Speakers 2025

CEO of Scalare Partners
Carolyn’s purpose is to empower organisations to drive inclusion and equality through technology and accessibility.
Carolyn Breeze, currently the CEO of Scalare Partners (ASX:SCP), is a distinguished leader in the technology sector with over 20 years of experience in payments, fintech, e-commerce, and telecommunications. She has held significant roles at renowned companies such as Zepto, GoCardless, PayPal, Braintree, and eBay.

Carolyn is celebrated for her vibrant personality and is a sought-after NED and keynote speaker, recognised for her contributions to the industry with accolades like CEO Magazine’s IT and Telecommunications Executive of the Year in 2018 and being named one of Business Insider’s top 20 Women in Fintech. In 2021, she was awarded ‘Fintech Leader of the Year’ at the Women in Finance Awards in 2023.

Leveraging her background and passion for continuous development, Carolyn partners with her clients across corporate, entrepreneurial and not-for-profit organisations. Complementing this work Carolyn provides advisory services in payments, open data, fintech, automation, and commercialisation strategies. Additionally, she continues to conduct public speaking engagements and is seen as a thought leader within the startup, payments and tech sectors.
Carolyn’s dedication to the principle of lifelong learning, and generosity in sharing her expansive leadership and commercial aptitude make her a sought-after and invaluable resource, both in Australia and internationally.

Developer Engagement Lead @ Microsoft
Tedx Speaker, developer community mentor, Microsoftie and international conference Speaker. I live at the heart of the coding community and help drive awareness and engagement as a developer advocate and technology evangelist. I advocate for STEM, the Games Industry and Developers. I present at around 50 Conferences and Events around the world on Technology, Learning to Code, Open Source and Building Bots. I judge hackathons and encourage the next generation into technology careers.

I design and build software systems and lead engineering teams. As a hands-on leader, my focus is on helping other engineers get things done and grow in their careers. I enjoy continuously learning and practicing the art of programming, in the large and in the small. My aim is to support the long-term health of people, teams, and the software systems they build. I co-founded Anamorphic Digital to advance the regenerative economy. Our first product, TANK, helps people find flourishing while beating burnout. I also consult with early-stage startups, particularly on projects that make complex policy decisions more approachable. I hold a PhD in pure mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science.

Kris worked in the Australian tech industry for more than 20 years at companies like Channel Nine, Canva, YOW, and AWS, where she most recently led the APAC Developer Relations team. She’s now trying on early retirement, which gives her a lot more time to think about technology and how we can do better

Senior Developer Advocate | AI Founder
Michelle “MishManners” Duke, is a multi-talented personality in the tech and gaming communities. As a developer advocate, she has made significant contributions to GitHub, and is known for her expertise in sharing technical knowledge. Mish is a successful entrepreneur and founder, having co-founded several companies. She has been a driving force in Melbourne’s entrepreneurial culture and sits at the forefront of the city’s science, tech, esports, and startup scenes. She has been instrumental in pioneering esports to become mainstream and has been recognised as an influential woman in the industry. Throughout her career, Mish has been a dedicated advocate for diversity, inclusion, and community building, inspiring others to pursue their passions in tech, gaming, and entrepreneurship.

Cloud Advocate for Microsoft
Aaron is a a Cloud Advocate for Microsoft based in Sydney. His area of specialty is .NET web development, focusing on the intersection of .NET and JavaScript applications.
Find out more about Aaron.

Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian
Nelly Sattari is a Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian, leading the Platform team. She is a Microsoft Cloud Native MVP, community leader, public speaker, and mentor. With a background in software engineering, Nelly thrives on problem-solving and is passionate about building engaging software while empowering teams to achieve both enthusiasm and high performance.
For the past decade, Nelly has been dedicated to making the tech community a more inclusive space for collaboration and learning. She has co-organized tech events like Serverless Days ANZ and Programmable, spoken at numerous international conferences, and led Technical Leadership Workshops for tech leaders. You can explore more of her insights at Nelly Sattari .

