The 12 most influential people in Australian ICT

The information and communication technology industries underpin almost every facet of our working lives, and increasingly our personal lives too. For many of Australians, it is only when we sleep that we are not “connected” via a mobile phone, PC, notebook or tablet.

But who wields power in this increasingly important sector? SmartCompany set out to find the 12 most influential people in Australian ICT, judging them on criteria such as their involvement across the industry and ability to influence developments beyond their own organisation. They are presented here in alphabetical order.

Doctor Hugh Bradlow, Chief Technology Officer, Telstra

As chief technology officer at Australia’s largest ICT company, Dr Hugh Bradlow has played an important role in influencing the technology usage of all Australians. Bradlow joined Telstra in 1995 as research director, having established a centre of research excellence in telecommunications at the University of Wollongong, and was subsequently made managing director of Telstra Research Laboratories. He is a frequent speaker on technology and communications, delivering keynotes at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Broadband World Forum in Paris, and delivered a presentation via Telepresence at the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen. Among his many pro-bono roles he has served as a member of the Commonwealth Government Cooperative Research Centres Committee and as a member of the Victorian Government ICT Advisory Group.

Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

While Conroy is certainly not the only politician to have influence on the Australian IT industry, his ability to win both bouquets and brickbats from the sector is testimony to his wide-ranging influence. He has been lauded for his vision in driving the development of Australia’s $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), for playing a key role in the formation of the NBN Co. and bringing Telstra to its historic $11 billion agreement with the new organisation. In May he was appointed by the United Nations as a founding member of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development. But Conroy has also been widely panned by the industry for his decision to push ahead with controversial plans to filter internet content, which recently led to the presentation of a petition with 19,000 signatures against the proposal.

Philip Cronin, Managing Director, Intel Australia and New Zealand

Philip Cronin took over as the head of Intel for Australia and New Zealand in 2004 after joining the company in 1997, and recently led the company in reporting its best ever quarter in Australia. He is a national board member of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and has led two of its industry task forces on the IT skills shortage and the NBN. Cronin has been a passionate advocate of the NBN and its possible uses and was responsible for Intel selecting Australia as the second country outside of the US to pilot the Intel Health Guide patient monitoring system. Under Cronin’s leadership, Intel has also become an advisor to the government’s $100 million Smart Grid, Smart City initiative. He was also an original member of WITEM (Women in IT Executive Mentoring) group along with Joe Kremer, managing director of Dell Australia and New Zealand.

Adrian Di Marco, Founder and Executive Chairman, TechnologyOne

One of the most outspoken supporters of the Australian ICT industry, Adrian Di Marco founded his software business TechnologyOne 22 years ago in the front office of a hides processing plant in Hemmant, Brisbane. He listed the company on the ASX in 1999 and today his business employs more than 700 staff in 13 offices throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the UK. The company competes successfully with foreign behemoths such as Microsoft, SAP and Oracle, with revenue topping $140 million and profits of $24 million. He has been highly vocal on the issue of Australia’s cultural cringe when it comes to buying home-grown technology, and has been a strong advocate of graduate recruiting and mentoring within the industry and promoting ICT as a career option to school students through the Queensland Showcase Awards.

Michael Harte, Group Executive Enterprise Services, and Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

It is not common for a Chief Information Officer (CIO) to set the agenda for technology adoption across Australia, but in April 2010 the Commonwealth Bank’s CIO and group executive for enterprise services Michael Harte did just that with a speech to the Committee for Economic Development in Australia. Harte spoke of never again wanting to be locked into using proprietary hardware or software from IT suppliers and threw his influence behind cloud computing, signalling that technology’s readiness for large corporations. He was also behind CBA’s decision to join TM Forum’s Enterprise Cloud Leadership Council.

Harte joined the CBA in April 2006 from a role as vice president of information systems at Citibank in New York and London. His mission has been to implement a new IT strategy based on end-to-end service delivery and he has advocated the need for modernisation of core banking systems to enable real-time banking and new customer services. He has also led CBA to become a founding member of One Laptop Per Child Australia (One Laptop Per Child Australia) which aims to improve education standards for indigenous children.

