Agenda
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
“Platforms, People, Performance”
Please note that 1:1 meetings will be running throughout the day.
Registration & Check-In
Secure your seat in the keynote room for the day.
Welcome to the 28th CIO Edge: Platforms, People, Performance
Jim Berry - CEO & Founder
Welcome to ADAPT’s 278h gathering of Australian CIO and IT leaders from Enterprise and Government responsible for over 1/3 of AU GDP and 10% of the workforce.
The #1 Business Goal articulated by over 1,000 executive surveys in 2024 is ‘Tech modernisation and Simplification’. So many Australian organisations are struggling to run such complex, customised, and fragile IT estates – with operating challenges, technical debt, and siloed problems.
Modern CIOs must lead with confidence and visibility, while articulating the value of technology to secure resources to solve these challenges – to be able to deliver on business outcomes.
What is possible? – what is the future? – what is the opportunity if we get it right over the next 5-10 years? What will be the cost if we get it wrong?
Join the CIO community, experts and ADAPT for the day to find answers to these critical questions and enable business led change.
ADAPT State of Australia Maturity & Performance Insights: AI with an ROI
Michael Kollo - Director of AI at ADAPTADAPT’s research team reveal the latest local fact-based insights from over 5000 interactions and 1000 detailed surveys with our region’s top CIOs, CISO, CFOs, CTOs, and digital leaders. This session will assist you in comparing the resource allocation, investment priorities and unique challenges of Australian CIOs for you to benchmark and validate your priorities and thinking. Michael will reveal the core findings distilled from your aggregated pre-event surveys and examine the technology strategies that are generating value – focused on what the top performers are doing differently.
Get an Edge: Making the Most of Your Day
Tenar Larsen - Head of People & Performance, Executive ProgramsMIT CISR: From Spaghetti to Platforms - The 4 Designs Used by Top Performers
Peter Weill - Chairman & Senior Research Scientist at MIT CISR & ADAPT Senior AdvisorIn this volatile and AI enabled world, being world class at building and reusing digital platforms pays off – particularly as a foundation for creating quicker value from AI.
MIT CISR have defined four platform designs – and found that the 45% of companies that effectively managed one or more are top performers in their industry.
While the companies that focused on local needs and were poor on platform reuse (lost in Silos and Spaghetti) now had the worst financial performance.
In this in-person session, Peter will reveal and describe these four platform designs, their financial performance, and the key capabilities needed for each – bringing them to life with case studies. Peter will be onsite for the day to meet anyone wanting to know more.
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.
ANZ Bank: Platform-based Transformation
Peter Weill - Chairman & Senior Research Scientist at MIT CISR & ADAPT Senior Advisor Gerard Florian - Group Executive, Technology at ANZ BankANZ Bank is one of Australia’s success stories. Their platform-based transformation journey has led to operational excellence, growth, and profits in a hyper competitive sector starting with the Institutional bank and now building enterprise-wide.
In this interview, ANZ Group Executive Technology and Business Services, Gerard Florian shares his lessons learned on the journey.
Gerard is responsible for defining ANZ’s technology strategy, building and managing technology infrastructure and driving the Bank’s business services framework. This includes overseeing the development of new technologies, implementing existing technologies to help the Bank reach their strategic goals, and creating systems and processes to make the best use of ANZ’s resources.
Navigating AI Transformation with Digital Adoption
with TelstraAfter the new T30 announcements, leading business and government CIOs will be seeking to understand more about Telstra’s network and connectivity strategy and investments. This session will provide CIOs and CTOs with Telstra’s view on the criticality of connectivity to our nation’s future growth and highlight what enhanced connectivity could enable.
Morning Break
Refreshments, snacks & connections
CIO Edge Panel: Simplify, Secure, Scale
Chris Crozier - CIO at the Department of DefenceFrom Tech Steward to Business Catalyst – our high calibre panel will debate tactics that let CIOs secure the resources and steer enterprise-wide change.
