2019 Speakers - The Things Network Australia

Johan Stokking - Keynote speaker + Masterclass

CTO, The Things Network Netherlands

Johan is tech lead and co-founder of The Things Network; an open, crowd sourced and decentralized internet of things data network. Since starting in 2015, The Things Network has grown to over 90,000+ users and over 9,500+ gateways; the biggest global LoRaWAN network. Johan oversees technical strategy, architecture, product, infrastructure and operations, and likes to work with the global community on success stories.

Chris Rowlands - Keynote speaker

Innovation Officer, City of Greater Bendigo

Chris is an urban planner and is currently employed as the Innovation Officer with the City of Greater Bendigo where he is driving the innovation and smart cities agenda with a view to how Bendigo can become a City of the Future. One of Chris’s award-winning initiatives is called Clever Weather, where the City of Greater Bendigo has teamed up with La Trobe University to install 100 weather sensors throughout the city, including in outer suburbs. He is passionate about improving the collaboration between academia, industry and government in order to address some of the challenges facing our cities and regions today.

Simon Egerton - Keynote speaker

Deputy Head, Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, La Trobe University

Simon has led a team to establish Australia’s first Master of Internet of Things and is leading the way to establish the Bendigo campus as a centre of excellence in the space of the Internet of Things and disruptive technologies. He has a background in hardware, software and Artificial Intelligence and has applied these interests to the area of intelligent autonomous robots, human robot interaction and more recently to the Internet of Things. Simon has a passion for disruptive technology and the application of open source technologies, including open source embedded systems and open source manufacturing platforms, to help drive social entrepreneurship and address real world problems for people in the community. He is a co-founder and director of the Creative Science Foundation (CSF), a non-profit foundation dedicated to exploring the use of science fiction as a means to motivate and direct research into new technologies. The recent Creative Robotix initiative from CSF is currently being adopted into schools across the region and further afield. He is a visiting member of the Intelligent Inhabited Environments Group at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at Tokyo Metropolitan University in Japan. Applied areas of research interest include Health, Agricultural Technology, Smart Cities and remote environmental monitoring.

Tom Bianchi - Speaker

Regional Manager, Microchip Technology Australia

Tom Bianchi is Regional Manager for Microchip Technology Australia, based in Sydney. He has worked with Microchip for 19 years facilitating the growth of Microchip business in Australia and New Zealand. Tom previously worked for an electronics distribution company in the roles of product manager and field applications engineer, and before that as a design engineer. Tom earned degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Sydney.

Adamson dela Cruz - Speaker

CTO and Co-Founder, IOT NINJA

Adam is a seasoned Full-Stack DevOps consultant. He was part of the core team during a nationwide LoRaWAN network rolled out in New Zealand and responsible for the AWS cloud infrastructure supporting it. A few years back, he was also part of the core team that rolled out a nationwide WiFi in New Zealand. He has worked as a savvy DevOps on digital transformation projects with Air New Zealand and Fletcher Building. Adam is the initiator of The ThingsNetwork Auckland, and an active Ham radio operator.

Brian Danilko - Speaker

Likeable Software / Entelechy Pty Ltd

Brian has produced software for over 30 years on lots of different embedded projects. For the last 15 months he has been working on a LoRaWAN device – understanding the protocol, debugging the embedded stack, wrangling with network providers, finessing re-try strategies and basically learning heaps. Along the way he found that lots of people had questions about the specific details of LoRaWAN that he had just found out himself.

Andrew Maggio - Speaker

Founder Director of Technology and Operations, Meshed

Andrew brings more than 25 years experience in Information Technology, with over a decade at Microsoft Australia and in the UK. He has held senior roles with Graincorp and has developed a strong background in digital electronics, network architecture and vehicle telematics. Andrew founded Meshed in 2015 off the back of delivering a Remote Asset Monitoring solution to a large Australian Defence Contracting organisation. In 2013 Andrew started his IoT business, LOCstep Technology Solutions, to deliver consulting projects such as a “Connected Car” telematics proof-of-concept to NRMA Motoring & Services. Andrew is responsible for technology and operations at Meshed..

Flavia Tata Nardini - Speaker

CEO, Fleet Australia

Flavia is one of the co-founders and the CEO of Fleet. Fleet is on a mission to change Earth from Space creating a digital nervous system that will connect every single device on our planet using LoRaWAN. Flavia’s real background is rocket science! Some of the more interesting projects she has worked on include the development of several innovative micropropulsion systems for CubeSats, the qualification of an igniter for the Ariane 5, the design of space debris removal systems and the development of hypergolic green propellant. Being involved with these projects has not only provided her with invaluable experience, but has led to many rewarding achievements, including two patents and the opportunity to see the innovative systems she helped to develop flying on actual space missions.

