Guest Speakers 2003

Megan Enders
GM Commercial Services, Western Power
"Surviving at the top: reflections from a Gen X Executive"

Megan Enders is from Western Power Corporation where she is the General Manager of the Commercial Services Business Unit.

Commercial Services comprises 530 employees who provide key strategy, support and service functions to Western Power and some external customers. It has a budget of nearly $100M per annum (capital and operating) and generates external revenue for Western Power to the value of at least $15M per annum.

Services provided by the business unit range from fleet management, procurement and metering to information technology, human resources, accounting and internal consulting in health, safety, the environment and business performance improvement.

Megan is the first female member of the Western Power Executive team since the company began as the State Electricity Commission of Western Australia in 1946.

Prior to joining Western Power Megan was a management consultant with The Empower Group (formerly World Competitive Practices) assisting organisations to achieve their strategic objectives by improving their management of people. She became a consultant after completing a Masters in Business Administration at the University of Melbourne and Cornell University, New York State, in 1999.

Megan has also had experience in the public sector, working as a policy adviser on transport, communications and the environment in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (when Paul Keating was Prime Minister). She was also an adviser to the (then) Special Minister of State, Senator the Hon Nick Minchin (currently the Federal Minister for Finance) for two years. In this role she primarily assisted him in implementing the Government’s policy to hold a Constitutional Convention to consider the issue of becoming a republic.

Megan also has a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in organisational communication, with specialisations in public relations, marketing and advertising.

Yvonne Parle
Project Manager
peritia Project Management (www.peritiapm.com)
Topic: "When Project Meets Process"

Yvonne will speak about her experience of moving across the world to work as the Information Manager for the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat. What happens when a project gal finds herself in a very process driven bureaucracy? What effect does this have on work practices and what lessons
are there to be learnt?

Born in the Republic of Ireland, Yvonne has lived and worked in Europe, North America and Australia. She entered the computer industry in 1981 and has matured into an enthusiastic and committed project manager and IT departmental manager working in Banking, Insurance, Petrochemical and most recently Health Sector organizations.

Yvonne has recently returned from a year long contract with the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat at the World Health Organization (www.who.int) in Geneva, Switzerland where she worked as an Information Manager.

Jenny Beresford
Regional GM (ANZ and Japan), Mahindra-BT
"WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP, DO I HAVE TO PLAY GOLF ?"

As a founding member of Queensland's Women In IT network, Jenny Beresford is keen to contribute to the advancement of the Australian and the global IT industry, and has a personal interest in the endless capacity of women to make a difference as business leaders. She will present a realistic picture of the challenges women face in their career aspirations, how to identify and relate to the various leadership styles and provide us with practical and tactical tips on corporate success.

Jenny returned to Australia to take up the role of Regional GM (ANZ and Japan) for the India-based IT Professional Services company Mahindra-BT (MBT). Established in 1986, MBT is a joint venture of two blue chip companies, Mahindra India and British Telecom.

Now based in Melbourne, Jenny's journey into the global playing fields commenced in the early 80s in Queensland, where an Arts Degree launched her into IT as a computer programmer. Realising that IT was actually a very creative medium, Jenny was excited by the possibilities of innovation in business through technology and was drawn increasingly into the wider business environment. Her career rapidly progressed, with short breaks to have two children and acquire an MBA along the way, to senior roles in both client and vendor organisations including IT Manager for Queensland Health, General Manager IT for AAG Holdings and Director SMS Consulting.

In 2000, Jenny left for London to take on the role of VP for the US-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) consultancy Extraprise. She formed a consortium which included Extraprise and MBT to provide CRM Support for British Telecom, and then visited India to explore the Indian IT industry where she was offered the role she holds today.

Panel: Karen Melzack - Jim Ellis - Jackie Gill
"The Digital Divide"

Are there IT 'haves' and 'have nots'? What does this mean in relation to available services and existing policy? What is the economic impact? What are potential solutions or opportunities?Is there a problem in the first place? Those are some of the questions that will be put to the panel of experts assembled by WIT WA to define the economic, social and technological issues around "The Digital Divide" .

The Panel:

Karen Melzack: Convenor of Internet Community Hour and active in the areas of equity and access for underpriviliged community groups.

