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The National ICT Skills Summit attracted Australia’s leading industry representatives, academics, policy makers and educators.
The following presentations were delivered by a series of industry stakeholders from across these areas to demonstrate the complex and encompassing array of issues contributing to the skills challenge.
Con Colovos
Executive Director, CIO Executive Council
Industry Perspective
presentation (PPT 5.7 MB)
Peter Grant
Assistant Director-General, Office of Government ICT, Department of Public
Works
What is an ICT
Career? presentation (PPT 743 KB)
Mark Newton
Regional Director, Microsoft, Australia New Zealand Human Resources
Building a great Workplace
Culture to Attract and retain Great People presentation (PPT 5.1 MB)
Christie Cooper
Business Director, Pandemic Studios Australia
Build a workplace culture to attract and retain staff presentation (PPT
5.5 MB)
David Gray
Managing Director, Boeing Australia Limited
Industry and
Education Linkages presentation (PPT 95 KB)
Jim Walker - General Manager, Advance Commercial Network Systems, Boeing
Australia Limited
Ian Gillott - Director, Defence Solutions, Mincom Ltd
Karran Moseley - General Manager, IT Client & Internal Services, Suncorp
Metway
Industry Collaboration
presentation (PPT 8.2 MB)
Mr Keith Besgrove
Chief General Manager - Information Economy Division, Department of
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA), Federal
Government
Keith Besgrove is the Chief General Manager of the Information Economy Division in the Department of Communications, Information Technology, and the Arts (DCITA) in Canberra, a position which he has held for four years.
Keith provides advice to the Australian Government on the strategic, legal and regulatory framework for the on-line economy. His responsibilities include domain names, spam, cyber-security, authentication, spyware and broadband. He is involved in various international groups including the OECD, APEC and ITU, and is responsible for research and analysis into the impact of ICT in improving productivity in Australia.
Keith is fifty four years old, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Sydney and has two adult children. He is also a graduate of the Wharton School’s Advanced Management program, and has completed an Australian Government Research Fellowship into innovation programs in Israel and Singapore.
Mr Edward Mandla
Immediate Past President - Australian Computer Society (ACS)
On May 30 2006, Edward Mandla was announced as the NSW State Liberal Candidate for Sydney at the 24 March 2007 Election.
His career spans more than two decades in business and over a decade making voluntary contributions to the broader community. He has held leaderships roles in Australian and multinational organisations including: the Australian Computer Society, SMARTFORCE Solutions, Computer Associates, Resumix (now Yahoo), Protech Microsystems, AST Computers (now Samsung), HiSoft and Parity Computer.
In December 2003, Edward was elected National President of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) – the peak representative body for technology professionals in Australia with 15,000 members. As at January 1, 2006 the term expired and Edward is the Immediate Past President.
As head of the ACS, Edward led the industry into a new era of policy development, government awareness and debate on its role in our country. Edward also worked hard to increase the community’s awareness of the technology industry by promoting the industry’s presence in radio and television. As a result he drove the ACS to hold the highest public profile amongst all technology industry associations with 75%+ share of media voice.
Key initiatives included lobbying hard to ensure all school children are computer literate and for all homes to have broadband Internet access. He demonstrated forward thinking with his release of Work Life balance policy urging a change in employment attitudes. The policy, which had prominent national coverage, argued employees needed more flexible work hours, options for fully paid parental leave and child care reforms.
Up to point of his preselection, Edward authored regular columns for the Sydney Morning Herald, Age and MIS Magazine. While ACS President he was a regular columnist for The Australian, PC Authority and Technology and Business.
He is also a Director of management consultancy SMARTFORCE Solutions. Edward sits on a number of commercial and government advisory groups including the ICT Skills Foresighting Working Group, CoMICTA (Committee for Marketing ICT of Australia), Austrade ICT Export Advisory Panel and Workforce Aging in the New Economy Committee. He is the chief facilitator of TIPI (Technologists in the Public Interest) leading up to the National Skills Summit in June 2006.
Edward has a distinguished academic record. He received 1st Class Honours in Commerce from the University of New South Wales majoring in Information Systems. Edward won the “Datec Prize” for Best Honours Thesis relating to Information Systems techniques used for commercial applications. He was also awarded the 1st University Medal for outstanding academic achievement in Information Systems.
Edward is a long term CBD resident symbolising the changing nature of Sydney. With three children, a blended family coming and going, working and living in the city with his wife, a city dog that comes to work each day, Edward has a unique understanding of the environment and challenges in the electorate.
Mr Rob Durie
Chief Executive Officer - Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA)
Rob Durie is the Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), the peak body for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in Australia.
