The Tech Council of Australia’s new head of policy and strategy is Harry Godber, a former senior adviser in the Turnbull and Morrison governments on tech policy.
Mr Godber, who will take up the role on Monday, is currently co-chief executive of startup network Spark Festival as well as FinTech company Flare’s head of strategy and general counsel.
He was previously an advisor on FinTech and financial regulation for the former minister for Superannuation, financial services and the digital economy Jane Hume, and before that worked with former ministers Arthur Sinodinos and Michaelia Cash.
His political stints bookended a 9 month stint as head of product and strategy for Ribit.net, a job matching platform that began its life within CSIRO’s Data61 but was subsequently acquired by startup incubator Stone and Chalk and later, Readygrad.
During his time as an adviser to Ms Hume, Mr Godber delivered the Consumer Data Right and supported the Prime Minister’s Digital Technology Taskforce. He also helped launch the Australian Space Agency.
Tech Council chief executive Damian Kassabgi welcomed Mr Godber’s appointment, praising his political and industry experience over the last decade.
“Harry brings a wealth of experience in policy, law, and entrepreneurship to the TCA and has long advocated for the tech ecosystem,” he said.
“In his new role, Harry will lead our efforts to shape and influence tech policy and strengthen our position in international markets.”
Cisco’s new chief technology officer for customer experince services in the Asia-Pacific, Japan, and China region is Sean Duca. Based out of Singapore since June 2024, he moves from the chief information security officer role in the same portfolio.
Mr Duca was previously based in Sydney as Palo Alto Networks’ vice president and regional chief security officer for Asia Pacific and Japan. He was also formerly chief technology officer at McAfee, where he spent more than 15 years.
He also previously served on the Australian Government’s Online Safety Consultative Working group between 2013 and 2015, advising then-parliamentary secretary to the minister for communications Paul Fletcher.
Microsoft ANZ’s chief technology officer Sarah Carney has been appointed to the board of DoxAI, an enterprise software marketplace and consultancy that is part of Sydney-based venture capital firm Lakeba. Lakeba and Microsoft signed a strategic partnership in late 2022.
Google Cloud’s new vice president for Australia and New Zealand is Paul Migliorini, a venture partner at early-stage venture capital fund OIF Ventures. Between August 2021 and October 2024, Mr Migliorini was also chief executive of cloud consultancy Versent, now a part of Telstra.
The federal government has appointed Greg Tyrrell to its General Aviation Advisory Network. Mr Tyrell has been executive director of the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems since 2014.
Australia’s chief statistician, who leads the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Dr David Gruen has been reappointed and will serve another five-year term.
Appointed to the role in 2019, Dr Gruen is an experienced public servant that previously served as deputy secretary at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and in the Treasury.
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