Speakers

Lisa Dykes
Australasian Institute of Emergency Services (AIES) and Director, Products Group
NGIS

Born and raised in South Africa with a master’s degree in environmental studies, and having lived in Canada and New Zealand, and worked in Malaysia and all across Australia, Lisa has worn many hats over a career spanning more than two decades. She is a member of the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services (AIES) and currently is the Director of the Products Group within NGIS, where she is passionate about geospatial software and data being used to tackle significant topics such as sustainable development, disaster risk mitigation and managing the impacts of climate change. She loves her job of working with smart people who thrive on using digital technology to address some of the world's most important social and environmental issues including disaster and emergency management.



John Hopping
CTO APAC
Cradlepoint



John Hopping has over 30 years of technical leadership experience within the telecommunications and IT industry working for both global CSPs and prominent multinational companies. He has successfully led and delivered multiple complex technology transformation projects for customers head quartered globally and delivered network managed services and mobile and fixed wireless solutions. ​

John is an expert in working with organisations across all industries - from retail to construction, healthcare, government and many more - to help organisations harness connectivity as a pillar of business transformation. He currently leads a team of architects located across Australia and Southeast Asia whilst also being the technical thought leader for Cradlepoint within the Asia Pacific region.​


Nathan McGregor
Senior Vice President Sales
Cradlepoint



Nathan McGregor is the Senior Vice President, Sales for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region at Cradlepoint. Nathan has over 20 years’ of leadership experience in the telecommunications and IT industry working for prominent companies, including Cisco Meraki, Hitachi, Juniper Networks, Ericsson and Alcatel Lucent. He has successfully led technology businesses across APAC delivering networking, IoT, and analytics solutions across all industries. Working closely with indirect channel and carrier partners, he has a strong track record in supporting customers success in the use of innovative technologies to drive business value.




Stephen Sennett MAIES
Australian Red Cross Emergency Services

Stephen Sennett MAIES is an Australian Red Cross Emergency Services volunteer, with a long background in Incident Management. He serves as an operational leader as a State Agency Commander, and Liaison Officer, and has served during many significant disasters over the last decade, including the Black Summer bushfires in multiple states, COVID-19 Pandemic operations, and the Bourke Street Incident in 2017. He is the recipient of the Australian Red Cross Meritorious Service Award, a member of the Australian Institute of Emergency Services, and was a finalist in the Victorian Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards 2023. Outside of emergencies, Stephen works as a senior consultant in the technology sector, recognised as an AWS Community Builder, and speaking at international conferences on cloud computing.

Geoff Hird
Events Director
WF Media/MC


Geoff Hird has over 30 years’ experience in technology and industrial business media and events. As Managing Director of WF Media for over 15 years, Hird developed new media brands, custom products and events that placed the company at the forefront of B2B media in Australia. He was a board member and chair of industry body, Publishers Australia for 7 years, promoting specialist and niche media to the broader marketplace. More recently, Hird has focused on specialist event management, contracting his expertise to WF Media as Events Director of the Comms Connect series of events in Australia and New Zealand, focused on the public safety and critical communications sectors, and working with other event companies to optimise the profitability of their face to face events.