CIO Day Lunch | Melbourne

Overview

CIOs are being pushed to do more than ever before, drive growth, modernise operations, manage risk, and reassure the board that the organisation is secure, resilient, and ready for what comes next. But as technology environments become more fragmented and threats more complex, maintaining control and leading with confidence is becoming significantly harder.

This event brings together Australia’s leading CIOs and technology executives for a high-level discussion on the challenges and priorities defining enterprise leadership today. From resilience, governance, and operational clarity to trust, control, and risk, the conversation will focus on what matters most for leaders expected to deliver transformation without compromising stability.

For CIOs navigating rising accountability, tighter scrutiny, and growing complexity, this is more than another industry discussion. It is a timely opportunity to step back, exchange perspective with peers, and explore what strong leadership looks like when confidence, control, and execution all need to move together.

What we will cover

• Operational Productivity How CIOs are simplifying operations, reducing inefficiencies, and creating the internal capacity needed to lead transformation with greater control and confidence.
• Enterprise Agility How technology leaders are building resilience and adaptability into the organisation so the business can respond faster to disruption, market shifts, and changing priorities.
• Cybersecurity Priority Why security must be embedded earlier, governed more strategically, and treated as a core part of enterprise leadership rather than a downstream technical issue.
• Cloud Sovereignty How CIOs are rethinking dependency, control, and compliance as digital sovereignty, vendor concentration, and infrastructure resilience become bigger leadership concerns.
• Threat Containment Why limiting lateral movement, improving visibility, and containing exposure faster are becoming critical priorities for leaders responsible for enterprise-wide risk.
• Executive Partnerships How CIOs are evolving from functional leaders into strategic partners across the executive team, helping shape business direction, board confidence, and enterprise decision-making.

Agenda

• 10:30 am The Confidence Gap Why executive trust is breaking down across identity and security This opening discussion sets the tone by looking at the widening gap between executive accountability and operational visibility. As organisations scale across hybrid environments, leadership teams are being asked to answer for security posture, access governance, and resilience without having a complete view of where exposure sits. This session explores why fragmented identity estates, siloed tooling, and inconsistent reporting are making confidence harder to sustain at the leadership level. Discussion themes Why confidence has become an executive issue, not just a security issue Where fragmented identity and security environments create blind spots How limited visibility affects decision-making, assurance, and risk ownership Why boards are increasingly asking harder questions about control and exposure
• 11:15 am Identity as the Control Layer Reframing IAM from back-office function to enterprise risk foundation(Why executive trust is breaking down across identity and security) Identity is no longer just an administrative function sitting behind the scenes. It has become one of the clearest indicators of control across the enterprise. This session focuses on how identity and access management underpins governance, compliance, operational discipline, and trust. The conversation will explore why access clarity now matters far beyond IT, and how stronger identity controls create the foundation for more confident leadership. Discussion themes Why identity now sits at the centre of enterprise control The role of access governance in reducing uncertainty and exposure How identity maturity supports compliance, assurance, and board confidence What leaders still underestimate about identity-related risk
• 0:00 pm From Signals to Decisions Using integrated IAM and SIEM to turn noise into action(Why executive trust is breaking down across identity and security) Most organisations are not short on data. They are short on context, clarity, and speed. This session examines how combining identity intelligence with security analytics helps leaders move from reactive response to more informed, predictable action. Rather than drowning in alerts and disconnected signals, organisations can build a clearer picture of what matters, what needs intervention, and where escalation should happen. Discussion themes Why alerts without identity context create noise instead of confidence How SIEM becomes more valuable when tied to access intelligence Moving from fragmented detection to faster, more decisive response What integrated visibility looks like in a real executive environment
• 1:00 pm Building Enterprise Trust at Scale Automation, resilience, and the future operating model for confident security leadership(Why executive trust is breaking down across identity and security) The closing session looks ahead at what it takes to build lasting executive confidence, not just momentary visibility. As risk grows and internal resources remain stretched, organisations need operating models that simplify complexity, improve response, and scale without losing control. This discussion explores automation, unified platforms, and managed security capabilities as part of a more resilient model for enterprise trust. Discussion themes How automation reduces human error and strengthens response consistency Why simplification is now a strategic advantage in security operations The role of unified IAM and SIEM in long-term resilience How SOC-as-a-Service can support enterprise-grade outcomes without in-house overhead What executive confidence looks like when visibility, control, and trust are finally aligned