Jackie Gill: Office of e-Government Project Manager - Connected Communities, an innovative community-based ICT program that includes "Networked Neighbourhoods" designed to prove that ICT can build communities.

Jim Ellis: Managing Director WestInfo Services, the Gartner Distributor and Thomson NETg Channel Partner for WA. Jim has a particular interest in the International Computer Driving Licence.

Karen Melzack is the Convenor of the Internet Community Hour which has been addressing issues of equity and access to the internet since 1997. This highly successful train the trainer program has brought together marginalised communities in WA by learning to mentor themselves new media skills and so sustaining emotional, social and intellectual growth
within the specific groups. http://www.internetcommunityhour.com/

Karen Melzack, MA Design (research, Cybermind on-line community) Post Grad Dip Design, Dip T, Cert 1V Assessment & Workplace Training 2003

Jackie Gill currently heads up an innovative community-based ICT program called Connected Communities, the key project of which is Networked Neighbourhoods, designed to prove that ICTs can "build community" by bringing people together. It's a "pet project" for Jackie and brings together many years interest and experience in community cultural development, sociology and ICTs.

Jackie is also known to many as the Net Nanny who dispenses interesting stories and advice to listeners of ABC720 Drive Time Radio.

Her career in ICT began formally in 1997 when she was a partner in one of the State's first regional ISPs. Shortly after starting Netculture, she undertook a comprehensive study tour of the UK, from which resulted a report on using compelling content to mobilise regional demand for telecommunications. This lead to the development of the world-class
Online WA Communities Program which is now the umbrella for her current project work.

Jackie has spoken at conferences around the world, and organised CASOC2000 (Creating And Sustaining Online Communities), which is still recognised as an international benchmark in online community
development.

Jim Ellis
Managing Director, WestInfo Services, the Gartner Distributor and Thomson NETg Channel Partner for Western Australia

Jim Ellis has worked in the IT industry for nearly 40 years. After gaining his B. Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics from St Andrews University, Scotland in 1964, Jim worked at British Aerospace, Filton, Bristol, England in a number of computer roles related to the Concorde airliner project. He then worked from 1967 in technical, sales and management roles with multinational computer suppliers in Eastern Europe and the South East Asia before moving to Perth with his family in 1981.
to manage the WA office for mainframe supplier Sperry Univac, later part of Unisys.

After roles with Super Software (1984 - 1988), Execom (1988 - 1991) and Tandem Computers (1991 – 1996), he established Westinfo Services in 1997 as the Gartner distributor for Western Australia and WA Channel Partner for the Thompson NETg range of technology-based training products. Jim is owner and Managing Director of Westinfo Services. He was also a non-executive Director of Imago Multimedia Centre Ltd and of Entrepreneurs in Residence Ltd (EiR) from June 2001 until October 2002.

Jim is a past Chairman of the WA Branch of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), and a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of that Society. He is also a Member of the British Computer Society, a Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council (UK), A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. He is also on the WA Branch Executive of the AIIA (Australian Information Industries Association). Jim conceived the WA IT & Telecommunications Awards (WAITTA) and was Chairman from its inception in 1991 until stepping down in 2003 to take on the role of inaugural Chairman of the WA Chapter of the ACS Foundation. The ACS Foundation facilitates tertiary scholarships in the ICT area.

Jim is an ex-long distance runner, having to content himself with playing golf and cycling since his knees finally wore out a few years ago!

Graham Cuckow
"Delivering benefits from Business and IT initiatives"

Praecis: Many business and IT initiatives fail to deliver the promised benefits. Even when projects come in on time and within budget, the benefits are rarely achieved. This talk will cover some of the reasons why this is so, and provide a suggested approach for ensuring that the intended value is delivered.

Guest Speaker - Graham Cuckow (Bio March 2003)
Graham is a Director of Outcome Consulting, a company that focuses on assisting organisations to deliver benefits from their business and technology initiatives.

Based in Western Australia, Graham works closely with business executives and sponsors to shape projects for the delivery of benefits, and ensure that their investments deliver the intended value. Graham also assists Information Technology groups with the implementation of a ‘Business Value’ focus within their organisations.