Co-speaking with Dr. Ben Shelton
Cordelia Prangley is a User Experience Specialist at the University of Newcastle, with qualifications in Service Design and Information Technology. Cordelia excels in user research, human-centred design, and service design, bringing a deep understanding of user needs and behaviours to her work. Her expertise ensures that the solutions developed are both user-centered and effective.

Co-speaking with Cordelia Prangley
Dr. Ben Shelton is the Senior Manager, Student Systems and Business Enablement at the University of Newcastle. With a PhD in Computer Science and extensive experience, he bridges academic research and practical application, making him a key component of this research.

Senior Product Security Manager at Atlassian
Sara Gray is a technology leader with a career spanning over 15 years, with experience in cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and executive leadership. Currently a Senior Product Security Manager at Atlassian, Sara leads a team of Data Security Engineers; ensuring their global customers have verifiable trust in the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Atlassian’s products.
Prior to this role, Sara has led major security automation and infrastructure initiatives at Telstra, Xero, and AWS. With a background that bridges both technical execution and strategic leadership, Sara is passionate about helping professionals navigate the intersections of individual contribution and people leadership. A dedicated mentor and speaker, she champions innovation, governance, and the development of high-performing teams in the tech industry.

Product Owner: Data Mesh & Data Ops at ANZ
Jacob Moran is the Product Owner for ANZ Plus’s Data Mesh team, where he works daily with several teams building and supporting Australia’s biggest data mesh. A proud Novocastrian, Jacob started his career in website analytics at nib before spending the last decade working in the data teams of start-ups, government, and corporations in Sydney and Melbourne. Away from data, Jacob likes to pretend his hobbies include golf, music, and history, but with a young family, time for these pursuits is becoming increasingly rare. 

Lecturer – School of Information and Physical Sciences University of Newcastle
An experienced UX Research Specialist and Service Designer, I specialize in the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and service design within emerging technologies. With 10+ years of dedicated work in industry & academic environments, I’ve honed my capabilities to intricately understand and innovate at the nexus of user needs and technological advancements. In pivotal roles, I have strategically led efforts to research, design, and refine services that significantly improve user interactions and satisfaction in multiple sectors – health, insurance, tourism, e-commerce, and digital government services. 

Consultant
Dr John Brøndum has spent a life time working as a solution, enterprise, business, domain etc architect. He has worked for large corporations, government companies, and start-ups. He achieved The Open Group IT Architect certification in 2005, Ph.D. software architecture in 2013, and has battle tested many architecture ideas on the front line of large scale digital transformation projects and fintech startups. Full resume is available here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbrondum

Research Collaborator at The Hospital for Sick Children
Andrew is an experienced engineer with a track record of developing innovative and novel tech solutions. Andrew completed a degree in environmental engineering at the University of Newcastle in 1999 and worked locally as consultant developing and operating flood, noise and dust models to the mining industry for more than a decade. In this role he developed early versions of the software used for spatial analysis at Anditi, a Newcastle based company that develops high performance analytical solutions for geospatial projects. Andrew moved to Toronto, Canada in 2011 where he developed a clinical data collection and storage system for the Intensive Care Unit at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). This system, called AtriumDB, has been collecting physiological waveforms continuously from the 42-bed unit since early 2016, resulting in a database of over 2 million patient-hours of high frequency physiological signals from over 20,00 critically ill children. These signals collected using this system are being used for multiple clinical research projects spanning several different countries. AtriumDB was released as an open-source in 2023 and is now in use at several other children’s hospitals in Canada, Israel, the USA, and at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in NSW. in 2023 Andrew completed a PhD in Biomedical Engineering through the university of Sydney where his research focused on modelling data flow through clinical systems. Andrew now works from his home in Newcastle to assist hospitals internationally who wish to incorporate high frequency physiological signals into their clinical decision support systems.