Speakers

• Kylie Schabel · Chief : Information Officer CIO, Insignia Financial Kylie Schabel is the General Manager of Infrastructure, Cloud, and Workplace at Insignia Financial, bringing over 15 years of experience leading teams to deliver exceptional IT infrastructure outcomes, PMO, and service management improvements. She combines deep technical expertise with a strong focus on collaboration across internal business units and vendors to drive outstanding business results. Kylie is skilled in managing contractual and commercial agreements and regularly engages in executive-level discussions with staff, customers, and vendors. Her leadership ensures the seamless delivery of technology infrastructure, cloud services, and workplace solutions that enhance employee experience, optimise performance, and safeguard data. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor’s in Management Information Systems from UNSW, and is accredited by the Project Management Institute.
• Goran Stefkovski · Chief : Technology Officer CTO, Kogan Goran Stefkovski is the Chief Technology Officer of Kogan.com. Before joining Kogan.com, Goran worked at companies such as Rio Tinto, Coffey International, and as a solicitor at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers. His valuable years of experience in technology and e-commerce has secured him seats at ZDNet's TechBuzz series in 2013, Keynote speaker at Rackspace Solve (2015), SydStart (2015), AWS ReInvent (2016), Dropbox Melbourne Business event (2016) as well as numerous other panellist and speaker roles. A firm believer of personalisation and data analysis to improve shoppers' experience, Goran ensured technological excellence and innovation in Kogan across all business lines and received the CIO of the Year award in the Consumer sector for the Kogan development team's achievements in 2017.
• Mark Gretton · Chief : Technology Officer CTO, CLEMENGER Innovative technology and marketing leader with industry leading strategic consulting and digital capability. 20 years+ marketing experience working across a range of FMCG, Financial services, Automotive, Utility, Service, Tourism, B2B, Government, NFP and Apparel brands in both senior agency and client-side roles. Strong pedigree for leading globally recognised creative communications. Leader of multiple award winning integrated creative campaigns and digital projects recognised at Cannes, The Effies, AIMIA, IMA, Award, DMA's, Webbys, AMES, Adnews, Adobe Awards etc. Strong digital understanding with experience running Enterprise eCommerce, CRM programme, social media, UX and programmatic digital communications projects. Deep strategic credentials with strong knowledge of shopper behaviour, behavioural economics and consumer behaviour.
• David Siroky · AI Chief Technology Officer, Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan, and China, Cisco David Siroky is the AI Architecture Lead at Cisco, having held various leadership roles across the Asia Pacific. He focuses on solution architecture, collaborating with data scientists to support organisations in delivering their AI projects. His work spans diverse customers in the Asia Pacific & Japan region. Prior to Cisco, David worked at Dell Technologies and Microsoft in Seattle, contributing to software development projects. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in computer science and business, blending technical and strategic expertise. David is a proud father of a 17-year-old girl, an avid reader, fitness enthusiast, skier and passionate about diversity & STEM.
• David Irecki · Chief : Technology Officer CTO, Boomi David Irecki is the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) for Asia Pacific / Japan (APJ) at Boomi, a category-leading, global software as a service (SaaS) company with more than 20,000 global customers and a worldwide network of 800 partners. As CTO, David leads the region’s efforts in advocating and evangelizing the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in business with intelligent integration and automation. He is instrumental in helping organizations across the APJ region thrive in the digital age and on their AI journeys. David leads a team of pre-sales professionals across APJ. Under his leadership, his team helps customers transform their business by solving integration and data management challenges. David is an IT veteran with over 20 years of experience in the enterprise integration and embedded computing markets. David joined Boomi in June 2015 as the first Solutions Consultant in APJ. Prior to Boomi, David worked for MuleSoft, where he led the APJ Solutions Consulting team. David is a graduate of New Zealand’s Massey University, majoring in Information Engineering.