AIIA is recognised both nationally and internationally as the industry’s leading lobby group, representing more than 430 Australian member companies that employ 100,000 Australians and have combined exports of more than $2 billion.
Rob joined AIIA in 1989. During this time he has been responsible for;
Rob bought a wealth of experience to AIIA gained during his 15 years in the Australian Public Service where he worked as an economist and industry analyst. This included two years in London (on secondment to the British Department of Trade and Industry) as a policy adviser handling venture capital and foreign investment.
Rob is a Director of Innovation Business Skills Australia and a Director of the Australian Communications Industry Forum. He is a member of the CSIRO ICS Sector Advisory Council, the Australian Health Information Council and the NSW Skills Forum.
AIIA’s key activities include:
Mr Con Colovos
Executive Director - CIO Executive Council Oceanic Region
Chief Information Officer - IDG Australia
Con Colovos holds a dual role for IDG Australia as the Chief Information Officer for the company and also the Executive Director of the CIO Executive Council, Oceanic Region. As the Executive Director, Con’s main focus is to drive the business model for the Council and to assist the Board of Advisors in steering the direction of the Council’s agenda and overseeing the progress of Council initiatives and milestones. Con acts as the face of the Council and works largely in promoting the Council’s initiatives and agenda in the public arena. He also has a large interest in seeing the global aspect of the Council expand and to promote a voice for our members in that global arena.
Before accepting his position in IDG, Con spent 16 years building his knowledge in IT and his experience in a diverse range of business types and areas. He spent four years as the CIO of Moraitis Group where he built up an IT department from scratch and led the initiative to create an IT environment that has assisted in solving many of the larger business process problems and streamlining the business effort. He also spent significant time and effort implementing large-scale solution programs for Comtech, Commonwealth Bank, St George Building Society, NSW Attorney General’s Department, Qantas, Pepsi-Cola Australia,and Shopfast.com.au.
With a background originating in accounting, Con has been able to merge his sound understanding of business practices with his passion for technology to succeed in the IT market. He now brings this lifetime of learning and experience to the forefront in steering the way forward for the CIO Executive Council.
Mr Kon Kakanis
Chair - Software Queensland
General Manager, Sales and Marketing - Sundata Pty Ltd
After spending the first five years of his career with IBM, Kon has now been an executive director of Sundata Pty Ltd, a Brisbane ICT firm, for 20 years. Sundata services both horizontal and vertical market sectors in Australia with a range of products and services and employs 25 people in Brisbane and has just opened a Sydney office.
In addition, Kon is currently the Chair of Software Queensland, an association with membership of around 60 Queensland based software development firms, and an active member of the ICT workgroup and the Joint Government/Industry ICT committee. Kon is an active Senior Member of the Australian Computer Society and also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mr Peter Grant
Assistant Director-General - Office of Government ICT, Department of Public
Works, Queensland Government
Peter Grant is the Assistant Director-General of the Office of Government ICT within the Department of Public Works. He has held this position from 2005.
In this role, Peter fosters and develops relationships between the Office of Government ICT and the private sector, forming partnership arrangements to aid delivery of whole-of-Government and multi-agency initiatives. Peter plays a fundamental role in driving and implementing the action items of the Smart Directions Statement; the key government planning tool to guide Queensland Government ICT investment in projects and services.
Previous to his current position, Peter was the founding Director of Consulting for Gartner Asia Pacific. Peter’s high level of proficiency in strategic planning and customer development was utilised by more than 60 national and international clients. Peter is recognised as an expert in leadership development, business strategy, program management, and risk management.
His 30 year IT career highlights also include:
Mr Mark Newton
Director, Human Resources Australia & New Zealand - Microsoft
Mark Newton is the Director of Human Resources at Microsoft for Australia and New Zealand. He has been with Microsoft for 13 years and is responsible for establishing and implementing Human Resources strategies and programs for Microsoft in Australia and New Zealand.
Mark holds a position on Microsoft’s Senior Leadership Team and reports to Fernando Esquivel, HR Director, Asia Pacific, in Singapore. Mark is also responsible for a team of nine in the Human Resources division of Microsoft Australia and New Zealand.
Prior to this position Mark was the Regional HR Manager for the Asia Pacific Region, before being transferred to the AIME Region based in Seattle, USA (covering Africa, India, Middle East and the countries around the Mediterranean).
Before joining Microsoft Mark worked at Honeywell (Automation and Controls), where he was the training and development manager for three years.
Prior to this Mark was employed in the NSW Department of Youth and Community Services for some nine years, holding a various positions from Deputy Superintendent of a Juvenile Detention facility to Training and Development Manager.
Mark has a bachelor of Social Science from the University of New England.