Organisation and Product Coach at Organa
Brendan is a Product Coach at Organa, a boutique consulting agency, where he coaches product leaders and serves as a Fractional CPO for scale-ups in Australia. Previously, he was the Product Manager for Spotify’s Desktop product, responsible for one-third of their monthly active users, along with coaching teams at Spotify to utilise Product Discovery and Lean Startup methods to test innovative ideas. He’s passionate about mental health and brings his experience as a CPO for a mental health non-profit and his advocacy for wellbeing in the workplace to his coaching. Brendan is currently pursuing a Master in Psychotherapy, further deepening his commitment to mental well-being.

Senior Software Engineer at Askable
Senior Developer from Germany with over 15 years of experience building web apps and leading frontend teams, currently living and working down under in Australia. Pragmatic perfectionist, always looking for opportunities to learn and grow.
Find out more about Julian.

Leading Technology and Delivery as Chief Technology Officer at VND GLOBAL
I’m a Principal Software Delivery Consultant with a passion for creative problem solving and building things in the best way possible. I pride myself on accelerating time-to-market, making software services more reliable—both for teams building them and people using them—and building learning cultures in large scale organisations.
I often achieve these goals using the You Build It You Run It operating model, which I enjoy writing and speaking about. I’ve also co-authored a detailed playbook on the subject.
When I’m not working on any of the above, you’ll find me enjoying the beaches in New South Wales with my dog, Doddie.

Developer Relations Engineer at DataStax
Phil is a developer relations engineer for DataStax and Google Developer Expert living in Melbourne, Australia. He’s been working in developer relations for a decade, speaking at conferences since 2012, and writing JavaScript since before jQuery. Away from the keyboard, Phil enjoys travel, live music, and hanging out with his mini sausage dog, Ruby.

Founder – Pirate Coffee | Pirate Labs
Damian Hamilton spent over 20 years leading sales and partnerships for global tech giants like HP and Dimension Data, driving serious growth across cloud, software, and enterprise IT. But these days, he’s more likely to be found behind a roaster than a whiteboard.
A proud Māori man, Damo is the co-founder of Pirate Coffee — a small batch roastery and social enterprise based in Port Stephens. What started as a love for specialty coffee has evolved into a platform for connection, conversation, and community wellbeing — with a strong focus on improving men’s mental health.
Through Pirate Labs, Damo is laying the groundwork for future ventures in advanced manufacturing, supply chain analytics, and tech-enabled food systems. It’s the IP and innovation arm of Pirate — where ideas are tested, systems are built, and regional tech gets serious.
At /NEW, he’ll be brewing slow coffee with long-time mate and NewyTechPeople founder James MacDonald — creating space for honest conversations, shared experience, and a fresh take on where technology meets humanity.

Director of Tech Team Whisperer
Claire, Director of Tech Team Whisperer, is a transformative leader guiding teams to break free from outdated norms and drive meaningful organisational change through technology and innovation. As Deputy Chair of Hunter iF, she plays a crucial role in fostering regional growth by building impactful connections and driving collaboration.
With over 25 years of experience in technology, strategy, and innovation, Claire’s journey spans high-tech startups, major corporate roles, and regional development. Her expertise ranges from commercialising research at the Walton Institute to leading businesses through economic transition as 2IC at Waterford Chamber, and driving innovation in global collaborations at Canon Australia.
Claire’s mission is simple yet powerful: challenge the status quo, prioritise people, and deliver results. Her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion as the foundation of creativity and innovation fuels everything she does. As a judge for the TechDiversity Awards, she champions radical collaboration as the key to transformational outcomes.
When she’s not sparking connection and creativity, Claire draws inspiration from life in the Upper Hunter NSW, surrounded by her lively family of humans, horses, and dogs.

Corporate Innovator | Product Strategist | Industrial UX Specialist
Leanora is a leading advocate for Human-Centered Design in heavy industry, bringing Silicon Valley-style UX thinking into high-stakes industrial environments. With a background in corporate product innovation and lean methodology, she has helped Bradken successfully bring industrial solutions to market, driving usability, safety, and adoption through data-driven design strategies.

She is passionate about bridging the gap between engineering and real-world users, cutting through corporate red tape with “wagile” execution, and ensuring that the best industrial products are built for the people who rely on them most.

