ACOMMS 2010 Judges

Malcolm Alder | Partner - Digital Business, KPMG

Photo of Malcolm Alder

Malcolm Alder specialises in strategy and performance improvement with a focus on helping organisations of all types anticipate and respond to the impacts and opportunities created by today's digital technology.

He has been a consultant, advisor and investor in telecommunications and media for over 15 years during which time he has worked with operators, regulators, governments, investors and users in Australasia, Asia and North America. Past clients have included the ABC, Optus, Foxtel, Telstra, Two Way, Multimedia Victoria, Virgin Mobile, Bell Canada, Federal Government, Multimedia Development Authority of Singapore, Oztam and Radio New Zealand.

Malcolm is a regular writer and speaker and participates in public forums on topics such as broadband, digital content and interactive TV and has a regular column in Digital Media magazine.

Malcolm is currently a Director of Sydney Philharmonia Choir and was previously on the Board of an ASX-listed media company. He has also appeared in more than 25 theatrical productions from Shakespeare to musicals.

John Butterworth | Chief Executive Officer, Australian Interactive Media Industry Association

Photo of John Butterworth

John Butterworth joined AIMIA as Chief Executive Officer in July 2004 and has worked extensively in digital content and marketing since 1996.

For a number of years John was the General Manager of online media at OzEmail Ltd and then held the roles of Managing Director, Asia-Pacific at Sabela Media, and General Manager of Decide Interactive.

John has also consulted to Vodafone Australia on wireless content and was a consultant to the CEO and executive directors of mobile marketing company, 5th Finger. Prior to joining AIMIA he held an extended consultancy with HWW Limited, acting as manager of mobile content and services.

Tony Chan | Co-Founder & Editor, Green Telecom

Photo of Tony Chan

Tony Chan is the co-founder and editor of Green Telecom, an online information resource on sustainable telecommunications practices. Tony has close to 15 years of journalism and marketing experience in the telecommunications and information technology industries. Tony founded Green Telecom following a term in corporate marketing and communications at a major regional telecommunications operator. Tony is also editor-at-all at daily industry newsletter, CommsDay International.

  

  

Dr Kate Cornick | Executive Director, Institute Broadband Enabled Society, University of Melbourne

Kate-Cornick

Kate Cornick undertook her PhD at the University of Melbourne in optical telecommunications and, as part of her studies, spent time at AT&T Research Laboratories, USA. After completing her studies Kate worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne prior to joining the office of Senator Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, as the Senior Telecommunications Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff. Kate's rolls included advising on the National Broadband Network policy, consumer issues and regional telecommunications. Kate is now the Executive Director of IBES.

 

 

Martin Hoffman | First Assistant Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet and Head of the Office of the Coordinator General

Martin-HoffmanMartin Hoffman joined the Australian Public Service in March 2009 in the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet, and is currently Head of the Office of the Coordinator-General responsible for oversight and monitoring of the Economic Stimulus plan. Martin also serves as PM&C's representative on the Steering Committee for the National Broadband Network Project.

Martin previously had an extensive private sector career in digital media and technology. Most recently he was CEO and a director of the mobile social networking services company MOKO.mobi Ltd, leading the company to an IPO in June 2007. He also ran his own digital media venture capital investing and advisory business, Ulysses Ventures.

He was CEO of NineMSN from January 2003 to July 2006. He held senior management roles at Fairfax Media from 1999 to 2002 in business magazines and online; and earlier at Optus Communications in strategy and regulation.

Martin is a director and the honorary treasurer of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and has been a director of the Sydney International Film Festival and the Australian Internet Industry Association.

He holds an MBA (Honours) from the Institute for Management Development, IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland; as well as a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University.

Anne Hurley | Chief Executive Officer, Communications Alliance

Photo of Anne HurleyAnne has been the Chief Executive Officer of Australia's Communications Alliance since its formation. She was previously CEO of the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF), which amalgamated with the Service Providers Association Inc (SPAN) to create Communications Alliance in September 2006. Throughout her tenure at Communications Alliance and ACIF, Anne has been a prominent advocate for the industry's ability to solve its own problems without relying on government intervention.

Since graduating from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Arts and acquiring a Master of Laws (Hons) from the University of Sydney, Anne has worked on communications issues both in Australia and overseas for many years. Her extensive experience includes working in the corporate, legal and academic sectors across communications, trade practices, telecommunications policy and regulation.

Anne has published a number of specialised competition and telecommunications law texts and has lectured at both the University of Sydney and the Australian National University.

Graeme Innes

Graeme-InnesGraeme Innes was appointed Australia's Disability Discrimination Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner in July 2009.

In December 2005 he was appointed as Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner. In these roles he led or contributed to initiatives including-
* The same sex: same entitlements inquiry, achieving removal of discrimination across federal law;
* Drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and ratification by Australia;
* Three inspections of Australia's Immigration Detention facilities; and
* Development of a National Disability Strategy.

Graeme is a Lawyer, Mediator and Company Director. He has been a Human Rights Practitioner for almost 30 years in NSW, WA and nationally.

Graeme has been a Member of -
* the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal;
* the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal; and
* The Social Security Appeals Tribunal;
* As well as a Hearing Commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Graeme was Chair of the Disability Advisory Council of Australia, and the first Chair of Vision Australia, Australia's national blindness agency.

Graeme has been a consultant to organisations such as Westpac, Qantas, and Sydney Water, on disability issues. He has also been a Councillor on Ku-ring-gai local Council.

