Past Speakers

Shankar Vedaraman is a highly versatile leader in the data domain, with a strong foundation in data science and engineering. He is passionate about enabling organisations to harness data efficiently and develop innovative data products that drive meaningful business outcomes.

Shankar excels at building and leading global engineering and analytics teams, envisioning and deploying scalable data solutions, and crafting strategies that lead to measurable impact. His expertise extends to solving complex product and people alignment challenges, fostering innovation, and maintaining a relentless focus on execution.

With deep domain knowledge in marketing, finance, and payments, Shankar specialises in areas such as data architecture, big data batch and stream processing, analytic frameworks, data operations, and enabling experimentation and machine learning. He is committed to building trust across cross-functional teams and driving progress through strategic investments in the data space.

Peter Weill’s work centers on the role, value, and governance of digitization in enterprises. Weill joined the MIT Sloan faculty in 2000 to become director of MIT Sloan’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR).

MIT CISR is funded by approximately 100 corporate sponsors and patrons, and undertakes practical research on how firms generate business value from Information Technology (IT). As chair, Weill focuses on globalizing the center’s research and delivery. In 2008, Ziff Davis recognized Weill as #24 of The Top 100 Most Influential People in IT, the highest-ranked academic. In Dec 2019, his 2015 MIT SMR article Thriving in an Increasingly Digital Era was recognized as one of The Best 10 SMR Articles in the 2010s.

Peter has worked on digitization issues with the Executive Committees and Boards of more than 40 companies globally. He conducts workshops for key conferences, including the CEO Summits for Microsoft, IBM, and SAP, and the International Monetary Conference.

Accountable for driving Tabcorp forward across revenue, customer experience, productivity, cost and harm minimization through data, insight, AI and automation. 

Marek Kowalkiewicz is a Professor and Chair in Digital Economy at QUT Business School. Listed among the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders in AI by thinkers360, Marek has led global innovation teams in Silicon Valley, was a Global Research Program Lead and Founding Research Manager of SAP’s Machine Learning lab in Singapore, and a Research Fellow at Microsoft Research Asia. His newest book, “The Economy of Algorithms: AI and the Rise of the Digital Minions”, is an international bestseller, recently released as an audiobook.

Suzie has a proven track record in leading digital transformation strategies and new data-led digital products for media organisations. With long experience in digital and data platform development, she has worked for some of Australia’s largest media organisations including Foxtel, News Corp and Nine Entertainment.

In her roles with Foxtel and News Corp, Suzie was responsible for developing new commercial data-driven digital products. At News Corp she launched the industry-first audience segmentation and intelligence platform, Intent Connect.

Currently, in her role as Chief Data, Product & Technology Officer, Enterprise for Nine Entertainment, Suzie is leading the development and implementation of Nine’s data strategy, focusing on building value from Nine’s scaled audience and first party data asset. She is also responsible for developing and implementing Nine’s AI strategy. She leads a team of data technologists, product managers and data scientists.

Richard Fleming is the leader of our Asia-Pacific Advanced Analytics practice. He is also a leader in our Transformation and Change practice.

He has more than 25 years of management consulting experience, advising business leaders on their biggest opportunities and challenges. He has supported clients with business transformation across strategy, customer experience, performance improvement, M&A, operating model design, digital, data and technology. His work is increasingly to support clients transform their businesses with digital, data and technology.

He has deep experience working with financial services clients in banking, insurance, wealth management and payments. Richard has also worked across industries including retail, consumer products, telecommunications, medtech and manufacturing.

He has applied his strategy consulting expertise globally, having served clients in the North America, Australia, the United Kingdom, and across Asia.

Prior to joining us in 2001, Richard worked for two other global consulting firms with a focus on technology.

He earned an MBA from Australian Graduate School of Management and a BA with Honors in physics from Oxford University.

Alan Jacobson is the chief data and analytics officer (CDAO) of Alteryx, driving key data initiatives and accelerating digital business transformation for the Alteryx global customer base. As CDAO, Jacobson leads the company’s data science practice as a best-in-class example of how a company can get maximum leverage out of its data and the insights it contains. He is responsible for data management and governance, product and internal data, and use of the Alteryx Platform to drive continued growth.