Graham trained originally as a systems engineer in the UK, providing support to clients across a range of industries, before becoming a line manager of technical professionals.

Moving into management consulting, Graham has focused largely in the area of Benefits Realisation for the past 8 years. He has assisted clients to obtain a clear picture of the full range of initiatives in which they are engaged, and to gain control of their portfolio through the implementation of governance processes. Graham has helped clients to justify investments, scope projects for benefits delivery, and has supported project teams and executive sponsors to deliver benefits from their projects.

Formerly an associate director with a large consulting organisation, Graham led the Benefits Realisation competency for Western Australia and Northern Territories. He led multiple engagements for both Government and commercial organisations, was responsible for the development and coaching of Benefits Realisation staff, and ran Australia-wide training courses. Graham also had international involvement with the ongoing development of the Benefits Realisation method.

Graham is a naturalised Australian based in Western Australia for the past 8 years, and spends his free time sailing Hobie catamarans.

ANDREW WALLS
Managing Consultant - SecureNet
"Information Security in the Age of Terrorism"

Andrew Walls is a Managing Consultant at SecureNet Limited, based in the Melbourne office. Andrew's expertise lies in security governance, risk & threat assessment, information warfare, policy enforcement, and incident investigation. Prior to joining SecureNet earlier this year, Andrew was the Information Security and Risk Specialist for the Bank of Western Australia in Perth.

Andrew has worked in the IT industry for over 25 years and has managed information security for companies across the globe. He has been involved in corporate and national Computer Emergency Response Teams and has served as an expert witness for multiple court cases involving information security.
Over the last thirty years, enterprises have become increasingly concerned about the security of information managed by IT systems. In order to secure an asset, one must first have a reasonable assessment of the threat to the asset. The nature of the threat to commercial information assets has experienced a fundamental change in the last five years, but security practices in most enterprises have not adapted to this new threat.

Organisations around the world are now seeing attacks against their information assets from local and remote sources that are based on motivations and using tactics and strategies normally reserved for the battlefield. This new threat of Information Warfare forces us to reconsider how, why and from whom we secure our information assets.

In this discussion we will examine trends in information warfare as they apply to the commercial sector including hacktivism, swarming and cyber terrorism. We will then review corporate information management strategies we might employ to protect ourselves, the costs of those strategies and the likelihood that our efforts will be successful. As part of these deliberations we will touch on worst and best case scenarios (scary stories!).

Guest Speaker - José Ruggero
Vice President and General Manager, Gartner's Executive Programs (EXP) Asia/Pacific
"Leading High-Performance IS Teams"

The job of a CIO is huge - shaping and managing informed expectations among business management while concurrently delivering cost-effective technology-based services. As CIOs spend more time on the business side, they need greater bench strength to manage the delivery of services. At the same time each of the CIO's direct reports needs to have a good grasp of both business and technology issues. As everyday business becomes more technology-dependant, the depth in the CIO's team becomes more important. What are the particular challenges faced by CIOs in developing their teams and how have some enterprises managed to create the depth of talent necessary to deliver IT-enabled business?

Biography
José Ruggero is a Vice President and General Manager in Gartner's Executive Programs (EXP) Asia/Pacific, where he is responsible for driving growth and enhancing the client experience for EXP members in that region.

For the past two years, he was a senior program director in Gartner EXP serving clients in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand. His particular areas of interest include innovation, leadership and IS management strategies. Mr. Ruggero joined Gartner in 1998 as a district manager in the sales organization.

Prior to joining Gartner, Mr. Ruggero ran a large solution delivery business with GE Capital IT Solutions concentrating on large corporations delivering product, training, networking, systems management, application development, facilities management and outsourcing solutions. Prior to that, he owned a successful part-time PC dealership, PC rental, and consultancy business specializing in financial applications, while working for a national payroll and HR outsourcing arm of a global IT service provider, turning a stagnating business into a successful operation.

Mr. Ruggero began his career in the data processing department for a large insurance company, in a variety of roles including data processing, computer operations, programming, and management and has also worked in the retail industry
in both management and IT consulting roles.

Mr. Ruggero holds a bachelor of commerce degree majoring in finance and economics from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and is a member of the Golden Key National Honor society.