Headline KEYNOTE SPEAKERs
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (pronounced "crucial-nitski") is the man with the answers when it comes to Science and Technology.
The Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at Sydney University, Dr Karl spreads the word about science and its benefits.
With weekly Radio shows, regular television appearances, magazine articles, podcasts, and 47 (so far) published books, Dr Karl is constantly in demand by the media and for corporate appearances.
In 2002, Dr Karl was honoured with the prestigious Ig Nobel prize awarded by Harvard University in the USA for his ground-breaking research into “Belly Button Lint and why it is almost always blue”. In September 2003 Dr Karl was named ‘Australian Father of the Year’. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki received the Member of the Order of Australia Award in the 2006 Australia Day Honours list. In 2019 the United Nations awarded Dr Karl the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularisation of Science at the World Science Forum in Budapest, Hungary. The prize is global recognition of Dr Karl’s gift for science communication. Dr Karl is the first Australian to win the prize.
His enthusiasm for science is totally infectious and no one is better able to convey the excitement and wonder of it all than
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki.
Dave Gerry
Dave Gerry is CEO of Bugcrowd and a cyber security leader with nearly 15 years of experience spanning offensive security, autonomous testing, and crowdsourced security. Before Bugcrowd, he served as CRO and COO at WhiteHat Security, guiding the company through acquisitions by NTT and Synopsys. He has also held senior leadership roles at Veracode, Sumo Logic, and The Herjavec Group. He was named the 2025 New Hampshire Tech Alliance Entrepreneur of the Year.
Dave serves on the Industry Advisory Board for Merrimack College's School of Computational Sciences and Engineering, the Girard School of Business Board of Advisors, the New Hampshire Tech Alliance AI Task Force, and the Cybersecurity Advisory Board at Cambridge University. He holds an MBA from Suffolk University.
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Belinda Heggen
Belinda is one of Australia’s most experienced and well-respected media trainers, drawing her expert insights from more than 25 years as a journalist and presenter across TV, radio and print, and as a media strategist and advisor to senior politicians.
A trusted and effective coach, her clients include national industry leaders in education, cyber security, finance, health, law, property and construction, real estate, travel, tourism and government.
Valeska Bloch
Valeska is a leading cyber security, data, AI and technology practitioner whose practice covers the full spectrum of governance, compliance, crisis management, regulatory, transactional and risk management work.
She has particular expertise in highly-regulated critical infrastructure and data-intensive sectors. Valeska has extensive experience in cyber incident response and regularly advises boards and senior management on cyber risk management. She also sits on the Australian Government's Cyber Incident Review Board.
Martijn Verbree
As the CIRO, Martijn is the cyber risk steward for the Group. As such, he is responsible for setting the cyber risk management strategy, delivering and operating cyber capabilities and driving the prioritisation of remediation activities.
Before CBA, Martijn was a partner at KPMG Australia and in the UK where he led their cyber security business for their largest clients. Some of his key clients included Booking.com in Amsterdam where Martijn was interim CRO for two years, UBS, Shell and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Whilst on career break from KPMG, Martijn also led the European business of Technology startup Localz in London between 2014 and 2016. It was at Booking.com and Localz where he truly learned the ways of agile working, DevSecOps and delivering outcomes at pace. He and his team of hackers participated at many 24-hour hackathons to create innovative technology solutions to address real world problems.
Lena Chapple
Lena is Head of Legal at Cognizant for Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and a member of the region’s Executive Leadership Team. A seasoned technology and commercial counsel, Lena works at the heart of how technology and professional services companies transact, deliver, and adapt — advising on the full lifecycle from complex contracting and transactions through to compliance and the ever-shifting demands of an evolving regulatory and technology landscape.
Lena brings a breadth of experience to that work. Her career before technology spans international treaty matters acting for sovereign states, international arbitration, defence, energy, and major infrastructure and projects — a foundation that sharpens her instinct for navigating ambiguity, managing competing stakeholder interests, and finding workable solutions under pressure. That cross-disciplinary depth now informs how she thinks about the legal and governance challenges that AI, cyber security, and data privacy regulation are placing on organisations across every industry.