Prior to joining Alteryx, Alan held a variety of leadership roles at Ford Motor Company across engineering, marketing, sales and new business development; most recently leading a team of data scientists to drive digital transformation across the enterprise. As an Alteryx evangelist at Ford, Alan spent many years leveraging the Alteryx Platform across the company and witnessed first-hand the impact a culture of analytics can have on the bottom line and what it takes to succeed as a data-driven enterprise. Alan will extend his role as an evangelist to customers, helping data workers and business leaders alike foster a culture of analytics and deepen their investments in digital transformation strategies.

Alan was recognized as a top leader in the global automotive industry as an Automotive Hall of Fame Leadership & Excellence award winner and an Outstanding Engineer of the Year by the Engineering Society of Detroit and works with the National Academy of Engineering and other organizations as an advisor on data science topics.

Alan earned his bachelor’s degrees in engineering from the University of New Hampshire and received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.

Simon is author of “The AI Empowered Customer Experience”, hosts podcasts on CX and AI, and was named in the 2024 CX Top 50 Global Influencers to follow. Based in Melbourne Australia, Simon is a CX and AI futurologist who presents to audiences around the world and works with company boards and C-suite executives to help them better understand where the AI opportunities lie for their businesses, and how they can get started with effective and ethical AI adoption. He is a divergent thinker who creates unique ideas and solutions, often finding the hidden opportunities for businesses to innovate now and win in the future.

Steve Shirkey leads AI platform strategy and execution across Asia Pacific as Director for AI Platforms at Red Hat, where he helps enterprises build, scale, and operationalize AI solutions using hybrid cloud and open-source technologies. He works across technology, sales, and ecosystem enablement, ensuring AI adoption delivers real business value for Red Hat’s customers, partners, and open-source communities.

Before joining Red Hat, Steve led Azure AI adoption across ANZ, Southeast Asia, and Korea at Microsoft, driving AI transformation for some of the region’s largest enterprises. Prior to that, he helped customers across Southeast Asia scale deep learning adoption at Amazon Web Services (AWS), working with financial services, manufacturing, and large enterprises to build AI-powered businesses.

With over two decades of experience in AI, cloud, and data, Steve has worked at the intersection of technology and business strategy, assisting companies in navigating digital transformation, automation, and AI-driven innovation. Throughout his career spanning US and Asia markets, he has partnered with industry leaders in financial services (Aon, Nationwide), manufacturing (Parker Hannifin, Caterpillar), and cloud platforms (Microsoft, AWS, now Red Hat) to turn data into actionable insights and transform AI and machine learning from hype into real, scalable solutions.

Rishu is a seasoned professional with over 22+ years of experience in the data industry. Throughout his career, he has worked across various industries, sectors, and functions, gaining expertise in data-related roles. Rishu has worked with end-users, global system integrators, and product companies. For the past decade, he has been dedicated to product companies in the data space, including a prominent stint at Cloudera in big data. Currently, Rishu is with Snowflake, where he has spent over 5+ years contributing to their growth. As a Principal AI/ML Specialist at Snowflake, he leverages his deep expertise gained as a key member of the Field CTO team, overseeing the APJ region

Travis leads regional product marketing at Snowflake. He boasts a rich, two-decade-long career in data warehousing, business intelligence, and analytics, during which he has been deeply engaged in various capacities within large IT vendors specialising in business analytics products. Travis brings a wealth of hands-on experience in collaborating with both clients and vendors to deploy effective data solutions. 

As a fervent advocate and evangelist for data and AI, Travis is renowned for his expertise in empowering organisations to unlock the full potential of their investments in business analytics. With a keen focus on delivering tangible results, Travis has played a pivotal role in guiding numerous customers towards realising the benefits of data and maximising their use of cutting-edge technologies.

Corey is the Customer Advisory Head of Public Sector and Health with SAS, looking after both Australia and New Zealand, with close to two decades of experience spanning the military, government, and private sectors.

Combining technical excellence with a strong commitment to ethical, inclusive, and future-focused data strategies, Corey has helped shape major initiatives in AI, machine learning, and synthetic data across government sectors. His work consistently champions secure, transparent, and citizen-centred approaches to data, ensuring technology serves communities with integrity and impact.