Dale Rankine - Speaker

CEO and co-founder, Reekoh

Dale Rankine is CEO and co-founder of Reekoh, an award-winning and Gartner-recognised Integration Platform, transforming enterprises by bringing together IoT, business applications and open data. As well as being a serial entrepreneur, Dale is a well-regarded international speaker, strategist and mentor on IoT and product-focused technology startups. Dale is an experienced tech entrepreneur and has been part of the Australian digital landscape for over two decades in a multitude of roles. Dale has deep subject matter knowledge and hands-on technical experience across IoT, cloud and mobile, and has been central in assisting numerous startups, consumer and enterprise companies to develop new digital products and experiences.

Tony Smith - Speaker

CEO, Joto Systems

Tony is a professional Electrical Engineer who has worked as an RF Engineer as well as in the telecommunications industry. Tony has a long history of using Raspberry Pi and since 2012 has installed around 100 Raspberry Pi systems in industrial applications. Tony is involved in commercialising an innovative method for determining plant health by remote sensing which utilises LoRaWAN. To that end, Tony designs and builds his own electronic circuits and printed circuit boards for use in both Nodes and Gateways.

Dr Tomaž Šuklje - Speaker

CEO and Co-founder, Sensedge

Dr. Tomaž Šuklje is CEO and the
co-founder of Sensedge, co-initiator Microclimate.network initiative. He is a researcher with 10+ years of experience. He is experimental methods, urban physics, and high-performance buildings. He holds the position of Senior Research Associate at the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, researching nature-based solutions in cities in close collaboration with TU Berlin. He is also a co-founder of AgriSense, an IoT consultancy business focusing on agriculture.

Ben Thurgood - Speaker

Head of Solutions Architecture, NSW/QLD, Amazon AU

Ben leads the Amazon NSW and QLD Public Sector Solutions Architecture team. He and his team advise public sector customers on how to achieve their desired business results using the breadth and depth of the AWS platform.With a background in computer science and software engineering, Ben brings over 20 years of experience, providing technical leadership in financial services, telcos, utilities, government, research institutions, and startups. He has previously specialised in security, Service Oriented Architecture, DevOps and Digital Transformation. At AWS, Ben has focused on Serverless technologies, Internet of Things, Data Analytics, and Robotics. He is an expert in the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Jenny McCormick - Conversation Cafe

Director, Movers&Shakers

Jenny McCormick is a highly experienced educator and business development consultant who is passionate about assisting the individuals, organisations and communities to reach their full potential. She is highly respected for her vision, creativity, fearless and ethical leadership skills, and commitment to the provision of high quality consultancy products and services in the areas of: learning design and delivery; group facilitation; quality compliance; strategic planning; marketing; public and motivational speaking; project and event management; and professional writing. Her business motto ‘We can move mountains’ encapsulates her personal competence and capacity.

Daniel Adams - Panel member

Business and Innovation Analyst, City of Prospect

Daniel has experience with developing, implementing and managing a range of economic development initiatives for businesses and communities. Daniel is also responsible for managing a range of tourism initiatives. These have included marketing local events, tourism policy development, economic research and analysis, project management and stakeholder engagement. Daniel has led the creation of a new Adelaide metro wireless sensor and IoT network to support local entrepreneurs and delivery of council services called Connected Cities. In its first phase, this project connected five Adelaide metro councils to ‘The Things Network’. This project has been such a success that a second phase is currently being planned to be rolled out across a dozen other SA councils.

Simon Blyth - Panel member

LX Group

Simon is the founder and Managing Director of LX, a BRW Fast 100 company specialising in IoT product and solution development. Working with technology startups through to multinationals for over a decade, Simon and the team at LX have delivered well over 500 custom IoT products and projects straddling a wide range of technologies and industry verticals including: smart cities; AgTech; wearables; medical; consumer; industrial IoT; logistics; utilities; and smart buildings. LX’s work has won both National and International Awards for IoT engineering excellence, product design and business performance. Leveraging this experience Simon has led the technology architecture of the LX IoT cores, a full-stack IoT platform with the goal of dramatically lowering time to IoT value and scale solutions.

Ken Everett - Panel member

CEO and Founder, Digital Matter

Ken Everett is an electronics engineer with a passion for embedded device firmware and software design and development, and the Founder and CEO of Digital Matter Connected Devices. Founded in 2001, Digital Matter has since developed multiple award-winning GPS and IoT devices for a wide range of applications.

Leo Gaggl - Panel member

Managing Director, Opensensing

With a background in agricultural engineering, Leo has been working in database and IT services for the last 25 years. Since 2016, Leo in his role as Chairperson of the Growing Data Foundation, has been the co-founder of The Things Network (TTN) Adelaide. This network has been progressively rolled out across South Australia, providing public access to long-life battery driven sensor devices connected to the internet.