Recognised as Australia's 2026 Technology Lawyer of the Year at the Corporate Counsel Awards and named to Australia's General Counsel Powerlist, Lena is also a member of Cognizant's Responsible AI Champions Program — working to translate complex and rapidly evolving obligations into practical frameworks that businesses can actually act on.
Stuart Mort
Highly experienced ICT Executive, Cyber Security / Information Security Subject Matter Expert with global CISO and ICT Head experience, with a portfolio of skills across all areas.
Business Executive experience, and leads a large team of Sales and Deal Specialists as well as Solution, Domain and Enterprise Architects to deliver Customer Solutions to large enterprises.
Responsible for designing and delivering technology and security strategies for multinationals, and ensuring President-level executives are aware of the risk landscape and directly sponsor customer solutions and security initiatives.
Extensive knowledge of regulatory requirements, mergers & acquisition security, supplier security, risk management, ISO27001, security metrics, security assessments, and has led many complex Incident Response, Investigations and Forensic cases, including presenting evidence in Court as an Expert Witness.
Strong management experience of leading international teams of highly skilled professionals across multiple disciplines, and can balance business objectives with strategic, technical and security requirements.
Presented at global and national conferences as a Keynote speaker, and has valuable experience of customer-focused engagement.
Full member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Institute of Information Security Professionals, plus a member of various Company and Advisory Boards, including government, industry and academic.
Amit Sharma
Amit the General Manager, Cyber Security, Risk & Governance at HCF, where he leads the organisation’s cyber security strategy, risk management, and AI governance agenda. He is an experienced practitioner in cyber security, technology risk, and governance, with experience in helping regulated organisations strengthen cyber resilience, uplift control environments, and align security outcomes with business strategy and Board priorities.
Before joining HCF, Amit held senior roles with organisations including Colonial First State, NAB, Brookfield Asset Management, and Multiplex, with broader experience spanning insurance, banking, wealth management, and private equity. His career combines Australian market experience with international exposure, including work in the US and UK, giving him a practical perspective on cyber risk, governance, and risk management in different operating environments.
Samuel Tseitkin
Samuel is the Founder and CEO of ExeQuantum, leading the company’s mission to help organisations transition to quantum-safe security. With a background in cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, and large-scale transformations, he shapes
ExeQuantum’s vision and strategy across APAC and global regions. Samuel works closely with CISOs, technology leaders, and government stakeholders to accelerate PQC adoption, bringing a blend of technical insight and commercial leadership to modernise critical security infrastructure
Lee Barney
Lee Barney joined Ventia in March 2026 as Chief Information Security Officer, bringing extensive experience in leading cyber security across critical national infrastructure sectors, including energy and telecommunications.
Lee has held senior security leadership roles across both the United Kingdom and Australia, and is recognised for building high-performing teams, leading through major incidents, and aligning cyber security strategy with real-world business risk. He brings a pragmatic, outcomes-focused perspective to security—particularly as organisations navigate the intersection of critical infrastructure, regulation, and emerging technologies.
Based in Sydney, Lee joined Ventia at a pivotal time and is playing a key role in evolving the organisation’s cyber capability, risk management frameworks, and incident response readiness, while working closely with business leaders to embed security as a core enabler of operational resilience.
Mona Sidhu
Mona is a dedicated Cyber Education and Awareness Manager at the NSW Department of Education, with a passion for promoting cyber security and online safety awareness among students, teachers, and parents and carers. With a background in education and technology, Mona has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital age and how this applies to the education sector.
Mona is committed to equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the online world safely and responsibly and supporting them to set their career trajectory into cyber security. She develops award-winning innovative educational programs and resources that empower young people to make informed decisions about their online behavior and protect themselves from cyber threats.
In her role, Mona engages with government and industry and stakeholders and community organisations to raise awareness about cyber safety issues and promote best practices for digital citizenship. She is a strong advocate for integrating cyber security education into the school curriculum and providing support and training for educators. Mona's expertise and leadership in the field of building organisation-wide cyber culture make her a sought-after speaker and consultant. She is dedicated to inspiring and empowering others to embrace technology while prioritising safety, security and wellbeing.
