Seasoned tech executive and startup founder Eglantine Etiemble has been appointed chief information officer at Energy Australia, one of Australia’s largest energy operators.
The former group chief technology officer of PEXA started in the role this week, taking over from Julie Bale, who held the role for seven years and will retire in July.
Ms Etiemble, also a Tech Council of Australia director, announced the move in a LinkedIn post on Thursday, describing energy as “one of the most critical sectors for Australia right now”.
“The transformation underway, towards a cleaner, more digital and resilient energy system, will shape our economy and communities for decades to come,” she said. “Technology will play a central role in enabling that transition”.
Ms Etiemble began her tech career with global glass manufacturer O-I (Owens-Illinois) in 2002 and founded skills startup Boomerang Factory in Melbourne in 2016.
Artificial intelligence expert Professor Anton van den Hengel has been appointed chief AI scientific advisor to Space Machines Company.
The Sydney-based space operations company said Professor van den Hengel would help shape its machine learning strategy and “provide the scientific oversight that mission-critical AI demands”.
The long-serving University of Adelaide academic is also chair of the Kingston AI Group and was founding director and chief scientist of the Australian Institute for Machine Learning.
Veteran medical research leader Professor Victoria Cogger will join the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator (SBA) as its inaugural executive director.
For Professor Cogger, joining the accelerator — a collaboration between the University of Sydney, Sydney Local Health District and the NSW Government — was the realisation of a lifelong ambition.
“The SBA will support researchers and clinicians to collaborate with each other and with industry, helping to accelerate the development of better therapies, more precise treatments and new approaches to health care challenges,” Professor Crogger said.
SBA is expected to open in 2028 and will operate out of Sydney’s Tech Central precinct.
State digital health agency eHealth Queensland has welcomed long-serving public servant Daniel Scott, who has joined the agency as executive director strategy, architecture and information systems.
Mr Scott has spent the bulk of his career with the Western Australian government, working within the departments of health, finance and treasury.
“To me, digital health is a front-line service, not a back-office function,” said Mr Scott in a LinkedIn post about the appointment. “Knowing that, if we get our thinking and solutions right, this can make a real difference for people, sometimes when they need it the most.”
Digital security and cloud provider AUCyber has promoted Royal Australian Air Force veteran Connor Strickley to head its cyber division.
Mr Strickley joined the RAAF as a signals intelligence analyst in 2015, going on to become a cyber warfare analyst, a role he retains through the RAAF Reserve.
AUCyber recruited Mr Strickley as a cybersecurity manager in October last year.
Data centre firm DigiCo Infrastructure REIT says former leader Chris Maher will return as interim chief executive while CEO Michael Juniper takes extended personal leave.
Mr Juniper said he was disappointed to take leave early in his tenure, but paid tribute to DigiCo’s leadership team, who he said would continue operations without disruptions.
Mr Juniper succeeded Mr Maher – DigiCo’s founding CEO – in September last year off the back of more than nine years at datacentre competitor AirTrunk.
Kinetic IT has recruited Dean Langenbach to be its next CEO. Mr Langenbach previously helmed IT consultancy NRI Australia and New Zealand and the ASG Group.
He succeeds Michael North, who recently departed Kinetic after more than 17 years. Interim leader Shane Quinn will move into the COO role.
Former Australian Computer Society president Prins Ralston has stepped in as its interim CEO, following the sudden departure this week of executive Josh Griggs.
Mr Griggs leaves the ACS after two years, the fourth CEO at the country’s largest professional association for technology workers in just six years.
Babcock Australasia has begun a recruitment process for a new CEO following the resignation of Andrew Cridland earlier this week.
Babcock chief of staff Leah Grantham has been appointed acting CEO effective immediately.
Coles Group chief technology officer Mike Sackman will depart the role after one year, the retailer has announced, with its chief operating officer Matt Swindells to take on the role in the interim.
Mr Sackman joined Coles in March last year on the back of a lengthy career as a tech leader with UK retail giants, including John Lewis, Safeway and Waitrose.
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