Mohamed Khalil - Panel member

Innovation Lead, The Platform

Mohamed is a telecommunication and electronics engineer who worked for 11 years in multiple telecom operators and vendors. Starting from the year 2017, Mohamed was busy building the first low power IOT network ‘NBIOT’ in Dubai. After that, he started his entrepreneurial journey by starting a tech startup building low power IOT devices to solve major problems facing agriculture sector and local communities. Mohamed recently moved to Australia to be part one of the fasting growing IOT markets in the world, trying to utilize the knowledge and experience he has to empower the Australian IOT ecosystem with his fresh energy.

Dr. Michael Di Matteo - Panel member

Environmental Engineer, Water Technology

Dr Michael Di Matteo is an environmental engineer with Water Technology and is experienced in stormwater management and water sensitive urban design. Michael is an adjunct lecturer with the University of Adelaide with a whom he recently collaborated on research project funded by the Environment Institute, City of Mitcham, City of Unley, and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges on the potential multiple benefits of real-time control of smart, distributed stormwater systems.

Paul McManus - Panel member

Co-founder and GM IoT Solutions, Meshed

Paul has over 25 years’ experience in senior IT, telecommunications and sales management roles, with companies like Dimension Data, Data#3, Com Tech Communications as well as building and selling start-ups. He is an expert speaker on LoRaWAN and TTN for the Smart Cities, PropTech and Ag-Tech sectors as well as pioneering the Meshed suite of solutions including nCounter People Counting, the Smart Cities Starter Kit and the Meshed LoRaWAN Device Catalogue.

Fay Patterson - Panel member

Councillor, West Norwood/Kent Town ward, City of Norwood Payneham St Peters

Fay Patterson was elected to the Norwood Payneham St Peters Council in October 2018. She represents West Norwood & Kent Town – the greenest-leaning ward in South Australia. At the time of the elections, Council staff had just completed a floodplain mapping exercise as the basis of a $23 million, 15-year drainage program. But increasing the speed and amount of water flowing down the drain has impacts on our suburbs, our landscapes and our neighbours, while communities want Council to manage our natural assets – not waste them. Fay is a champion of the Virtual Dam concept, which is ideally suited to an inner-urban council area experiencing urban consolidation and expecting higher intensity rainfalls as an outcome of climate change.

Massimo Sacchi - Panel member

Business Developer, Arduino AG

Massimo is an industrial automation expert with 20 years of experience in multinational contexts. As Business Developer for Arduino, the first open-source electronics platform, Massimo looks after the Australian and New Zealand market for the Makers, Education and Professional-IoT markets. Massimo got his degree in Electrical Engineering in Italy, where he was born and spent most of his life. He started his career as an automation engineer in heavy industry, implementing the automation of plants for the production of steel. He worked as the Automation Manager in logistics and then as Product Manager for a worldwide leading manufacturer of industrial sensors. Massimo moved to Australia in 2015 and recently joined Arduino, bringing his experience to support the expansion of the company in the market of industrial solutions.

Ella Winnall - Panel member

Economic Development Advisor, District Council of Loxton Waikerie

A strong advocate for Australia’s regional and rural communities, Ella is a local government change-maker based in the Riverland – the powerhouse region of South Australia’s food and wine industry. Ella is leading a region-wide Smart-Agriculture project funded by the Murray Darling Basin Economic Development Fund. The project includes a 10,000km2 LoRaWAN network, agriculture industry adoption and engagement, curriculum integration for five regional high schools and adoption by three regional councils. Ella is also a councillor at the Berri Barmera Council and consults on regional economic development, community building, tourism and local government.

Nathaniel Mason - Moderator

Team Leader Business Solutions, City of Tea Tree Gully

Nathaniel joined Local Government from an IT career foundation in systems integration and IT consulting. In IT Solutions at The City of Tea Tree Gully, Nathaniel and the Business Solutions team are responsible for IT projects, strategy and information management. Their aim is to orchestrate the chaos of technology and business into effective strategies, projects and collaborative outcomes for Local Government professionals and communities. Over the past couple of years, this has included deployment of Things Network gateways and integration of IoT solutions. Nathaniel is also secretary of Local Government Information Technology Association of South Australia, Civic Innovation Task Force team member with the Smart Cities Council of Australia and New Zealand, management team member with TEDxAdelaide and SouthStart.

Rhys Moult - Moderator

Innovation Partner - Economic Development and Innovation, City of Adelaide

Rhys Moult works at the City of Adelaide as Innovation Partner in the Economic Development and Innovation team. Rhys is a founding member of the Growing Data Foundation and is currently involved in several IoT and data projects at the City of Adelaide.

John Ruciak - Moderator

Digital Strategy and Innovation, Government of SA, Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure

John has 20 years ICT experience in the private, governmental and NGO sectors. He started the world’s 12th internet cafe and co-founded The Things Network Adelaide. He has a Master of Business and Technology (MBT), UNSW. John has a long history of innovation in online operations in public & private sectors. John is also a board Member of the Growing Data Foundation, with a particular interest in using technology to solve conservation problems.