Mindfields Automation Summit 2023

× Paul Smith edits the technology coverage and has been a leading writer on the sector for 20 years. He covers big tech, business use of tech, the fast-growing Australian tech industry and start-ups, telecommunications and national innovation policy.

× The Hon Ed Husic MP is the Federal Minister for Industry and Science and has been the Member for Chifley since 2010. Rebuilding Australia’s manufacturing capacity and delivering secure, rewarding and well-paid jobs to Australians is of the highest priority for Mr Husic. Mr Husic has a strong and ongoing interest in the Australian tech and digital sector, and has been vocal about the need for the country to think ahead about the impact of technology on jobs and communities – to help industry prepare and capitalise on future opportunities. Before entering Federal Parliament Mr Husic worked in roles spanning the private and public sectors, including as National President of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union and at Integral Energy (now Endeavour Energy).

× Marek Rucinski is the Deputy Commissioner of Smarter Data, the ATO’s data and analytics capability. He has strategic responsibility for the development and industrialisation of data, analytics and insights to support the administration of the tax and super systems, government priorities, and deliver value for the Australian community. This role combines the traditional roles of chief data and chief analytics officers in many other organisations. Marek leads the ATO Data and Analytics Professional Stream, is a member of the senior working group for the APS Data Professional Stream, and chairs the APS Data Champions Executive. Marek has driven the evolution of data and analytics capabilities for over 20 years in industry roles and in a consulting services capacity across Australia, Asia and global clients. He has worked in retail, telecommunications, consumer goods, financial services, mining and utilities sectors and now, the federal government. Prior to ATO, Marek was a Managing Director in Accenture and was the Analytics Practice lead for Australia and New Zealand.

× Abhi Kadian is the Head of Robotics and Intelligent Automation Services at Westpac Banking Corporation. He is a veteran of automation, having spent the last eight years leading and scaling automation, low-code and process mining practices at Australia’s leading Banks. Abhi is educated as an Actuary. He also holds an MBA and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

× As Customer Transformation Advisor, Kim supports customer and partner enablement with Artificial Intelligent innovation opportunities across process and usability to enable improved working practices. Kim is passionate about AI, holding a PhD in the application of AI in business. She has over 20 years of experience spanning South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Australia, and she held various operations, Centre of Excellence, and technology roles during her career.

× Andrew McMullan is an experienced Director of Analytics with a demonstrated history of working in the banking industry. He is skilled in Customer Profitability, Statistical Modeling, Data Warehousing, Yield Management, and Predictive Analytics. Andrew is a strong business development professional with a Ph.D. focused on Statistics from the University of Glasgow.

× Eric Cheng is an experienced technology leader, with over 15 years of diverse experience in aligning digital strategy with business objectives. He has extensive experience in mentoring and leading teams across various domains, including cloud architectures, web and mobile applications, process automation, artificial intelligence, and DevSecOps.

Demonstrating a compassionate leadership approach and a growth-oriented mindset, Eric cultivates high-performing, diverse, and inclusive teams. Trusted as an advisor in complex environments, he is adept at introducing and scaling transformational technologies, implementing best practices, and achieving operational excellence.

× Phil Barlow leads technology teams and technology strategy within the Microsoft Global Partner Solutions organisation across Australia and New Zealand. In his role he is responsible for building technology partnerships in the region which enable customers to rapidly adopt and extract value from innovation across Azure Cloud, Data & AI, Security, Modern Workplace and Business Applications solution domains.

× Alezeia is a deep tech investor with a background in product management, systems design and software engineering. As an investment manager at Main Sequence - a $1B deeptech venture capital fund - Alezeia works with founders who combine science & tech with the world's biggest challenges to build the next generation of global companies, with a focus on decarbonisation and AI. Alezeia sits as a board observer for various deep tech companies such as Endua, Advanced Navigation, FiveCast and Avarni, is a member of Greenpeace Australian Pacific General Assembly, and coach and mentor at many incubators and accelerator programs. Before Main Sequence, Alezeia held a number of senior product roles, including Head of Product for CSIRO’s Data61 and Executive Manager for Retail Wealth Product for GBST.

× Dan Coughlan is an Investment Manager at AirTree Ventures. His focus is on early stage investing with a particular interest in AI applications as well as AI enablement, such as data infrastructure and machine learning tooling. He also sits as an observer on the boards of Pet Circle, FrankieOne and Qwilr. Prior to this, Dan spent time at Credit Suisse covering publicly listed software businesses such as Xero, WiseTech, Altium and AI-tooling company Appen.

× Josh has over 13 years in finance experience and high performing teams including national sports teams and 10 years in PwC UK and Australia gaining experience as a Director across financial due diligence, corporate finance, SPA and strategy. During this tenure, Josh drove the PwC UKs initial development of data and AI throughout the deal’s environment, with a focus on workflow and process improvements. Josh joined the private equity firm Pemba Capital Partners in 2022 after previously working on one of their platform acquisitions, VetsCentral. Josh now supports the Accelerate team which helps partner companies with growth initiatives, assimilating buy-and-build strategies and exit preparations.

× Mohit has over 20 years of experience working in Strategy, Corporate Finance, and Risk Management Solutions for Deloitte, PwC, and EY. Mohit has authored and published one of the first and most comprehensive research on Robotics and Process Automation. Mohit provides advisory services to leading global financial and non-financial organization in US, Australia, Middle East, UK, and India on their journey for Automation and Artificial Intelligence. Mohit loves cricket and food, in that order.