In 1995 Graeme was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). He was a finalist for Australian of the year in 2003.

Grahame Lynch | CEO, Comms Day

Photo of Grahame Lynch

Grahame Lynch founded Decisive in 1994, launching the Communications Day newsletter. He won the Australian Telecommunications Users Group Journalist of the Year award in 1996 and the Service Providers' Association of Australia Media Excellence award in 1997. He then took leave-of-absence from Decisive, joining Advanstar in Hong Kong as group editor of Telecom Asia and Telecom China, where he launched Wireless Asia magazine. In 1999, he was promoted to group editorial director of Advanstar Telecom Group, in charge of America's Network, Telepress Latino America and the aforementioned Asian titles.

Under his stewardship, America's Network was nominated for a record six National Magazine Awards in 2001. In April 2001, he returned to Decisive to spearhead the company's Asian expansion. Grahame has also written a book, Bandwidth Bubble Bust: The Rise and Fall of the Global Telecom Industry, published in the US in July 2001. He has also been extensively published in titles such as, The Bulletin and The Australian.

Mark McDonnell | Telecommunications, Media & Technology Analyst, BBY

Photo of Mark McDonnellMark McDonnell is Senior Analyst in Telecommunications, Media and Technology at BBY Limited. As an equity market analyst, he is actively involved in assessing trends and developments in the communications industry, and valuing listed companies in this sector.

In the 1990s Mark was an industry consultant. His clients included Telstra, Optus, Telecom New Zealand, IBM, Ericsson, GE Information Services and many others. He was also the founding CEO of ASTRA, the pay television industry association.

In the 1980s Mark was employed in the policy division of the then Department of Posts and Telecommunications, and later gained regulatory and public inquiry experience in the then Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. He saw out that decade as a business analyst and manager of policy development for Aussat.

Mark has a Master's degree in Applied Finance and is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia as well as the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Other current roles include, Chairman of the External Advisory Committee to the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, and Chairman of Twenty Macleay Street Limited, a public unlisted company.

Dr Colin McLeod | Monash University

Photo of Colin McLeodDr Colin McLeod recently joined Monash University as an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing and the Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS).

Colin worked at the AFL for 6 years, including a role as Head, Research and Innovation at the Australian Football League, having previously been General Manager - Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs. Colin was previously Executive Director, Marketing and Brand Management at Goldman Sachs JBWere, following several years as Group Marketing Manager for Telstra's Mobiles division.

He joined Telstra after an academic career including appointments at the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Business School and the Haas School of Business at the University of California - Berkeley and honorary appointments as a Senior Associate of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Fellow of Monash University. Colin holds a BA, an MBA and a PhD, with the Commercialisation of Innovation as the topic of his doctoral thesis. Colin continues to have an interest in commercialising new technology and current projects involve Internet based video search technologies and water saving / environmental technologies. Colin is a Director of both of the companies that house these projects.

Colin also served as a director of the Ladder Project, a joint venture with the AFL Players' Association to combat youth homelessness, and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre which is raising $157 million to base a new cancer centre at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne.

Deirdre O'Donnell

Deirdre-ODonnellDeirdre O'Donnell has been connected with the telecommunications industry in a range of positions since the late 1980s. Most recently, she served as the Ombudsman of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme from 2007 to early 2010.

Between 2002 and 2007, Deirdre was State Ombudsman for Western Australia, and prior to that held roles as Deputy TIO; in Optus's Regulatory team; with the predecessor of the ACMA, AUSTEL; and with the former Telecom.

Her TIO experience has provided her with a particular passion for good customer service, a vision she shares with Communications Alliance.

Deirdre started her working life as a high school teacher. An eternal student, she has qualifications in languages, education, an MBA and a Masters in Commercial law, and plans to undertake further studies in 'ombudsmanship' in the near future.

Andrew Parker | Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Photo of Andrew Parker

Andrew Parker is a Sydney based partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and heads PwC's Asia Pacific Communications Industry Group. He has 12 years of international experience in the industry having worked in the UK, Eastern Europe and most recently Asia before returning to Australia in 2005.

Andrew's clients have included companies, both large and small, operating in all sectors of the market including telecoms, traditional media, including print, cable and terrestrial free to air TV, as well as "new media" and the internet. In 2006, Andrew was one of PwC's lead partners advising Telstra and the Commonwealth in relation to T3 and more recently advised Vodafone in relation to the proposed merger with Hutchison.

 

 

John Stanton | CEO, Communications Alliance

John-StantonJohn Stanton is a seasoned communications industry executive with over 18 years of experience.

From 2006-2009 John was Chief Executive Officer of ASX and NZX-listed telecommunications carrier, People Telecom. Under his leadership, People Telecom became profitable and was recognised as Australia's Best Regional Service Provider in the Australian Telecom Awards 2007. In early 2009 the Company was sold to M2 Telecommunications.

Prior to that John was an executive with Intelsat, the largest provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. Based in the UK from 2001-2005, he was President and Director of Intelsat Global Sales & Marketing and of the Data, Carrier and Internet Business Unit. John also spent two years in the US with Intelsat as Vice President of Sales and Marketing from 1999-2001.

John joined Telstra in 1992 as a result of the merger with OTC where he was Manager of Public Affairs. From 1992-1999 John held a number of roles with Telstra including Managing Director of Payphones and Card Services. From 1996-1997 he was also Chairman of the Intelsat Board.

In his early career, John worked as a journalist and as a press secretary with the Australian Government.