Alex Cullen
Alex Cullen is a Manager of Cyber Governance and Assurance at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). Alex brings extensive experience across governance, risk and compliance (GRC), public policy, advisory, and security operations, spanning both government and managed services environments.
Alex was a member of the former NSW Cyber Ambassador Program, where he contributed to building the future cyber workforce by promoting cybersecurity careers to high school students across NSW, including through career days and hands-on workshops. Alex has a Masters of Cybersecurity, Policing, Intelligence & Counter-Terrorism (M CPICT), a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (BA IntStud), and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BScIT).
Dr Huon Curtis
Huon is Head of External Affairs at CI-ISAC Australia, the nation's only cross-sector critical infrastructure cyber intelligence sharing organisation. An expert member of the Australian Government's Home Affairs Supply Chain Resilience Expert Advisory Group, Huon holds an PhD in International Political Economy from the University of Sydney. His policy work spans domestic and international contexts, including engagements with the OECD, UNIDO, and ILO, and includes developing Australia's national telecommunications resilience framework and Indigenous cyber security pathways for Defence.
At CI-ISAC, he leads government relations, policy advocacy, and strategic partnerships across 200+ member organisations, and heads engagement on the Health Cyber Sharing Network — an Australian Government-funded initiative under Shield 3 of the Australian Cyber Security Strategy.
Josh Lemon
Josh Lemon is a globally recognised cyber security expert and SANS instructor with a career built across digital forensics, incident response, and threat hunting. Currently serving as Director of the global Managed Detection and Response team at Uptycs, Josh helps protect some of the world's largest international brands from cyber attacks.
Alongside this role, he works as an independent digital forensics and incident response expert in Australia, advising legal, government, and commercial clients. Josh's path into cyber security began before dedicated security roles were commonplace.
He started by building, managing, and securing large and complex computer networks and software systems, before moving into incident response, digital forensics, and penetration testing for government, law enforcement, and the commercial sector. That early foundation shaped the deep technical expertise he brings to every engagement today.
Nakshathra Suresh
Nakshathra Suresh is a cyber criminologist, entrepreneur, academic and international speaker based in Sydney, Australia. She is currently the only criminologist in Australia actively advocating for artificial intelligence and emerging technology safety, bringing a unique social science perspective to digital safety challenges.
As the co-founder of eiris, a technology consultancy, Nakshathra helps emerging startups, businesses and organisations deploy technology safely using safety-by-design principles. Through eiris, she works with companies to help them understand the human impact of technology integration, which encompasses ethical, psychological, social, and criminal outcomes.
Nakshathra currently serves as the Oceania Youth Ambassador for the Internet Society, advocating for an open, secure, and trustworthy internet through championing cybersecurity and safety principles.
Nakshathra regularly teaches with the Faculty of Law & Justice at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), having created and led the university's first criminology-backed cyber security course (CRIM3040). This groundbreaking course introduces students to cyber security through criminological, legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks, producing a new generation of interdisciplinary cyber criminologists.
Prof Patrick Fair
Patrick Fair is the principal of law firm, Patrick Fair Associates, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment at Deakin University, the Chairman of the Communications Security Reference Panel at the Australian Telecommunications alliance, a Fellow of the Australian Information Security Association, a director of Crimestoppers NSW and Chair of the Crimestoppers NSW Technology Enabled Crime Committee.
Rob Kenefeck
Rob Kenefeck is Field CTO at ControlPlane and a CNCF Ambassador with a background in securing cloud native platforms in production. A Kubestronaut (CKA, CKAD, CKS, KCNA, KCSA), he has spoken on AI security and Kubernetes hardening at AISA CyberCon Melbourne and Canberra, Everything Open, and Cloud Native Summit Auckland.
He organises Cloud Native Sydney and Melbourne and is co-organising KCD Melbourne 2026. His current focus sits at the intersection of AI adoption and cloud native security — helping organisations understand not just that they need to secure AI infrastructure, but exactly how.