Want to transform your industry with HCD-driven innovation? Let’s talk. 

Software Technical Lead at BMT Tax Depreciation
Shweta is a Senior Technical Lead with BMT Tax Depreciation Quantity Surveyors based in Newcastle. She is a graduate of the Computer Science school of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University of India, moving to Australia in 2010. She lives with her husband and their two sons, and a fluffy, friendly cat. When she is not cutting code, Shweta loves to travel. She also likes a nice hot spicy curry. 

Co-Founder of Well Financial Technology
As a seasoned engineering leader and consultant with over 25 years of experience, I bring a wealth of knowledge in IT architecture and software engineering. My expertise lies in advising large organizations and providing technical guidance to medium-sized organizations looking to re-engineer their systems and procedures. I have a proven track record of managing technical engineering teams, delivering value to stakeholders, and leveraging my deep understanding of technology, business strategies, and product management to provide insightful leadership. In my recent roles at Greater Bank, Pacific National and Westpac, I have demonstrated my ability to drive significant digital transformation projects, implement modern software delivery processes, and improve system security and efficiency. I have successfully navigated complex challenges, providing strategic foresight and mitigating risks to keep projects moving forward. I am passionate about reducing unnecessary costs to business processes and have consistently demonstrated this through my work. I am seeking opportunities to act as an advisor to executive boards, providing recommendations for service improvements and project development. My goal is to add value to technical teams and help organizations navigate the complexities of digital transformation. 

Research Manager at Bupa
Ashlea Rendell Research Manager at Bupa Ashlea is an experienced UX leader with over a decade in the industry working across the insurance and federal government landscapes. Currently Research Manager for Health Insurance at Bupa APAC, Ashlea leads a team of design and behavioural researchers helping shape product strategies and improve user experiences. With a PhD in Information Systems, and a background in both research and UX design, she combines academic rigour and practical expertise to bring actionable research into the product development lifecycle and strategic decision making. Ashlea is a strong advocate for building high-performing teams and mentoring the next generation of UX professionals, and has been a mentor in the University of Newcastle HunterWiSE program. 

Managing Director at Flame Tree Cyber
Kat is a cyber security professional based in Brisbane with over 15 years of experience working across government, education, and not-for-profit sectors. She lived in Newcastle during her schooling years and graduated from the University of Newcastle. She has led cyber teams in governance, risk and compliance and incident response. Kat has been involved with the Essential 8 since its origins in 2010 and is an IRAP assessor. Kat is passionate about reducing risk, business growth and resilience. 

Principal Technical Account Manager at AWS
I am a Principal Technical Account Manager at AWS, supporting software companies in ANZ. I’m passionate about system reliability and love sharing knowledge. You might’ve seen me on stage at AWS re:Invent in 2023 and 2024, or at the Public Sector Symposium 2024, where I talked about keeping cloud systems resilient and efficient. I’ve also written a couple of blogs and created workshops on operational excellence and reliability. When I’m not geeking out over cloud tech, I’m a dad to three awesome kids. Big Liverpool fan here! Let’s chat about tech, sports, or anything in between! 

Group Owner AI Enabled Employees at Telstra

Leigh Gibson is a renowned technology executive with a history of delivering innovative and high-profile tech projects. With a background in software engineering, solution design, and project management, Leigh has led transformative initiatives such as modernizing ANZ’s Internet Banking platform and launching Australia’s first Mobile Payments platform. At Telstra, Leigh enhanced employee device security and introduced Microsoft Copilot at scale. Currently, Leigh is spearheading tech efforts for Telstra’s Data and AI joint venture with Accenture. Co-founder of Technology Executive Women, Leigh is passionate about fostering psychological safety to drive team success and innovation.

Samantha Davies is a technology executive currently leading the Cloud and Infrastructure Centre of Excellence at Telstra.  In this role, she oversees Telstra’s cloud and infrastructure strategy, contributing to the company’s digital transformation initiatives.
 