I’m a Product Leader who has been fortunate to run large cross-functional teams, been involved in raising capital multiple times, and built SaaS products (within HealthTech, Fintech and Marketplace businesses) across Australia, San Francisco and South East Asia.

Currently, I’m the Co-Founder of Redactive, a venture backed startup building a developer platform to enable Enterprises to adopt AI tools to meet their data and compliance needs.

Previously, I was a Senior Product Manager at Atlassian leading two product teams totalling a headcount of over 30, working across our Jira DevOps solution touching source code, CI/CD tools & partnerships.

Dr. Michael G. Kollo is recognised as an accomplished executive leader and educator within the realm of artificial intelligence’s significance in business strategy and product development across various sectors including financial services, technology, and public services. Holding a portfolio of leadership roles, Michael has contributed his expertise to renowned institutional investors such as Blackrock, Fidelity, Renaissance Asset Management, Axa Investment Managers, and HESTA. Additionally, he served as a non-executive director for Clime Investment Managers, an ASX-listed entity.

In the entrepreneurial sphere, Michael has been involved with AI and software companies, notably as a key figure at Faethm Pty, an Australian AI software company that was acquired by Pearsons in 2021, and at the Blockchain company Clanz. Beyond entrepreneurship, he actively participates in mentoring and supporting fintech and cybertech startup ecosystems in London and Australia.

In the realm of academia, Michael boasts a PhD in Finance from the London School of Economics, coupled with extensive lecturing experience at esteemed institutions such as the LSE and Imperial College. He has also been invited as a speaker at TedX events, focusing on the responsible utilisation of AI. With publications addressing machine learning’s application in investment management and contributions to the World Economic Forum’s AI/Fintech panel, Michael’s expertise is widely recognised. Moreover, he has cultivated a global audience through educational podcasts like “Curious Quant.”

As well as Director of AI at ADAPT, Michael is also the CEO of Evolved AI, a distinguished executive education and software development firm dedicated to empowering individuals through effective and responsible AI usage, thereby fostering resilient, transparent, and rapidly evolving enterprises.

Dr. Damian Brennan is Head of AI at Macquarie Group. He leads Macquarie’s enterprise Generative AI approach, including AI strategy, governance, platforms, solutions, practitioner community, training and adoption. He joined Macquarie in their London Office 6 years ago from IBM, and moved over to Sydney in 2021. He has expertise in AI and Analytics and is the inventor of several patents.

Sonia Boije is the Chief Data Officer at NBN and former Data Officer at Ericsson – a role that is central to the company’s transformation to a truly data-driven organization. The position entails responsibility for setting the overall data strategy for the company and ensuring data usage supports that strategy.

Sonia is driven by the belief that data is a transformative medium; that, when properly governed, understood and made available, can enable unprecedented opportunities to benefit people, business, and society.

A regular speaker at external conferences, board level discussions and a contributor to industry publications, Sonia is also engaged in teaching at Cambridge University.

Kavita Mistry is an accomplished technology leader with expertise in driving transformational change to deliver strategic and commercial objectives. She has more than 20 years’ experience across a variety of technology roles specialising in financial services, including superannuation, investments, digital, data, lending, and corporate applications. 

Prior to AMP Kavita was at AustralianSuper, where she held the roles of co-acting-CTO and Head of Enterprise Technology. There, she established and transformed technology capabilities across investments, member experience, cloud infrastructure, employee experience, data, CRM and enterprise technology assets. Prior to this, Kavita held various senior positions over 14 years at ANZ, including leadership roles within Home and Business lending technology.

Recently won the the iTnews Benchmark Award for Best Industrial Project

Jim is well known in the local market for delivering on his promise and his entire career has been spent connecting the right people at the right time in roles across Europe, China and Australia.

He founded ADAPT to deliver quality outcomes with integrity and now in our 8th year, growth has been consistent. Jim is still positioned across sales and account management where he delivers innovative results and programs and leads by example.

He also runs entrepreneurial product development and the evolution and clear differentiated value of ADAPT’s offerings. As well as a NSW Small Business Excellence nomination, ADAPT were 55th in BRW’s 2014 Top 100 Start Ups – Jim’s 3rd time there – previously as Founder of Strategic Path, an award-winning ICT publisher, he steered the company to make the list in both 2009 and 2010.