Gig Guide: Inaugural Digital Victoria CEO departs


Brandon How
Reporter

Digital Victoria’s inaugural chief executive Michael McNamara has left the government digital unit to become Australia Post’s new executive general manager of digital technology and data.

Mr McNamara leaves the Victorian public service after just under two years in the role. He took up the CEO position at Digital Victoria in the months before the state government released its Digital Strategy in 2021.

Before taking the role, Mr McNamara served as group chief information officer at Services Australia and the former Department of Human Services for four years collectively. He has also served senior technology roles at ANZ, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, and the Commonwealth Bank.

Michael McNamara. Image: LinkedIn

Australian Digital Health Agency chief technology officer Dr Malcolm Thatcher has resigned, as first reported by Pulse+IT.

Dr Thatcher served as CTO for two and a half years, joining the agency in February 2021. He has previously served as Queensland Health’s CIO and the chief executive of eHealth Queensland, as well as Queensland Health’s chief health information officer.

In a LinkedIn post las week, Dr Thatcher said it was the “right time for me to hand over the baton as the agency moves into the next significant wave of national digital infrastructure modernisation”.

Fintech Airwallex’s new general manager for Australia and New Zealand is Luke Latham. Mr Latham was previously chief operating officer at app-based grocery delivery service Milkrun, which was saved from collapse through a Woolworths acquisition in May.

Before his year and a half stint at Milkrun, Mr Latham spent eight years at Amazon and AWS, including almost three years as AWS’ head of strategy and sales operations, global accounts. He also spent almost two years as e-commerce firm Groupon’s head of strategy, e-commerce Australia and New Zealand.

Former Coalition minister Alan Tudge, who last served as education minister and was human services minister for two years of the robodebt scheme, is now a corporate advisor on government, education and migration.

Before entering politics, Mr Tudge worked at Boston Consulting Group for more than seven years.

Satellite manufacturer Fleet Space has appointed Dr Matteo Genna as its CTO. Dr Genna has 30 years of experience working on satellite imaging and communication systems. His previous role was as the head of space tourism and tech company World View Enterprises’ remote sensing business unit.

The Department of Industry, Science, and Resources’ (DISR) new general manager for International Science and Resources is Richard Samuels. He has collectively spent more than 14 years working at DISR and its predecessor agencies.

Earlie this month, Australia’s new Amabassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical technology Brendan Dowling commenced in the role. He most recently served as first assistant secretary of the Cyber and Critical Technology Coordination Centre within the Department of Home Affairs.

The new head of Curtin University’s School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences is Dr Kate Brooks, who departs from her role at Ai Group after three years. At the industry body, she was a program facilitator for the federal government’s Entrepreneur’s Programme.

Dr Kate Brooks

NBN Co’s chief operating officer Kathrine Dyer will leave at the end of the year, after almost 13 years at the company. Ms Dyer has served as chief operating officer for three years and was previously chief network development officer for just over three years. She also previously spent 16 and a half years at Telstra.

AusBioNSW, the New South Wales arm of industry body AusBiotech, has appointed Dr Robyn Lindner as its general manager. Dr Lindner has previously worked as Tyrian Diagnostics’ chief scientific officer as well as research roles at the University of Wollongong and the Heart Research Institute.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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