Before joining Telstra in 2022, Sam spent over a decade at ANZ Bank, where she held several senior positions, including Cloud Transformation Lead, Cyber Defence Lead and Senior Delivery Lead.  Her career also included roles at Monash University and Tennis Australia where she gained extensive experience in IT leadership and project management.
 
Sam holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science specialising in User Interface Design and has lived and worked in seven (7) countries during her career in technology.  Sam has a diverse technical background having worked as a software developer, database administrator, software development lead and cyber security lead.
 
In addition to her professional achievements, Samantha is a keen advocate for diversity in technology and is a co-director of Tech Exec Women (TEW) a not-for-profit organisation which she co-founded with Leigh GIbson.  Tech Exec Women is dedicated to supporting, connecting, and empowering women leaders in technology.  Sam is also active in mentoring and advocating for diversity in STEM fields and participates in various other initiatives to increase the visibility of women in technology.
 
Outside of work, Sam loves to travel and also volunteers at local theatres making costumes.

Director, National Energy Analysis Centre (NEAC) at CSIRO
Dr Stephen Craig is the Smart Energy Lead at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. Stephen has more than 25 years of experience in applied research, strategy development and commercial innovation in systems engineering, digital technologies, and communications. Prior to joining CSIRO, Stephen led the national centre of excellence for Digital Engineering at Boeing Defence Australia, and he was Head of Strategy and Business Development at a spatial data analytics start-up. Stephen received his PhD in climate system modelling from Stockholm University. He spent many years in Sweden in leadership roles in mobile communication systems research, development and optimisation at Ericsson before returning to Australia in 2015.

Co-Founder at Peakhour.io
With over two decades of experience in web security and infrastructure, I’ve had a front-row seat to the evolution of cyber threats. As co-founder of Peakhour.IO, I’ve been particularly fascinated by how attackers are leveraging residential proxy networks (RESIPs) to bypass traditional security controls and execute account takeovers. This led me to develop innovative network fingerprinting techniques that go beyond conventional IP-based security, helping Australian businesses detect and block sophisticated attacks that appear to come from legitimate residential networks. My passion lies in finding fresh approaches to security challenges. Through research and hands-on experience dealing with real-world attacks, I’ve developed new methods for identifying malicious traffic, even when it’s hiding behind seemingly legitimate residential IPs. I regularly share these insights at security conferences across Australia, helping organisations understand how to protect themselves against the rising threat of RESIP-based account takeovers. At Peakhour.IO, we’ve built Australia’s leading full-site delivery service that specialises in advanced threat detection, combining innovative fingerprinting techniques with behavioral analysis to distinguish between legitimate users and attackers, even when they’re using residential proxy networks. 

Senior Engineering Manager at Octopus Deploy
Matt is a Senior Engineering Manager at Octopus Deploy where he leads teams focused on developer experience and bottom-up product adoption. Matt’s passion as a manager is on building teams and workplaces that allow anyone to thrive. This passion leads Matt into topics such as hiring, DE&I and building team culture. Outside of work, Matt enjoys watching and playing, and spends his weekends running around after his two young children. 
 

Consulting Director @ SixPivot / Co-organiser @ DDD Brisbane / Common Sense Enthusiast
Chris is a software consultant with more years than he cares to admit. In that time he’s become extremely passionate about how different projects run, how different people tick, and how there’s always six different ways to solve any technical problem. As a speaker, Chris has presented at user groups and conferences across Australia on a range of technical and non-technical topics. He loves sharing war stories and giving people something tangible to take home from every session. Chris is the Consulting Director at SixPivot. In his spare time he co-organises DDD Brisbane, a not-for-profit community event run by developers for developers. 
 

