Our Speakers Include...

Elissa Walker brings exceptional leadership and delivery experience in complex technological change and digital transformation, spanning both the private and public sector.

Elissa is the ATO’s Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Commissioner for Digital Delivery. Elissa leads a dedicated team responsible for the ATO’s digital platforms and digital strategy, including digital partnerships, digital identity eInvoicing, and contact centre platforms.

Before joining the ATO in January 2020, Elissa was a senior executive for a global technology and professional services company. For 18 years, Elissa led and delivered large-scale technology solutions and digital programs for revenue, health, defence and education clients. This included the implementation of Australia’s myHealth Record, Singapore’s National Electronic Health system, and the ATO’s Change Program.

Elissa remains passionate about enriching the digital experience by collaborating across domestic and international government digital ecosystems.

David Walker was appointed Westpac Group’s Chief Technology Officer in August 2019. Since then, he is leading Westpac through its technology transformation – simplifying and merging the bank, building 4th gen cloud-native applications, establishing and operating evergreen platforms, leading Westpac’s AI technology, and building a culture of passionate and forward-thinking tech and emerging talent.    

David began his technology career in 1987 as a software engineer, focusing on coding complex systems. After a decade of evolving his software engineering craft, David founded a data science consulting. Over the following decade, it became the number one expert data insights company in Australia and Southeast Asia.  

For the last 15 years, David has held executive roles in large, complex organisations across the APAC region. Prior to joining Westpac, David was part of the leadership team of Singaporean bank, DBS. In his ten years there, David helped transform DBS from a traditional bricks and mortar bank with little brand presence or recognition outside Singapore, to being recognised as the ‘Best Bank in the World’ and the ‘Best Digital Bank in the World’ by leading global financial publication Euromoney.  

Proven experience in information technology, modernising and optimising digital delivery to underpin both the customer and employee experience. Nasa always looks for opportunities where her own values feed directly back to the community “Its about making a difference and more services accessible to everyone”. She has considerable experience helping organisations move forward with a strategic plan that gives them the digital tools they need to help leapfrog the roadblocks and pitfalls that can hold them back.

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.

Shan Moorthy is the Chief Technology Officer for APAC at Workday. Shan has led technology and data functions as a senior IT executive, CTO and CDO with grand success in key enterprises across ANZ and APAC, achieving digital revolutions within the media, retail, banking, and telecommunications industries by retiring sprawling, monolithic ERP, HCM, CRM, and data systems and replacing them with modern, cloud platforms. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Shan loves combining deep technical knowledge of Software Engineering, Data and AI, with business strategy and commercial acumen. Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family and is a mechanic, tinkerer, and hacker on classic cars, home automation, hydroponics, and other electronics which are in a constant state of iterative improvement.

A seasoned IT and cybersecurity leader with a strong track record serving both government agencies and commercial organisations, Andrew has served as Federal Manager at CBR Cyber (a Brennan Company) since April 2025, collaborating closely with public sector clients to develop and deliver tailored cyber and IT services. Andrew’s deep expertise in network engineering, systems architecture, and vendor management coupled with his proven ability to translate complex technical requirements into robust solutions makes him a go-to partner for organisations seeking secure, scalable IT outcomes with precision and excellence.

Dave is the founder and Managing Director of Brennan, responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of the company. His passion for business and deep understanding of the needs and issues they face, have been instrumental in the success of Brennan, which is today recognised as one of the fastest growing technology businesses in Australia.

David Allott is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with over 25 years of experience in technology and security roles across the Asia Pacific region. As the APJ Field Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Veeam Software, he advises CISOs and CxOs on cybersecurity risk management and data resiliency, highlighting Veeam’s capabilities in safeguarding businesses against cyber threats and operational disruptions. As a passionate advocate for cybersecurity in both the public and private sectors, David has a deep understanding of regional threat landscapes, regulatory challenges, and industry best practices. He is a sought-after speaker at security conferences and frequently appears in media to provide expert insights on major cyber incidents and emerging trends.

Before joining Veeam, David served as the ASEAN CISO at DXC Technology and led the APJ Cyber Defense business at Orange Business Services. He has also held senior leadership roles at McAfee and Symantec, where he played a pivotal role in shaping cybersecurity strategies for organisations across the region.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alan looks after CISR’s Research and Engagement for the Asia Pacific region. Previously, he held senior digital executive roles and managed digital strategy teams where he built and ran successful consulting businesses for Accenture and PwC. He was the Head of Digital Strategy for the Turnbull government of Australia. 

Jim founded ADAPT 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.

Leading the development of ADAPTs agenda’s and content strategy whilst also advising executive leadership teams from global technology service providers, Jim is uniquely experienced to be the voice of the end-user, the customer and the vendor.

Bringing his deep knowledge of the local market, Jim regularly presents “Know your Customer” webinars and guides the world’s largest vendors with their G-T-M and content strategies.

Through entrepreneurial product development and a servant leader mentality with his team and clients, ADAPT grows annually with clearly differentiated value for all stakeholders.

Gabby’s primary role is managing ADAPT’s overall strategy for Data Analytics. He has extensive experience in using data to identify trends in technology that help shape Australian organisations. Utilising modern Data Science techniques, he provides ADAPT and their customers with confidence in the accuracy and validity of the information used for ADAPT’s Research, Advisory, and Events.​

With a passion for creating stories with data, Gabby is consistently rated as one of the top speakers at ADAPT Events. In round table discussions, he specialises in using statistics to initiate thought-provoking discussions. Gabby is effective in translating information into insights, enabling ADAPT’s customers to become more data-driven.​

Gabby’s primary areas of expertise are: ​

• Advanced AI and ML practices, including AI ethics.​
• Building models to benchmark and predict IT performance.​
• End-user behaviour and human-centred design.​
• Cross-functional team design and value, such as DevSecOps.​

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

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.