ICT in Space – We have Lift Off!

Deputy Head, Australian Space Agency

Anthony Murfett is Deputy Head of the Australian Space Agency, where Anthony has oversight of strategy, policy and day-to-day operations and supports the Agency Head in monitoring the performance of the Agency.

Anthony has worked as Minister Counsellor, Industry, Science and Education at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC and as General Manager of the Growth Centres Branch within the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science in Canberra. Anthony ensures the Agency delivers on its purpose to transform and grow a globally respected Australian space industry that contributes to productivity and employment across the Australian economy.

Dedicated to purpose, Anthony brings an entrepreneurial spirit to the Agency, valuing partnerships while drawing strength from diversity and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge.

As a road bike enthusiast, Anthony is not only at the forefront of space industry development, he is well on his way to cycling the distance to the moon (238,855 miles or 384,400 km), having ridden and competed across the country and the globe.

General Manager Transformation and Readiness at OZ Minerals

At 37, Katie proudly represents a more than 20-year Mining Career with diverse roles as a Field Engineer, Environmental Scientist, Exploration Hydrogeologist, Approvals Manager, Scoping Study Manager, Group Environmental Lead, Project Engineer, Head of Technical Services and her current role as  Head of Transformation and Readiness.

Katie’s technical skills were gained as a graduate of the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Geophysics and a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Environmental and her passion and drive stems from a curiosity and deep belief that the industry can create multi-generational change with a positive impact on our regional communities and our environment.

In 2018, Katie was awarded South Australia’s Inaugural 40 Under 40 Young Entrepreneurs Award for her contribution to the Minerals Sector and continues to charter new paths for the industry and her peers. She has shown that through partnerships and transparency you find opportunity.  Katie can proudly point to initiatives that have emerged under her leadership with value created in community groups, with traditional owners, conservation organisations, research bodies, technology companies and start-ups. Importantly she takes time and commitment to continually develop both herself and her team fostering a belonging culture where people are self-empowered to thrive and grow through their work.

Katie continues to advocate for shared value and for cross sector collaboration and is currently fulfilling voluntary positions as a member of  the South Australian Government Minerals and Energy Advisory Council, the University of Adelaide’s Institute of Mining and Energy Advisory Board and the Smart Satellite CRC Mining and Energy Advisory Board.

CEO of the SmartSat CRC 

Professor Andy Koronios is the CEO of the SmartSat CRC, a consortium of industry and research organisations developing game changing satellite technologies to catapult Australia into the global space economy.

Previously, Andy held the positions of Dean: Industry & Enterprise and Head of the School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences, at UniSA. Andy is a professor of information systems and holds academic qualifications in Electrical Engineering, Computing and education as well as a PhD from the University of Queensland. He has extensive experience in both commercial and academic environments and his research areas include data quality, information management & governance, data analytics and the strategic exploitation of information.

Andy has led the establishment of several research concentrations, labs & research centres.  He served as the Research Program Leader for System Integration & Interoperability in the CIEAM CRC.  He is internationally known for his work in data quality, has been an adjudicator for the European Corporate Data Quality Awards for several years and is the Editor-In-Chief of the International Journal of Information Quality.

He has worked both as a consultant as well as a professional speaker on IT issues in Australia and South East Asia and has over twenty five years’ experience in the academic environment. He is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a Founding Fellow of the International Institute of Engineering Asset Management and a Distinguished Speaker of the ACM.

Amazon Web Services: Head of Strategy and Operations, Australia and New Zealand

Michelle has been with Amazon Web Services for the past three and a half years. In her current role as Head of Strategy and Operations for AWS in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), she leads strategy, business and sales operations, field enablement, process improvement and program management teams to drive outcomes at scale for our customers.

Michelle has worked extensively in Australia and New Zealand, as well as holding Asia Pacific and global roles. Prior to AWS, she enjoyed a 23 year career in management consulting, across numerous roles, including working with large enterprises on SAP transformation programs, project and program management; quality and risk roles; and sales effectiveness and enablement.

Michelle is passionate about inclusion and diversity, and is President of our Women@Amazon ANZ affinity group, which is focused on a range of activities across ‘attract and hire’ – including inspiring and educating our ‘next gen’ female technologists; ‘retain and develop’ – training and development, health and wellbeing plus opportunities to help influence job flexibility, work-life balance, and career paths for a diverse workforce; and marketing and community development initiatives.

Director, South Australian Space Industry Centre and Director, Space Industries, South Australian Department for Trade and Investment

Tiffany joined the State Government’s foreign direct investment team in 2015 working with National and International technology companies to develop inbound investment projects for South Australia.

In 2017 she was appointed as a Director of the South Australian Space Industry Centre, working alongside colleagues in Defence SA and the Department for Innovation and Skills to further build the local ecosystem and grow the space economy in South Australia.

As Director, Space Industries at the Department for Trade and Investment, Tiffany is responsible for driving trade outcomes for South Australian companies and attracting additional investment into South Australia’s space sector. She has a particular interest in commercial orbital launch from South Australia and the aligned opportunities this can bring to the state.

Tiffany was previously employed by EY as Business Development Director for the Government sector.

Previously, Tiffany was employed in the retail property sector for the Westfield Group (now Scentre Group) for ten years, working in management roles across Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

CEO of Saber Astronautics

Prior to founding Saber Astronautics, Dr. Held was a US Army Major for US Space Command and deployed internationally in support of military missions. He was a lead instructor at the Interservice Space Fundamentals Course and an engineer at Army Space and Missile Command Battle Lab. He conducted flight software for the Wide Field Camera 3 of the Hubble Space Telescope and testing for the International Space Station. Dr. Held lectured for the IRS Space Station Design Workshop, University of New South Wales, and International Space University. He led a research expedition in the high Canadian Arctic and co-founded the Delta-V SpaceHub, the University of Sydney space engineering laboratory.  He currently is on advisory committees for space startups in the US and Australia, chairing many.  The Australian government selected Dr Held for the “Expert Reference Group” to design their Space Agency. He also advises international think tanks Global Access Partners, NSI, and the Economist.