Ms Christie Cooper
Business Director - Pandemic Studios
As Business Director for Pandemic Studios PTY LTD, Christie oversees all
Administration, HR, IT, Finance and Creative Services staff. In 4 years at
Pandemic she has supported the production of major titles such as Destroy All
HumansTM as well as the Studio’s steady expansion to over 70 development
professionals. Last year Christie oversaw the construction of Pandemic’s new
1,500 square meter studio facility in Fortitude Valley.
Prior to joining Pandemic, Christie was an IT recruiter for AmBit Technology
and had a background in HR. As she guides the expansion of the company’s
Australian studio, she is proud to be a part of the remarkable growth of the
Queensland games industry as it becomes an increasingly vital player on the
international game development scene.
Mr David Gray
Managing Director, Boeing Australia Ltd
David Gray was brought up and schooled in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). In 1966 he went to the United Kingdom to study electrical engineering at the University of Newcastle on Tyne where he received a Bachelor of Science degree.
After six months of postgraduate work in industry he was sent to South Africa where, for two years, he worked in the power electrical engineering field.
The next two years were spent on an extensive yachting expedition, after which he returned to the power electrical engineering business in South Africa.
Having held a number of senior positions in that field and later on in telecommunications, he and his family immigrated to Australia in 1984.
Back in the heavy engineering field, he became the Chief Executive of GEC Heavy Engineering, and then in 1989 became General Manager of the telecommunications company Exicom.
After a short time there he was asked to return to GEC and form GEC Marconi (Australia). This was completed and he was Managing Director of that company until August 1995 when he was appointed Managing Director of Boeing Australia Limited (previously Rockwell Australia Limited), where he now works.
In recognition of his services to the Aviation Industry, David has received the Centenary Medal and awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Queensland University of Technology. He is a member of the Queensland University Senate and the Aviation Australia Advisory Board.
David is married with three children and enjoys playing golf, tennis and cycling.
Ian Gillott
Director - Defence Solutions Group, Mincom Ltd
Ian Gillott, MBA, Dip Eng, MCSE, is currently working as Director of the Defence Solutions Group for Mincom and is located in the Mincom Central Headquarters, Brisbane Australia. Ian’s solutions group focuses on the collaborative development of Military and Defense Industry software.
The Mincom Defense Solutions Group is currently developing software for the Australian Defence Force, Canadian Defence Force, and a number of other military customers. His group also provides product support for the full range of Mincom Software. Ian is also currently filling a second role as the Global Director of Customer Service.
Ian joined Mincom from Deloitte, where he worked on the Rio Tinto account consulting on a global document management solution. Prior to this Ian worked for 5 years as a senior IT executive for Santos Ltd where he held a number of postions including the Manager of IT Innovation and Project Development Department, and as the Manager of the Information Management Group.
He worked extensively with the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group and led a successful ERP and e-Business implementation across Santos.
Ian has worked within the military environment, including some 20 years as an Officer in The Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; his time included a variety of postings to peacekeeping, engineering, maintenance, supply, and logistics organisations.
Ian is married with a 10 year-old son and a 13 year-old Daughter; he is a keen cyclist and swimmer who continues to compete on an active basis in both sports.
Ms Karran Moseley
General Manager, IT Client & Internal Services - Suncorp Metway
Karran Moseley currently holds the position of General Manager, IT Client and Internal Services. Her responsibilities cover a broad portfolio that includes accountability for providing Suncorp’s IT Department with service and performance metrics, financial cost analysis, asset and contract management, process design, quality management and compliance, professional development within IT and managing the IT Portfolio. The role is also accountable for the provision of IT’s customer advocacy function, account management, service desk, problem and release management for Suncorp’s lines of business including the Corporate Project Group and external Joint Ventures.
Karran has been with Suncorp for eight years, initially a consultant working with the Suncorp/Metway/QIDC merger, and then staying on to work with Suncorp in senior project management roles on a number of projects. With the formation of the Corporate Project Group in April 2003 Karran was appointed Program Director for the Finance and Group Data Warehouse. The Program included delivering a ABC data model, the foundation of the Groups Data warehouse and the merger of the GIO and Suncorp General Ledgers onto a single PeopleSoft instance.
Karran started her career many years ago after completing a BSc (hons) at Kings College London, converted it to a Finance degree via the Charted Institute of Public Financiers, working within the audit departments of several London Borough’s. With a specific interest in project work Karran joined the consultancy arm of a City firm of Charted Accountants working on many projects for a wide spectrum of clients. Karran was made Department Manager for IT Services, before setting up and running a Consulting Practice with clients including; Citibank, Franklin Mint, Shell UK, Marks & Spencers, Apple UK, Det Norske, Hong Kong Airport Authorities to name a few. The Consulting Practice allowed travel and eventually led to Karran settling down in Australia.