IAPA expands Advisory Committee with Australian Analytics Leaders

Sydney, NSW -- 17 March 2023 -- The Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia (IAPA), the only dedicated analytics association in the country, has expanded its Advisory Committee with the appointment of six additional members. As advanced analytics accelerates rapidly, the new appointments add extra analytics, data science and AI expertise to the committee.

Analytics leaders from the Australian Football League (AFL), DoorDash, MaxMine, The Reece Group and Westpac join existing committee members from Go1, Catch.com.au, Afterpay and the Australian Business Growth Fund. 

“It’s never been more important that business stakeholders can separate puffed-up hype from on-the-ground feasible advanced analytics opportunities,” said IAPA Managing Director, Annette Slunjski. 

“While generative AI like ChatGPT, Bard and Andi showcase the art of the possible, essential but less-sexy activities like sustainable data quality improvements remain the greatest challenge for most organisations. With the guidance of acknowledged analytics leaders, IAPA supports analytics professionals, the industry and business leaders in this rapidly advancing world of modern analytics.”

Newly appointed to the IAPA Advisory Committee include:

• Sam Kline, Analytics Strategist, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Elisa Koch, Head of Data & Analytics, Australian Football League (AFL)
• Michelle-Joy Low, Head of Data & AI, The Reece Group
• Coert du Plessis, Chief Executive, MaxMine
• Kshira Saagar, Senior Director, Data Science & Analytics, International, DoorDash
• Rolee Satyam, Chief Data Officer, Westpac

Advisory Committee members provide input into the key trends, challenges and needs of key sectors so that IAPA can deliver meaningful programs, content and insights to members, and respond to the requirements of organisations and individuals in their field. In an industry dominated by men, half the IAPA Advisory Committee are women.

IAPA Advisory Committee Chair Antony Ugoni said, “Now is a great time to be an analytics professional as technology catches up with our imagination to deliver powerful insights to business. I’m pleased to share the next part of the journey with so many incredible leaders with amazing imaginations tempered by their experience and understanding of the guide rails needed when wielding such power.”

“Bias, ethics, governance and diversity are key in the next phase of analytics maturity.” 

“Our role at IAPA is to help guide strategies and campaigns to support our fellow analytics professionals, to promote the recognition of analytics’ vital role in business decision-making, and to continually champion analytics as a core growth lever for all businesses.”

These new appointments join the existing IAPA advisory team chaired by Antony Ugoni (Chief Data Officer, go1) as well as Kathryn Gulifa (Head of Data and Analytics, catch.com.au and IAPA Advisory Committee vice-chair), Keegan O’Shea (Global Director of Behavioural Science, Afterpay) and Trisca Scott-Branagan (Chief Marketing Officer, Australian Business Growth Fund). 

Retiring from the Committee include Mohadeseh Ganji, Greg McKenna and Edward Santow.

Comments from the IAPA Advisory Committee members:

Elisa Koch, Head of Data & Analytics, Australian Football League (AFL)

“I am thrilled to be joining the IAPA community in an advisory capacity. I am consistently impressed by the passion of the IAPA to elevate the role of analytics in decision making and the community of analytic professionals that IAPA has built over time is incredibly valuable, especially IAPA’s focus on elevating women in analytics.”

Michelle-Joy Low, Head of Data & AI, The Reece group

“ Today, few organisations distinguish between investments in intelligent technologies and decision-making. Yet the difference couldn’t be more vital – in an information economy, market-leading performance will be defined not by technology but by the decisions they enable. IAPA’s relentless work to drive leading industry practice will change not just boardrooms, but entire organisations. To be part of the tide that lifts all boats is a precious opportunity; my hope is that as a collective we build data-literate workforces equipped to thrive in tomorrow’s world.”

Rolee Satyam, Chief Data Officer

“How organisations use, share and safeguard data is at a critical juncture in public conversation. This is why I am excited to join an accomplished IAPA Advisory Committee and share their aspiration of growing the community and shining the spotlight on new voices and topics for IAPA.

Sam Kline, Analytics Strategist & Top 25 Analytics Leader 2018

“It’s a great privilege to be a part of this group of esteemed analytics leaders - helping to drive our collective cause on elevating analytics to drive value, with all the surrounding impacts and implications considered.  In these tricky parts of the economic cycle, it’s even more important to double down on leveraging analytics for smart decision making across all areas of business and industry.  IAPA plays a really important role for analytics professionals navigating adoption, uplift, ethics, maturity, scope and scale - it’s a great time to be in analytics!”

Coert du Plessis, Chief Executive, MaxMine

“I love IAPA and our mission. to quench Australia’s huge thirst for data driven action. To me, IAPA represents an invaluable resource for anyone looking to leverage data-driven insights to drive business success. With the Australian business landscape undergoing rapid transformation, data has become more abundant than ever, yet many leaders still struggle to translate it into actionable insights. That's where IAPA comes in: as a trusted authority on data analytics, the association plays a critical role in helping practitioners and executives alike bridge the gap between data, insights, and action.”

Kshira Saagar, Senior Director, Data Science & Analytics, International, DoorDash

“IAPA has always been a fantastic organisation committed to getting analytics leaders a seat at the table. With all its awareness and educational work over the past few years, IAPA definitely has moved the needle in getting analytics leaders noticed in boardrooms and beyond. I’m quite excited to be a part of this journey and learn from the best, on how we can take analytics acceptance and actionability to the next level in Australia.” 

Kathryn Gulifa, Head of Data and Analytics, catch.com.au 

“I’m thrilled to continue my involvement in the IAPA Advisory Committee, an organisation that I turned to for guidance and advice when I first joined the analytics community more than a decade ago. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to shape and influence the evolution of our beloved industry, and ensure education and employment offerings are geared towards unlocking the value of our fellow professionals, while elevating the standing of analytics within organisations. In my focus area of Skills and Talent, I continued to be awed by the emerging capability and excited by the energy and new ways of thinking.”

Keegan O’Shea, Global Director of Behavioural Science, Afterpay

“Data is emerging as one of the greatest forces in business and technology. Being part of this community is very important to me; IAPA plays a key role in uplifting Australia's global reputation in the field as well as striving to increase industrial diversity and promoting the use of data for the common good.”

Trisca Scott-Branagan, Chief Marketing Officer, Australian Business Growth Fund.

“The important interconnectivity between marketing, digital and data is increasingly growing, with customer experience and analytics being a consistent thread between them all. IAPA plays an important role for the analytics community – connecting professionals while establishing standards of practice and education – so that businesses are better equipped to transform and embrace data-driven decisions.”

- ENDS – 

Notes to Editor:

• Headshots of all IAPA Advisory Committee members available.

About IAPA

IAPA (Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia) was established in 2004 to meet the professional, educational and networking needs of those in, what was then, a small niche area called analytics. Seventeen years later, IAPA is still the only dedicated analytics association in Australia. IAPA promotes the growing strategic role played by data analytics in the business arena. IAPA is committed to aiding executive understanding of analytics' role in business transformation and data-driven decision making; as well as developing recognition of analytics professionals in the wider business community. IAPA's community now includes over 6,500 professionals (and growing) from across the industry.