Judges

William (Bill) Barrett is Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific Aerospace Consultants (APAC) based in Sydney, Australia where he advises space organisations from governments to multinationals to start-ups. He has over 25 years of experience in the Space and Telecommunications industries across all major space sectors including satellite manufacture, satellite communications, ground stations, launch services, space insurance and space policy for companies in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. He is a longstanding advocate for the Australian space sector as co-founder and long term founding Deputy Chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA), member of the SIAA Advisory Board, recipient of the SIAA lifetime service award and participant/advisor in more than 12+ start-up space ventures. He was a member of the Australian delegation for the major UN Space Conference UNISPACE III as an expert advisor on commercial space matters and continues to advise the Federal Government on space including the economic impact of the Australian space sector, launch regulation and safety, human spaceflight, telecommunications and earth observation satellites, space domain awareness and space workforce development. Bill is recognised as a key thought leader in Australian space workforce development for his major contributions in identifying the breadth of current Australian space skills, skills shortages and future needs. He is a key author of the 2021 SmartSat CRC Space Industry Skills Gap Analysis, where he led the study and the development of the Australian Space Skills Taxonomy, a key architect and author of the 2023 South Australian Space Industry Skills Demand Study, and presents regularly on this crucial topic at multiple conferences and seminars.

Andrea Boyd works at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany as a Flight Controller for the International Space Station. She studied Mechatronic Engineering at The University of Adelaide and specialised in robotics in South Korea. She worked for many years in Automation and underground Mining in the remote desert then joined the International Space Station Flight Control Team twelve years ago, certified as a Flight Operations Engineer for payload control, biomedical and crew operations. Andrea’s projects together with the ISS have included spacefood, augmented reality, medical diagnostics, underwater astronaut missions in (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) and supporting rocket launches and landings from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan and Cape Canaveral, USA.

Anntonette Dailey brings more than 15 years senior executive capability, working across multiple Government agencies, not for profit and consultancies.

As a chartered engineer, Anntonette was recently the Executive Director at the Australian Space Agency, having commenced as part of the inaugural leadership team in 2018 and was responsible for managing its operating environment, managing stakeholders and was instrumental in the establishment of the Australian Space Discovery Centre, publishing the first three whole of Government State of Space Reports, the financial controller and management of the public affairs, outreach and parliamentary activity.

Anny has always had a soft spot for the space sector, attending space camps at school, presenting to Parliament in 2008 on the need for better space coordination. She is also a major supporter for developing the current and future STEM workforce. Her leadership and passion was recognised by AFR as one of Australia’s 100 most Influential Women and as young graduate of the year by the University of Technology, Sydney.

As a mother to Skye (6) and Flynn (1), Anny enjoys caravanning, renovating and car racing.

Professor Andrew Dempster is Director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER) in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He has a BE and MEngSc from UNSW and a PhD from the University of Cambridge in efficient circuits for signal processing arithmetic. He was a system engineer and project manager for the first GPS receiver developed in Australia in the late 80s and has been involved in satellite navigation ever since. His current research interests are in satellite navigation receiver design and signal processing, areas where he has six patents, new location technologies, and space systems, especially those related to extracting water. He is leading the development of space engineering research at ACSER.

Tania Ezra BA(ANU), MPM (USQ), PGCertAstro(Swin), ITIL, PMP, PMI-RMP, CPPD, MRMIA, MAIPM, MASA, SFC is a Security Specialist with Microsoft. She has extensive academic achievements and over 20 years of intimate end to end involvement in complex high-risk security programs, and has previously worked IBM, CSC and Logica.

Thomas Green is a co-founder of Neumann Space where he undertook work in business development and in-house counsel. He is a member of the Royal Society of NSW; and, the International Institute of Space Law where he contributes frequently to research on space traffic management and the regulation of orbital mechanics. Thomas is listed as an inventor on six patents, and most recently served as a project manager in the emerging technologies branch of the NSW Government where he undertook trials of space-based asset management methods, as well as road and rail safety trials.

Thomas has also previously worked on software projects and start-ups related to machine learning, worked in private equity, served as a Ministerial Advisor on emergency services and road safety, and was a business coordinator for the COVID-19 response team for Transport for NSW during the COVID outbreaks in NSW throughout 2020.

Mark Hodgson comes from a corporate background and has held senior leadership roles in the UK, Australasia, Central Europe and Russia. He is now a leading thinker in Transformation and Influence - helping leaders to unlock their inner talents for success and happiness.