Christine Ferguson
Christine Ferguson is a Inclusion Specialist Lead with the Social Impact Practice, Christine leads the DXC Dandelion Program to create sustainable technical employment for neurodivergent individuals. Her career is driven by a deep commitment to diversity and empowering everyone to succeed.
Christine's work blends inclusive design, workplace accessibility, and neurodiversity strategy, drawing on both professional expertise and personal experience. She utilize's insights from diverse professional and cultural environments to authentically connect with people from all backgrounds.
As an advocate, speaker, and trainer, she is committed to advancing the discourse from awareness to action, ensuring that neurodivergent individuals are not merely included, but are genuinely recognized for their strengths and contributions. Christine's work is anchored in principles of fairness, respect, and authentic engagement values that inform both her professional and personal interactions.
Edward Farrell
Edward Farrell is a security consultant with 16 years experience in cyber security and 20 years in technology. As the director of one of Australia’s independent cyber security practices, Mercury, he has conducted or overseen the delivery of over 1500 security assessment activities and incident responses in the past 11 years. His professional highlights include lecturing at the Australian Defence Force Academy, being rated in the top 200 bug bounty hunters in 2015 and running an awesome team of security professionals.
Tanvi Mehta Krensel
Tanvi Mehta Krensel is a data and technology lawyer with deep experience in data protection and commercialisation, cyber security, tech-led innovation and procurement, and associated regulatory matters. She works extensively with clients across the media, communications, technology and retail sectors.
Tanvi brings a global perspective to her work. Having spent nearly seven years working in the UK and previously practising in Australia, she has a thorough understanding of data protection laws and related regulatory frameworks across the UK, the EU and Australia. She also spent close to two years as a lead product privacy lawyer for a major social media and entertainment platform, supporting the Asia Pacific and emerging markets region. This experience allows Tanvi to deftly guide multinational clients through the complexities of their cross-border regulatory compliance requirements. It also gives her unique experience in understanding the challenges faced by in-house lawyers in an ever-changing digital world.
Tanvi has a particular interest in the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape shaped by the growing influence of technology, data and automation in the industry. Her recent work has focused on key issues, such as the handling of employees’ and children’s personal data; digital marketing strategy and consents; the use of facial recognition technology; risk-management around the use of artificial intelligence (AI); and the growing intersection between privacy and consumer law.
Simran Singh
Simran is a risk capability leader focused on how organisations make better decisions at scale. With over 10 years’ experience across banking, operations and risk, she has built capability across more than 30,000 people globally — from executive teams through to frontline delivery. Her core view: frameworks don’t fail — capability does.
Currently a Risk Capability Lead at ANZ, Simran brings a practical, people-led approach to embedding risk, governance and decision-making beyond policy and into real environments.
She also teaches risk management courses through the Governance Institute of Australia, helping professionals build capability that meets both regulatory expectations and real-world complexity.
Andrew Robinson
Andrew is a Co-Founder and former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of 6clicks, a Melbourne-headquartered RegTech company delivering cyber governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software purpose-built for government, regulators and critical infrastructure operators. With a career spanning cyber security consulting, government, and product innovation, Andrew brings a uniquely practical perspective to the challenges of cyber security and AI governance at scale.
Andrew is a Technical Expert and Assessor with JASANZ, conducting evaluations of certification bodies and auditors across both the ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System and ISO/IEC 42001 Artificial Intelligence Management System schemes — placing him at the forefront of emerging cyber and AI governance practice.
Earlier in his career he worked as a cyber security specialist with the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), has consulted to a wide range of government departments and critical infrastructure operators, and has contributed to key national frameworks including the Australian Government Information Security Manual (ISM) and the Victorian Protective Data Security Standards (VPDSS).
An internationally recognised expert, Andrew is a regular speaker at ISACA and AISA events and a frequent contributor to media, with appearances across ABC, Nine Radio, BBC World Service, tickerTV, CBC Canada, CISO Mag, and SavvySME. He holds CISSP and CISM certifications, is an ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Auditor, and an ASD IRAP Assessor, alongside a Masters in Policing, Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism majoring in Cyber Security.