commonwealth, State and Local Governments, Asian Development Bank and a range of other organisations. |
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Julian Carver Canterbury SDI Programme Manager, New Zealand Geospatial Office Land Information New Zealand For the last decade Julian has led cross agency data and information sharing strategies and shared services projects across central and local government, and the research sector. Julian is a founding member of Open NZ, an organisation representing the open data community. In 2011 he worked the Government Data and Information Reuse Secretariat to develop New Zealand’s Declaration on Open and Transparent Government. From April 2011 – June 2012 Julian led the establishment of information services at the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), as acting Chief Information Officer. |
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Amanda Castray Program Manager, Sense-T Amanda Castray is Program Manager, coordinating the practical projects to demonstrate the possibilities of SenseT. Amanda has extensive strategy and program management experience across both the public and private sectors. Prior to taking up the role with SenseT, Amanda was the Director of Enterprise Development in the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts where she was responsible for the development of the five-year Small Business Strategy launched by the Tasmanian Government in 2011. During her time with the Australian Government’s Department of Innovation, Amanda managed the delivery of over $14 million in AusIndustry funding to support innovation, R&D and commercialisation of new products and services. She spent three years working on the $440million Tasmanian Natural Gas Project – Tasmania’s largest ever private-sector infrastructure project. Amanda has taught UTAS Faculty of Business undergraduate students in the management and marketing disciplines and is currently Chair of the Tasmanian Leaders Program Alumni. |
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Rachael Robertson Former Antarctic Expedition Leader Rachael is a former Antartic expedition leader, Chief Ranger and leader with 20 years of ‘extreme’ leadership experience. She is a best-selling author and leadership guru whose talents are in great demand from leading organisations around the globe. As only the second female to lead a team to Davis Station in Antarctica she managed a diverse group of up to 120 people, through total isolation, months of darkness, with no way in and no way out. It was a leadership laboratory in the most extreme and hostile environment on Earth, where most of the theory doesn’t apply. This leadership role is a truly unique experience. Antarctica in winter is totally inaccessible which means once the last ship leaves at the end of February, no one can leave the base under any circumstance (not even if you are dying) until the ship returns in November. It’s a 24 hour a day, every day of the year, leadership role. Rachael was responsible for all aspects of life on the Station, from the safety and welfare of over 80 expeditioners in Summer, to the delivery of the Australian Government’s $20mn science program. In any circumstance, this would be a tough role, but for a female in a male dominated environment, it was also a very challenging one! Prior to her experience in Antarctic, Rachael held senior operational management roles for 16 years in a range of complex and challenging environments, was Victoria’s youngest Chief Ranger and led the media coordination unit during the Black Saturday bushfires. Leading an Antarctic expedition, coordinating media during the Black Saturday bushfire event and guiding teams through turmoil all require extreme leadership and the ability to inspire through tough times. As Rachael reveals using incredible and often hilarious examples, these situations demand big leadership in small moments, because it’s the small moments that build momentum. |