Mark has inspired large teams across a range of commercial and not-for-profit businesses. A natural disruptor, he helps executives, consultants and entrepreneurs to position themselves as leading influencers and is an expert in leading change.

His book, ‘Time to Shine: Adapting who you are and what you know to succeed in the ideas economy’ explains what we need to DO, BE and BUILD to show up as successful, fulfilled and authentic Influencers.

Mark is an Executive Coach, Author, Advisor and Keynote Speaker.

www.markhodgson.com.au

Kim Chandler McDonald is a globally respected thought leader in disruptive innovation, transformational trends, and strategic foresight. As the visionary Co-Founder and CEO of 3 Steps Data she has led her company to the forefront of technological advancements in cybersecurity, data sharing, observability, and governance across disparate systems.

Kim is a board member of and the Global Vice President of the Cybersecurity Advisors Network (CyAN), the Paris-based, multidisciplinary, international trust network of cyber professionals. She drives the organisation’s strategic growth, community engagement, and leads its Combatting Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Violence initiative.

A sought after keynote speaker, Kim is an acclaimed advocate, activist, lifelong storyteller and award-winning author. Her, latest work, ‘An Interviewer’s Guidebook - Turning Conversations Into Captivating Stories’, joins her other titles: ‘Innovation: How Innovators Think, Act and Change Our World’, ‘Flat World Navigation: Collaboration and Networking in the Global Digital Economy’, and ‘Postcards From Tomorrow’ (with all proceeds from Postcards going to Lou’s Place, Sydney’s only daytime drop-in centre for female victims of domestic abuse and coercive control). She is also the co-author of ‘Entrepreneurial Renaissance: Cities Striving Towards an Era of Renaissance and Revival’.

Dr Pozza is the principal of Gravity Lawyers and her expertise includes: Commercial international space law, domestic legislative frameworks over military space-uses as well as international law space law dealing with armed-conflict, Cybersecurity and IT, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Technology.

Dr Maria Pozza gained her PhD in Law and Politics at the University of Otago, specialising in Space Law and International Relations in 2013 and was also awarded the visiting Lauterpacht Fellowship from the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at University of Cambridge UK in recognition of her work and contributions to space law. Dr Pozza’s expertise in space law has been called upon by a number of overseas and national government agencies, domestic and international institutions, research institutions, legislative development committees, and an impressive portfolio of private clients.

As a prolific publisher, Dr Pozza is presently working on a book publication titled: Risk Management in Outer Space Activities – An Australian and New Zealand Perspective as part of her Book Series titled Space Law and Policy.

Dr Paul Scully-Power is an integrator, strategist and orthogonal thinker and is Australia’s first astronaut. He has a unique international background in Industry, Government, Defence, Space and Academia in the US, UK, Australia, and NZ, and is well known for his network of people and institutions around the world. A leader in applying technology, he has broad expertise in national security & intelligence, aviation & aerospace, cybersecurity, remote sensing, and systems analysis & ICT. He is currently engaged in AI (national iAward for innovation), UAVs, microsatellites, smart sensors, nanotechnology and big data analytics.

Dr Scully-Power has led many high-tech, defence and security programs. He held executive appointments under Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, and was Deputy to the Associate Technical Director, US Naval Undersea Warfare Center, where he held the US Navy Distinguished Chair of Underwater Acoustics He was a Research Associate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Chairman of Membership of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, President of the Fort Trumbull Federal Credit Union, and served on the Universities & Colleges Accreditation Board and the US Office of Naval Research.

Dr Scully-Power qualified for very high altitude full pressure suit flying at Edwards Air Force Base, and was a flight crew instructor in the NASA Astronaut Office, Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, where he became Australia’s first astronaut flying aboard Challenger on the 13th mission of the Space Shuttle.

Troy Swan is the Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary and Board Member of the $1.4billion office products company Winc Australia & New Zealand. Winc was formed following the acquisition of Staples & OfficeMax by US based private equity firm Platinum Equity.

He has been publicly recognised as one of Australia's leading corporate lawyers and was named the 2017 Australian Lawyer of the Year (FMCG) and a General Counsel of the Year finalist in both 2016 and 2017. He became only the second Australian lawyer to win the prestigious International Value Champions Award in San Francisco and was recently named in Washington, the Association of Corporate Counsel Member of the Year, from over 43,000 lawyers worldwide for his commitment to the legal community and profession. This was the first time this honour was ever awarded to a lawyer outside America.

Known for his business judgment, he is highly active within the Sydney legal and business community. He is a regular speaker and media commentator on legal affairs, innovation and large scale legal service delivery models and leads an award winning legal team based in Sydney.