Tesla and Tech Council of Australia chair Robyn Denholm has joined the board of local tech company SafetyCulture, after serving as an advisor since late 2021.
Ms Denholm joins the board of SafetyCulture in her capacity as operating partner of venture capital firm Blackbird Ventures, which was an early investor in the company. She replaces Blackbird co-founder and partner Rick Baker, who has been a strategic advisor and SafetyCulture board member for the past 10 years.
SafetyCulture chief executive and founder Luke Anear thanked Mr Baker for his contributions and said he is excited to welcome Ms Denholm to the board, who he described as “an incredible role model”.
“I’m incredibly grateful to have met [Mr Baker] and been on this journey with him. As one of our first investors, he has always believed in our potential and what we are trying to do. I can safely say that we wouldn’t be where we are today without him on our side,” said Mr Anear.
Australia’s new high commissioner to India will reportedly be the current high commissioner to Germany, Philip Green.
A senior career officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Green has also served as head of mission in Singapore, South Africa, and Kenya. Prior to taking the role in Berlin in 2020, he served as first assistant secretary, United States and Indo-pacific Strategy Division.
The new head of Telstra Purple is Oliver Camplin-Warner, who is currently chief executive of Telstra International. Mr Camplin-Warner has worked for Telstra for more than 11 years and will return to Australia after spending five years across Singapore and Hong Kong.
University of Deakin vice chancellor Professor Iain Martin has been reappointed for an additional five-year term, which will begin from May 2024. Professor Martin has served as vice chancellor since 2019. He has previously served as vice chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom and deputy vice chancellor academic at the University of New South Wales.
In Victoria, the inaugural chief executive of the state supported Cremorne Digital Hub is Mark Sims, with Monique Conheady serving as the inaugural chair. Mr Sims moves from his role as chief operating officer of online tech course provider Xccelerate.
Ms Conheady is the co-founder of Australia’s first carshare service Flexicar and is chair of electric vehicle charging infrastructure firm JET Charge. Also on the board are Melbourne Chamber of Commerce chief executive Scott Veenker and co-founder of Artesian and Boab AI Matthew Clunies-Ross.
Telstra Health will fill its vacant chief technology officer role on April 17 with eHealth NSW’s executive director service delivery Farhoud Salimi. Mr Salimi will have worked at eHealth NSW for almost 14 and a half years.
The new chief technology officer of the City of Perth is Andrew Cann, who spent the last four months as program director of the Office of the Independent Monitor which was overseeing the remediation of Perth’s casino following a royal commission into it. Mr Cann previously spent more than four years as the chief information officer of the Western Australian Police Force and seven months as program director, environmental, social, and governance.
Queensland state owned energy company CS Energy’s new acting chief executive is its chief financial officer Andrew Varvari. He fills the vacancy left by Andrew Bills, who has moved to become chief executive of SA Power Networks. Mr Varvari has been at CS Energy for nearly 10 and a half years, while Mr Bills departs after four and a half years.
The Western Australian government also reappointed its Public Sector Commissioner Sharyn O’Neill for an additional five-year term. She first entered the role in July 2018 after serving as the director general of the state’s Department of Education for 12 years.
Meanwhile, the new Victorian Public Sector Commissioner is Brigid Monagle. Ms Mongale, who will join on April 3, is most recently served as acting secretary of the state’s Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing.
Former director of cyber security operations for the Department of Parliamentary Services Nadia Taggart joined Western Sydney University as its inaugural chief information security officer last month. Ms Taggart has also served in other cybersecurity roles, including at the Department of Defence.
The Queensland government has appointed Leata Alaimoana as its inaugural Pacific Trade Commissioner. Ms Alaimoana, who moves from her role as Pacific Trade Invest Australia Impact Investment Manager, will lead the state government’s Pacific Trade Strategy and “travel extensively through the Pacific”.
The new chair of the Western Australian government’s land information authority Landgate is Kylee Schoonens. Ms Schoonens has been on the board since December 2021. There are also three new board appointments in Danielle Davison, Rebecca Strom, and Simon te Brinke.
Kellogg ANZ announced last week it had found a new IT director in Kate Collareda. Ms Collareda moved from the Campbell Soup Company after six and a half years.
Secure network and digital infrastructure provider Orro has appointed Rob Merkwitza as its chief strategy officer and Michael van Rooyen as chief technology officer of Networks at Orro. This follows the acquisition of cybersecurity firm RIOT Solutions where Mr Merkwitza was chief executive and Mr van Rooyen was chief technology officer.
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