IT Threat Management Lead @ nib
Jay is a tech enthusiast from Newcastle; their professional day-to-day focuses heavily on a guidance and governance of security technologies at nib Group while their alter-ego by night is an home-lab addict that insists on not just repeatability but reproducibility (https://reproducible-builds.org/) as a facet of auditability and validation. Jay also assists in running the Newcastle Cybersecurity Meetup with any left-over time 
 

Chief Technology Officer at Applied Virtual Simulation
Craig Williams is the Chief Technology Officer at Applied Virtual Simulation (AVS), where he leads the development and product management of military simulation technology for the Australian Defence Force.
A technology expert with more than 15 years of
experience in the Defence simulation community, Craig has worked as a software designer and developer, managed software and hardware development teams, and overseen the successful delivery of complex technical projects and products.

With deep expertise in software engineering, simulation systems, and Defence technology, he has played a pivotal role in architecting, designing and delivering the Land Simulation Core 2.0 (LS Core 2.0) Common Simulation Software (CSS)—a foundational suite that
powers the next generation of simulators.

Passionate about bridging the gap between Defence needs and modern technology, Craig brings deep technical expertise in software architecture, simulation frameworks, and the challenges of military training to ensure that Defence personnel have access to realistic,
scalable, and interoperable simulation environments.

James MacDonald is the Managing Director of NTP, a community-driven recruitment agency scaling rapidly along the East Coast of Australia. With a passion for connecting the right people with the right companies, James believes that life is too short to stay in a role you don’t love — and that real success happens when individuals and businesses find their perfect fit.

Over his career, James has placed hundreds of technology professionals into roles across startups, scale-ups, and ASX-listed companies. He’s also an early-stage investor in multiple tech startups, bringing a deep understanding of how great teams fuel growth and innovation.

Beyond recruitment, James hosts the NTP Podcast, which has amassed tens of thousands of downloads. Through candid conversations with top-performing tech professionals, he highlights the talent shaping Australia’s tech scene — sharing real stories, lessons learned, and a look into the evolving future of technology.

Andrew is a CIO who is people-focused, engaging, and authentic. He is passionate about building strong relationships with business leaders and creating high-performing teams to drive business transformation.
With extensive experience in tackling a wide range of business challenges across all technology areas, Andrew demonstrates a keen ability to understand complexity and pursue simplicity. He thrives on the energy of challenging transformations and is committed to making impactful changes.

Victoria Aspden is the Executive General Manager – Digital Transformation of Ampcontrol. Ampcontrol solves the most complex problems in energy by collaborating and partnering with our customers to challenge the future and help make global net zero a reality.
 
In 2024, Victoria joined Ampcontrol, bringing over 20 years of experience leading large-scale business transformations and large portfolios of applications and infrastructure, including designing and delivering business-wide enterprise technology. Her strong technology background is complemented by experience in senior management positions at Commonwealth Bank, KPMG, and Colonial First State. 
 
Victoria is passionate about innovation and has a proven track record in leading business transformations and implementing cutting-edge customer-centric digital technologies. She oversees the development and implementation of innovative solutions while utilising modern working methods that enhance operation efficiency, improve end-to-end customer experience, and lead cross-functional teams that execute strategic transformation initiatives.

Tim is the Data Manager at the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre (University of Newcastle). He works with their non-profit initiative, the Quality Teaching Academy, to improve educational outcomes for Australian schools. With a background in data wrangling and visualisation, Tim’s interest in data emerged during his previous life as a biomedical researcher, which took him from Newcastle to Germany and the USA.
Outside of work, Tim enjoys rock climbing, surfing, and running (after two small children).

Tony Wybrow is the Principal of Innovate Design Build, a company he founded in 2025 to help research institutions, startups, and industry partners turn ideas into reality. Previously, Tony served as Lead Solution Architect at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, where he led CSIRO’s architecture team, collaborated with researchers, and developed a strategic technical vision for the organisation’s future. His career spans government, academia, and industry, giving him a deep understanding of the challenges faced by institutions and businesses looking to bridge the gap between research and implementation. 

COO of SSW
Ulysses “Uly” Maclaren is COO of SSW and Product Owner of YakShaver, steering AI-powered solutions for clients worldwide. With nearly two decades of Agile leadership and practical AI delivery, he turns bold ideas into shipped products… and, outside work, has achieved a world salsa championship.