- Cutting Complexity – Practical wins for shrinking fragile, customised estates and freeing budget for innovation.
- Platform Reuse vs. Silos – where has reuse delivered speed and margin, and where has “spaghetti” dragged performance?
- AI with an ROI – Moving past pilots: how are CIOs funding and governing GenAI/Agentic AI so value shows up on the P&L?
- Talent & Operating-Model Gaps – Reskilling, sourcing and target Operating Model (TOM) tweaks that close execution barriers faster than new tooling alone.
- Storytelling, board engagement and KPI alignment.
Experience the WalkMe Challenge Live
Adam Dinneen - Director, Sales Engineering APAC at WalkMeOrganisations everywhere are facing significant challenges adopting new technology and responding to change.
Join this dynamic session to see:
- An interactive live demo showcasing the experience employees go through navigating technology
- Insights from the 2025 State of Digital Adoption report.
Transforming Endpoint Management Today with AI and Automation
with TaniumCIOs must foster efficient and effective IT operations and security strategy aligned with organisational goals. The future of AI, machine learning, and automation are revolutionizing endpoint technology to reduce downtime and burnout while accelerating progress.
Learn the latest tactics and trends for:
- AI as a Force Multiplier: smarter decision-making and improved operational efficiency, the future state of converged IT operations and security.
- Proactive Patching & Hardening: Eliminating the stress of Patch Tuesday and reducing vulnerabilities.
- Empowering IT Teams: Providing actionable insights, reducing burnout, eliminating manual tasks – all while maintaining confidence and control.
- Accelerating Business Outcomes: by improving security, reducing downtime, reducing team burnout, and optimising resource allocation.
ADAPT Executive Insight Roundtables
Attend your pre-selected roundtable to participate in a peer discussion with confidence under Chatham House Rule moderated by an ADAPT analyst with subject matter experts.
Balancing Innovation and Productivity while Reducing Complexity
Shan Moorthy - CTO APAC at WorkdayEnterprises are required to reduce their technology proliferation, technical debt and improve residual risk – all while delivering on productivity and innovation demands that the business desires to stay competitive. Learn and share strategies with peers, like leveraging an AI native platform such as Workday, to balance delivery of both, while operating within resource constraints. Explore how Agentic AI could deliver the ROI that CIO’s have chased, the vision and potential – and risks – it brings to the table.
Transforming Tomorrow: Reinventing the Tech Landscape
with PwCJoin us for an exclusive event designed to propel Australia’s tech leaders to the forefront of the evolving tech landscape. Master AI maturity, cyber resilience, and operational clarity to fuel unparalleled success. Learn strategies for seamlessly integrating platforms, people, and performance to build a secure, resilient enterprise.
Tackle the most pressing challenges head-on, from overcoming execution barriers like funding and talent gaps to harnessing the game-changing potential of disruptors like agentic AI. Discover how to deploy adaptive systems, ensuring robust compliance, effectively managing risks, and maintaining data privacy and ethics.
This event is your launchpad for strategic influence, steering your organisation towards ambitious growth and innovation. Be inspired by future tech possibilities while grounding in today’s realities. Gain actionable insights to navigate competing priorities and tight budgets, and lead the integration of technology, AI, resilience, cybersecurity, and data to unlock significant value and drive top-line growth.
Cutting Through the AI Hype and Complexity
Nick Sone - Chief Customer Officer at BrennanFor many enterprises, generative AI can be a solution looking for a problem. Just because you can deploy these tools, doesn’t mean you should. There’s pressure for organisations to reap the benefits of gen AI, but many are struggling to follow through with implementations. This is despite CIOs telling ADAPT that deploying automation and machine learning tools as well as gen AI are among their top 10 priorities this year.
During this roundtable session, join Brennan’s Nick Sone to discuss:
- Why you should ignore the gen AI hype and look closer at where it adds value.
- How Brennan builds business cases for gen AI; lessons learned from failures and the results the systems integrator is seeing so far.
- The key questions you need to ask before starting a gen AI project, the data governance that is required, and the steps to take to reduce potential hallucinations in AI models.