• Tanya Trott · Chief : Technology Officer CTO, Transurban A versatile and widely experienced senior Technology professional with a history of planning and implementing technology initiatives to generate improved productivity and deliver capability uplifts and strategic value. I enjoy interacting with people and re-focusing teams to deliver excellent service and successful programs of work. Specialties: Specialised skills in technology roadmaps and adoption, technology selection and business case development, contract negotiation and cost reduction identification and execution, and service and operational management and general business management skills. The ability to translate technical drivers to business initiatives and vice-versa.
• Mirco Hering · Global Lead : Experience and Platform Engineering, Accenture With over 20 years at Accenture, Mirco Hering is a Managing Director leading the global DevOps practice and APAC Agile practice. Renowned for his expertise in Agile and DevOps transformations, he has supported major public and private sector organisations across Australia and globally, driving innovation in software delivery and IT efficiency. Mirco’s pragmatic approach focuses on blending methodologies to deliver tangible outcomes, whether setting up large-scale transformations or course-correcting projects that veer off track. Mirco is the author of the award-winning DevOps for the Modern Enterprise and a sought-after speaker at conferences worldwide, sharing insights on IT delivery, Agile practices, and DevOps strategies. Through his blog, Not A Factory Anymore, he continues to inspire IT leaders to overcome legacy challenges and embrace modern engineering practices. His passion for fostering high-performing developer communities underscores his leadership in Accenture’s mission to redefine IT delivery excellence.
• Claire Smith · Chief : Digital & Data Officer, Endeavour Group Claire Smith is the Chief Digital & Data Officer at Endeavour Group, Australia's leading retail drinks and hospitality business. With over 25 years of experience in digital, technology, and transformation roles across the retail and FMCG sectors in Australia and New Zealand, Claire has been instrumental in driving Endeavour Group's technology strategy. She joined the company in 2012 as Head of Online for Dan Murphy’s and has since held several key positions, including Director of endeavourX, the company's digital innovation arm. Appointed CIO in 2023, Claire continues to lead Endeavour Group's multi-year technology transformation, focusing on enhancing customer experiences and operational excellence.
• Jason Mcnamara · General Manager : Retail Technology, Digital & Transformation, Viva Energy Australia Jason McNamara leads retail technology, digital platforms, and enterprise transformation at Viva Energy, one of Australia’s largest fuel and convenience retailers. He is responsible for the integration and modernisation of IT systems following Viva’s major acquisitions, including Coles Express and OTR Group. With a background spanning transformation leadership at Super Retail Group and senior IT roles at Coles/Myer, Jason brings over two decades of experience driving large-scale digital change across retail, logistics, and workforce platforms.
• Tom Richardson · Chief : Information Officer CIO, Suncorp Group Experienced CIO with history of leading transformational change. Strategic thinker coupled with deep execution skills. Builder of high performance technology teams in retail banking, wealth management, IT procurement, and mergers & acquisitions (M&A).
• Rajkumar Mathiravedu · President : Asia & Group Executive, Orica Rajkumar Mathiravedu is an experienced global senior executive and Non-Executive Director with a proven track record in creating and executing enterprise-level business transformation programs. He specialises in value-driven digital acceleration that enables firms in the energy and resources industry to reach their full potential. Rajkumar has strategic and end-to-end P&L accountability across integrated asset lifecycle management, covering both direct customer-led and ecosystem partnership sales channels from ideation to distribution. He is a results-driven visionary leader with hands-on experience across a diverse functional portfolio, thriving in multi-cultural global environments. Rajkumar is recognised for his ability to harness talent and develop high-performance teams. Known as a savvy leader, he excels at driving consensus across diverse organisations and making strategic business decisions that deliver measurable results. He has a strong history of building and scaling new businesses, including leading native digital transformations within legacy industrial sectors, thereby delivering significant enterprise value to stakeholders.

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