Our Speakers

As Chair of CISR at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston, Peter’s work centres on the role, value, and governance of digitisation in enterprises. Peter works with several of Australia’s and the world’s leading CIOs, ExCos and Boards and is a senior advisor to the New York VC firm Insight Partners.

Peter was nominated for the 2023 Thinkers-50 based on his new book, Future Ready, and was ranked by Ziff Davis as the 24th most influential person in IT and the highest ranking academic. MIT CISR undertakes practical research on how firms generate business value from digital.

Charles McHardie leads the largest technology group in the Australian government. Charles oversees the technical and digital infrastructure that delivers government services and support to millions of Australians.

In his role as CIDO Charles is responsible for driving digital and technology transformation within Services Australia and delivering whole-of-government transformation programs. He oversees significant investment in programs for Centrelink, Medicare, Child Support and myGov, and has led the delivery of major transformation programs such as Enhanced myGov. Charles led the delivery of technology and business solutions that positioned the Australian government to be able to respond rapidly to the global pandemic.

With over 30 years of experience in the public service and the military, I have core competencies in operational planning, command, intelligence analysis, and strategic studies. I am a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for my distinguished service and leadership in the navy and the public sector. My mission is to leverage my expertise in systems engineering and digital transformation to deliver innovative, efficient, and customer-centric solutions that improve the lives of Australians as Chief Information and Digital Officer (CIDO) for Services Australia.

Deepika is a technology, operations and strategy executive with over 25 years of global experience with BHP Group Limited, General Electric (GE), McKinsey & Co., Infosys Technologies, Uptake Technologies, Corning Inc. and Dover Corporation where she has held global Digital/IT Leadership roles.

Deepika was recognized as one of the top 100 CIOs in the Middle East. She also serves on the board of Safer Foundation, is a Forte fellow, and advocates for working mothers in technology leadership.

She is also a technology enthusiast. She co-founded and advises Exposition Ventures, a Chicago-based B2B Industry 4.0-focused venture capital fund.

Deepika lives with her husband and three children. She also volunteers with various organizations focused on helping young adults in tough circumstances start a career in technology. She also serves on the board of Safer Foundation. She is a Forte fellow and an advocate for working mothers in technology leadership.

Assoc Prof Lynden Roberts is the Chief Medical Information Officer at Monash Health where he has worked for 12 years. Lynden completed his MBBS in 1994 at University of Melbourne, his PhD at Walter & Eliza Hall Institute and his RACP Fellowship in Rheumatology & General Medicine. During his career he was worked at several Australian hospitals in a variety of medical leadership roles.

Lynden has had a long-standing research interest in health system innovation and is captivated by the potential of the various forms of ‘AI’ and analytics to transform healthcare. In 2025, he spent six months with the Australian Digital Health Research Centre (CSIRO) exploring this in depth. Lynden is driven to help ensure the significant benefits of digital technologies in healthcare are realised to improve the experience and outcomes for patients, carers, families, and staff.

Sarv is a Non Executive Director and Advisor for a portfolio of organisations in the financial services, health, and technology sectors. His career spans over 30 years across the UK, Australia, and Asia.

Sarv’s senior executive roles have included, CIO of Reserve Bank of Australia (2012–18), CTO of Westpac (2008-12), CTO/CISO of Commonwealth Bank (2001-08), and more recently CIO at I-MED Radiology.

Sarv is currently Non Executive Director for Commonwealth Bank Health Society, Police Bank and auDA. Previously he served on the Boards of Reserve Bank Health Society and the Can Too Foundation for a period of 9 years.

He has extensive experience during periods of business and regulatory change as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit, Risk and Technology subcommittees.

Sarv holds a doctorate in Board Cybersecurity Governance, with a focus on how Directors can better attain assurance on cybersecurity and then optimise investments in line with their risk appetite.

Renowned for expertise in formulation of strategy and architecture of digital platforms — with attention on risk management and speed to market.

Proven track record in leading cultural change, building high-performing teams, and delivering large-scale transformation programs.

Jim is known for exceeding expectations in execution.His entire career has been spent connecting the right people at the right time in roles across Europe and Asia Pac. ​
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He founded ADAPT to deliver quality outcomes with integrity – with a vision to help Australia thrive commercially, now and for the future.To enable that, Jim leads ADAPT’s mission to connect, inform and equip our local business and tech leaders. ​
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At the centre of agenda creation and strategic partner management for two decades, Jim is uniquely experienced to be the voice of the end-user, the customer and the vendor. ​
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He satisfies C-suite attendees with all agendas across ADAPT Edge events. He also regularly presents “Know your Customer” webinars and guides the world’s largest vendors with their GTM and content strategies.​
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Through entrepreneurial product development and a servant leader mentality with his team and clients, ADAPT grows annually with clearly differentiated value for all stakeholders.

Currently studying a Masters of Business Analytics at Deakin University, Gabby works closely with the Analyst team to identify trends in technology and business that help shape Australia. 

With a passion for statistics and data visualisation, he enables ADAPT to present the right insights at the right time to the right people. Using modern analytics techniques, Gabby provides ADAPT and their customers with confidence in the accuracy and validity of the information used for ADAPT’s Research, Advisory and Events. 

Gabby expertise extends to: 

– Descriptive and inferential statistica
– Regression techniques and forecasting
– Data Visualisation and customisation through PowerBI and Tableau  

As Director of Strategic Research at ADAPT Matt Boon, is responsible for directing and developing ADAPTs research content and positions. In his role at ADAPT Boon advises C-Suite executives across the end-user and technology provider landscape. Boon is also responsible for bringing together groups of C-Suite leaders to discuss and prepare for the myriad of challenges and opportunities they face.

ADAPT host’s numerous industry leading IT focused events annually and Boon is responsible for hosting, chairing and delivering ADAPT independent content and positions to help attendees make informed IT decisions.

Peter Hind has spent the last 25 years as an analyst and commentator on the ICT industry. He says his primary areas of interest are the potential of technology to transform the way organisations operate, the change management obstacles executives encounter in realising this potential and the tactics and techniques leaders have deployed to overcome these difficulties.

Peter now takes on multiple roles within ADAPT including the moderation of private events and roundtables, interviewing business executives about the strategies they are pursuing and assisting with the structuring of our delegate surveys and the interrogation and analysis of ADAPT’s treasure trove of end-user and C-level data

Executive transformation leader who brings clarity to complex environments and converts strategy into delivery momentum. Experience spans enterprise technology leadership (Microsoft, T-Mobile, public sector) and consulting across Australia / Asia Pac, the US, EU and LATAM. I work with senior leaders to frame decisions, align business and technology priorities, and shape modernisation pathways that are practical, sequenced and measurable. Known for clear thinking, executive facilitation, and translating between commercial intent, technical reality and operational constraint to keep teams aligned and outcomes moving.

Focus areas:

– Business and technology transformation
– Executive facilitation and decision support
– Data and modernisation strategy
– Customer and employee experience uplift
– Cross-functional leadership and coaching
– Turning complexity into clear choices