Building the Future-Ready Enterprise with Responsible AI and Secure Agents
with GleanCIOs are being asked to do more than just “bring in AI”- they must enable it across the business responsibly, securely, and at scale. The opportunity? Massive gains in productivity, accuracy, and decision-making – without sacrificing trust or control.
In this focused roundtable, explore how secure AI agents are transforming the enterprise by giving every employee instant, permission-aware access to the knowledge they need – without the complexity of manual model training. Learn how forward-thinking CIOs are using AI to accelerate outcomes, break down silos, and unlock enterprise-wide performance.
You’ll discover how to:
- Enable real-time, trusted answers grounded in your enterprise knowledge
- Equip every employee with a secure, AI-powered assistant
- Drive smarter, faster decisions without adding risk or noise
- Break silos and boost productivity at scale
- Operationalise AI responsibly – with governance built in from day one
Peer Networking Seated Lunch
Join us for relaxed peer networking and great food, upstairs in the Heritage ballroom
Modern Work: Navigating Change, Enhancing Productivity and Delivering Value
Dom Price - Chief Futurist at AtlassianIn the evolving landscape of modern work, companies face the challenge of managing increasing workloads while striving to deliver outcomes. Despite new tools, many teams are busier but achieving less. The focus on productivity often leads to more planning, less action, and struggles with goal alignment and value delivery. For CIOs, this means navigating a complex environment where decisions rely on instinct over data, and notifications and meetings hinder communication and alignment, slowing time to market and obscuring revenue paths.
Join Dom Price for insights on how successful teams innovate work processes and build effective teamwork foundations.
Key discussion points:
- Enhancing System Productivity
- Shifting from Time to Market to Time to Value
- Delivering Meaningful Outcomes Quickly and Effectively
- ADAPT and Atlassian’s Views on Leadership and Productivity
ADAPT Executive Insight Roundtables
Attend your pre-selected roundtable to participate in a peer discussion with confidence under Chatham House Rule moderated by an ADAPT analyst with subject matter experts.
Effective Ways to Launch Your Technology Business Management (TBM) Program
Matt Pinter - Field CTO APAC at Apptio Zahid Arain - General Manager, TBM Council APAC at ApptioTechnology plays a key role in driving innovation and transformation. However, without clear visibility into costs and value, optimising IT investments can be a challenge. Traditional financial management methods such as spreadsheets and custom-built tools are often time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to scale. The Technology Business Management (TBM) framework offers a structured approach to improving financial transparency, aligning IT spend with organizational objectives, and enabling fact-based decision-making.
This roundtable will bring together technology and finance leaders to explore best practices for launching and sustaining a TBM program. Participants will gain insights into building a common language between CIOs, CFOs, and business leaders; tracking total cost of ownership (TCO) across on-premises and cloud environments; and implementing cost recovery solutions that drive efficiency and accountability. The discussion will also cover challenges such as budget planning, resource allocation, and implementing chargeback and showback models to ensure IT investments align with business priorities.
Key discussion points include:
- Building a Strong TBM Foundation: Establishing a shared financial language across IT and finance teams to drive informed decision-making.
- Optimising IT Spend and Cost Recovery: Understanding true TCO, tracking expenditure, and implementing cost recovery strategies.
- Enhancing Transparency and Accountability: Leveraging data insights to manage budgets, control variances, and align IT resources with strategic goals.
- Implementing Service Rate Models: Driving strategic IT service utilisation through structured pricing, benchmarking, and financial accountability.
AI-Ready or Not: Bridging the Gap Between Ambition and Adoption in 2025
George Harb - Managing Director at OpenTextWith 70% of CIOs planning to invest in generative AI in 2025, the focus must shift from experimentation to delivering measurable business value. This roundtable will explore how CIOs can drive new revenue streams, boost productivity, and enhance customer and employee experiences—all while reducing costs. We’ll unpack strategies to overcome infrastructure and skills gaps, improve adoption, and build compelling business cases that resonate with executive stakeholders. Learn how modular, low-risk AI solutions and local success stories can accelerate ROI, and how to partner with vendors who understand your environment and can help turn AI ambition into operational and financial outcomes.