Paul Harapin, Vice President, VMware South Pacific, VMware

When Paul Harapin became Australian country manager for VMware in 2005 practically no one had heard of his company or its virtualisation technology, and the office employed four people. Today he manages more than 120 employees as South Pacific vice president at a company whose technology is used by more than 8,000 customers in Australia and New Zealand, including 95% of the ASX 100 – a technology penetration that is almost double that of any other market for VMware. Harapin has driven a number of world firsts, including the first whole-of-government deal for VMware in Tasmania. Virtualisation is a key element of many Green IT initiatives, and Harapin is a founding member of the AIIA’s national Green Task Force.

Bob Hayward, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, CSC APJ

Bob Hayward came to Australia from the UK in 1988 to set up the Asia Pacific headquarters for Candle Corporation in 1988, and rose to prominence in 1995 when he became the first APAC employee of global IT analyst firm Gartner. By the time he left in 2006 he was senior vice president and research fellow for Asia Pacific and Japan. He was a director and vice chairman of the Australian Information Industry Association between 2001 and 2004 and again from 2008 and was elected to lead the national AIIA Environmentally Sustainable IT task force. He was also an ICT advisor to the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games. He is also a co-founder of the start up AsiaOnline and is now engaged full-time as chief technology and innovation officer at Computer Sciences Corporation in Asia Pacific and Japan.

Catherine Livingstone, Chairman, Telstra

Few people have wielded as much influence in both ICT and business generally as Catherine Livingstone. As chairman of Telstra she leads Australia’s biggest ICT company and has played a key role in negotiating the settlement with the government over the transfer of assets and customers to the NBN Co. She was also the chairman of the CSIRO from November 2001 until December 2006, and was CEO of one of Australia’s most successful technology businesses, Cochlear, from 1994 until 2004. During her tenure the company floated on the ASX, raising $125 million. In 2008 she was named as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to the development of Australian science, technology and innovation policies in the business sector. Today she also holds seats on the boards of Macquarie Bank and resources and energy company Worley Parsons.

Michael Malone, iiNet Chief Executive Officer

Michael Malone founded the internet service provider iiNet in his garage 16 years ago. Today it is Australia’s third-largest ISP with more than 1,500 employees across three countries and revenue projected to hit $500 million for the 2010 financial year. Malone is a founding member and former president of the WA Internet Association, a founder of the online freedom and rights advocate group Electronic Frontiers Australia and a board member and chairman of the .au Domain Administration. He has also been thrust into the heart of the debate over illegal file downloads thanks to the decision of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft to target iiNet in recent legal action (which iiNet comprehensively won). Malone is also a strong advocate of using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to get his message out to the public.

Jim McKerlie, Group CEO, Bullseye Group

A former TV presenter turned communications consultant, executive and board director, Jim McKerlie founded his current business Bullseye in 2000 with Jason Davey. He had already had an extensive career in the Australian communications industry, both in Australia and internationally, working with clients including Optus and Telstra. He helped bring Vodafone to Australia and was instrumental in the creation of PowerTel (now owned by AAPT). His previous business, McKerlie Consulting, was sold to KPMG in 1999. McKerlie has been an active thinker and speaker on the NBN, and was the overall project leader for the Demand Study for Broadband Services within the Broadband Services Expert Group.

Alan Noble, Engineering Director, Google Australia and New Zealand

One of Australia’s most successful technology entrepreneurs, Alan Noble is today better known for his role as engineering director for Google in Australia and New Zealand, where he leads the engineering team behind innovations including Google Maps and Google Wave. He co-founded NetMind Technologies in California in 1996, which was acquired by Puma Technology (later renamed Intellisync) where he managed a team of 170 engineering staff. He returned to Australia as chief technology officer of Adelaide start up Foursticks, and subsequently NetPriva, which was acquired by Expand Networks. Noble is a member of the Australian Government 2.0 taskforce and a co-founder of the SA Angels investor group.

Dr David Skellern, Chief Executive Officer, NICTA

One of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, Dr David Skellern is also one of Australia’s most distinguished engineers. In 1997 he co-founded the Radiata group of companies in Australia and the USA, to commercialise the results of the CSIRO/Macquarie WLAN research project which was sold to US company Cisco in November 2000 in a deal worth $565 million. In 2000 he received a CSIRO Medal for his leadership of the High Speed Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) project and in 2007 was honoured with a Fellowship to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. A regular speaker and contributor to the debate on Australian technical innovation, Skellern is currently the chief executive officer of NICTA, Australia’s largest publicly funded ICT research centre, a position he has held since 2005, and will leave in 2011.

What do you think of our inaugural Power List? Do you have another nomination? Let us know in the comment section below.