Canberra Manager’s Forum with Rachel Noble, Australian Signals Directorate

Details

This year’s theme focuses on Count Her In: Accelerating Gender Equality Through Economic Empowerment with guest speakers leading a discussion on re-shaping systems and removing barriers so that all women and girls can realise their full potential and build better financial futures for us all.

Rachel Noble, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate will share her journey to ICT leadership from a women’s perspective before joining a panel with Professor Johanna Weaver, Director, Tech Policy Design Centre at ANU and Katherine Robins, Growth Platform and Market Leader, Cyber Security Services A/NZ, IBM to explore this year’s IWD theme, “Count Her In: Accelerating Gender Equality Through Economic Empowerment” and how reshaping systems and removing barriers will pave the way for women and girls to unlock their full potential and build better financial futures for us all.

Keynote speaker

Rachel Noble

Director-General

Australian Signals Directorate

Rachel Noble is the Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate. Prior to this, Rachel was the Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre in the Australian Signals Directorate.

Rachel was previously the Deputy Secretary Executive Group in the Department of Home Affairs overseeing the delivery of the Department’s executive functions including media, ministerial and Parliamentary services, integrity, security, risk and assurance as well as intelligence and the countering violent extremism centre. She previously led the Home Affairs Implementation Team to stand up the Home Affairs Portfolio.

In 2014, Rachel was promoted to Deputy Secretary Policy Group in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) which included responsibility for trade, customs, immigration and international policy. This promotion followed the merger of DIBP with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) which Rachel joined in 2013 as the National Director Intelligence and Chief Information Officer.

Rachel has also served throughout her career in the Defence Department. Her SES appointments in Defence include First Assistant Secretary Ministerial and Executive Coordination and Communication, responsible for providing advice on Parliamentary, media, information management, records management policy, FOI and executive coordination issues; Assistant Secretary Governance, responsible for the overall governance and assurance framework for Defence; Assistant Secretary Americas, North and South Asia, Europe in the International Policy Division, and Deputy Chief of Facility at the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap.

Rachel also held the position of National Security Chief Information Officer and Cyber Policy Coordinator in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and was responsible for improving information sharing among the national security community and coordinating whole of government policy on cyber issues. Rachel received a Public Service Medal for this work.

Rachel has a Masters of Business Administration in Technology Management and a Bachelor of Science with Honours.

Speakers

Prof Johanna Weaver

Director, Tech Policy Design Centre

Australian National University

Professor Weaver is the founding Director of the Tech Policy Design Centre at the Australian National University. Previously she held the position of Australia’s chief cyber negotiator at the United Nations. A recovering diplomat and a reformed commercial litigator, Professor Weaver is proudly neurodiverse. She champions tech policy as a tool to shape technology for the long-term benefit of humanity.

Katherine Robins

Growth Platform and Market Leader, Cyber Security Services A/NZ

IBM

Katherine Robins, Growth Platform and Market Leader, Cyber Security Services A/NZ, IBM leads the Cyber Security Services in Australia and New Zealand. Katherine has a 25+ cyber security career driving architecture, design, delivery, and innovation in cyber security services.

Katherine designed, implemented, and ran large scale cyber security transformation programs across several different sectors including energy and natural resources, government, financial services, retail, and telecommunications.

Katherine’s deep technical background coupled with her business acumen enables her to provide the best cyber security solutions for her client’s business needs.

An enthusiastic supporter of diversity and inclusion, Katherine volunteers her time and mentors’ women in STEM.

Tamara Spigelman

First Assistant Director-General for People and Property

Australian Signals Directorate

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