Navigating the Future of Technology Economics – Having the Right Conversations Amid Cost Pressures
with CognizantThis roundtable brings together CIOs and tech leaders to explore the future of tech economics and a number of key trends:
• Technology costs rising unsustainably. Tech cost inflation eating away at value propositions.
• Huge demand for AI in businesses. Unrealistic expectations around scalability and cost.
• Exhaustion of Moore’s Law as a model for tracking and forecasting investment.
We’ll cover a number of topics:
• How to articulate tech economics to the C-suite: How can we communicate to ensures mutual benefits around funding and resources?
• How do you navigate the future from a risk and value? What strategies can be employed to balance innovative high-tech demand with legacy simplification?
• How can you develop cost intelligence to create better visibility and optimise expenditure? What tools are available to help?
• What role does AI play in the future of tech economics? Can you accurately forecast AI project costs while balancing value?
Reimagining Operating Models: Utilising IT and Automated AI to Unlock Scalable Performance
Jason Wornham - General Manager at FUJIFILM IT ServicesAs CIOs face mounting pressure to scale operations, boost productivity, and drive innovation, the convergence of AI, automation, and IT infrastructure is redefining what’s possible. The shift isn’t just about deploying tools—it’s about fundamentally reimagining how operating models function.
In this roundtable, we explore how AI-powered IT ecosystems can become the backbone of enterprise agility and performance. From low-code workflows and intelligent capture tools, the future lies in tightly integrated, app-native AI solutions that drive autonomous, self-optimising systems.
Join your peers in a forward-looking conversation about building intelligent IT foundations that unlock scalable, secure, and productive operations.
Afternoon Break
Perspectives from a CEO & Disruptive FinTech
Dave Hyman - CEO & Co-founder at Lendi Group Dom Price - Chief Futurist at AtlassianDave is CEO of Lendi Group, the digital platform business behind Lendi, Australia’s #1 digital mortgage brand, and the iconic Aussie franchise. Backed by a powerful AI platform, a network of 1,300 brokers and 220 retail stores, Lendi Group is revolutionising the property journey. Today, its loan book is more than $100b – it’s a growth story like no other.
In what promises to be a lively debate with Atlassian’s well known stage force, Dom Price – they’ll talk:
- What should a healthy relationship between CIO and CEO look like?
- Real life examples of tech and AI adoption
- Keeping up with the pace and future of IT/tech
McKinsey: ERP Transformations: The Mythology, and Real Story Behind Value Creation
Jessica Eyes - Digital Leader at McKinsey & CompanyLarge ERP legacy technology transformations present challenges and opportunities for the CIO that is balancing transformation enablement with cost management. What are the stories surrounding CAPEX, risk mitigation, and enhancing customer offerings, that hold true?
A fresh perspective on the myths surrounds technical transformations, and some of the data-based insights that dispel them. Including critical interventions and key questions every CIO should answer before embarking on a technical transformation journey. Be better equipped to make decisions that align with business goals and financial realities, ensuring that transformation delivers real, measurable benefits well into the future.
CIO Town Hall: What's on the mind of A/NZ CIOs leading Tech for 30% of our GDP?
Peter Weill - Chairman & Senior Research Scientist at MIT CISR & ADAPT Senior AdvisorTo close the day, Peter will lead a CIO Town Hall held under the Chatham House Rule. Attendees will talk as a group and in table top debate, moderated by ADAPT advisors.
Topics inspired by MIT and ADAPT datasets will include:
- How do CIOs in top performing companies spend their time?
- AI use case maturity and value for the CIO.
- Stakeholder engagement and winning allies.
- How to lead career defining transformations?
Closing Comments
CIO Edge Peer Networking Drinks
An opportunity to stay, mingle and meet other attendees over drinks and food and discuss the day