Simon Duggan has been appointed to the top job at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, commencing a five-year term as secretary on Monday February 16.
An accomplished public servant, Mr Duggan is faced with the formidable task of reforming the department’s controversial Targeted Compliance Framework.
The automated system was found to have illegally cancelled support payments for over 1,000 jobseekers, costing the government millions in compensation and administrative fees.
Former DEWR secretary Natalie James, who oversaw the Albanese government’s first-term industrial relations, skills and training reforms, exited the role in January, almost two years ahead of schedule. DEWR Deputy Secretary Tania Rishniw has been acting secretary since December.
Mr Duggan most recently served as deputy secretary and energy lead at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, following six years at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Advanced Navigation has secured veteran innovations executive Pawel Michalak as chief technology officer as it moves to implement and industrialise a swathe of advanced technologies and expand its engineering teams globally.
Mr Michalak joins the Sydney-based autonomous systems manufacturer on the heels of 11 years at Netherlands geo-data specialist firm Frugo, six of which he spent as its global director of innovation.
Mr Michalak said his new responsibilities at the company were an opportunity “not [for] incremental or blindfolded innovation [but] to change how the world navigates”.
Sarah Court will succeed Joe Longo as chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, with her five-year term to begin in June.
Ms Court will be the first woman to chair ASIC and is the fourth female leader the Albanese government has appointed to a top economic institution.
Ms Court has been deputy chair at the financial regulator since June 2021 and previously spent 13 years as a commissioner at the ACCC.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Ms Court had “substantially strengthened ASIC’s enforcement and investigation capabilities” and “delivered some of its strongest enforcement results on record”.
FinTech Australia deputy chair Brian Collins has been appointed CEO of Enterprize Tasmania, in what the startup hub operator is calling a watershed moment.
The 10-year-old Tasmanian innovation incubator hosts co-working spaces in Hobart and Launceston and has 220 members across more than 100 companies.
Mr Collins is the co-founder of fintech fund Triple Bubble. He said he hopes to make Tasmania the launchpad for Australia’s next unicorn startup.
Robert Le Busque has joined global IT services and consultancy giant DXC Technology as its President, Asia Pacific & Japan, exiting Verizon Business after over 20 years.
DXC chief revenue officer T.R. Newcomb said Mr Le Busque will oversee the company’s regional growth strategy as it seeks to capitalise on global corporate AI adoption.
Business intelligence and analytics firm Sigma has announced its expansion into the Asia Pacific market and has appointed Bede Hackney as its first vice president APJ. A veteran tech executive, Mr Hackney has previously served as region lead at Zoom, Databricks and Tenable.
Data centre operator Adisyn has appointed board member Arye Kohavi as its new managing director, with previous MD Blake Burton to transition to an executive director role. Mr Kohavi oversaw the acquisition of his semiconductor manufacturing startup 2D Generation by Adisyn early last year.
LuLu Shiraz will expand her responsibilities at critical infrastructure technologies firm Vertiv, adding country head for Australia and New Zealand to her existing role as senior director sales. Ms Shiraz joined Vertiv in 2021 following four years at IT firm Oracle.
Nicolle Kelly will shift from acting to permanent Queensland Small Business Commissioner, the Crisafulli government has announced. Ms Kelly, a long-serving Queensland public servant, took on the role last October following the departure of former commissioner Dominique Lamb.
IT managed services firm Kinetic IT has appointed Jeremy O’Donohue as its new managing director state government and critical infrastructure.
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