Melbourne CIO Community
Executive Summit
10 November 2026 | Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne
10 November 2026
Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Melbourne's top CIOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CIOs today:
Lead Strategic Technology Alignment to Establish an AI Operating Model
Manage Costs Strategically to Maximize Business Value
Elevate Cybersecurity as a Core Driver of Business Value, Resilience and Growth
Melbourne CIO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CIOs, For CIOs®.
Governing Body Co-Chairs
Frank De Sa
Premier Retail
CIO
Tracey Evans
Virtus Health
CTO
Martha O'Sullivan
Wesfarmers Health
GM Technology
What to Expect
Interactive Sessions
Hear from CIO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.
Community Networking
Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Melbourne CIO community.
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.
Agenda
Executive Boardroom Sessions
Data Exposure in the AI Era — Governance, Trust, and Cost
Access is no longer the problem. Every AI tool can open a document or summarise an email. The problem is that access without governance produces outputs that are unreliable, indefensible, and dangerous in regulated environments. 80 to 90% of enterprise data is unstructured, yet only 26% of data leaders able to use it confidently. With regulators and boards demanding greater AI accountability, governance and chain of custody are becoming non-negotiable.
Join this interactive session to discuss:
- Closing the gap between AI accessing your data and producing defensible outcomes
- Why do governance and chain of custody matter more than access?
- Scaling AI across sensitive, unstructured data without creating regulatory exposure
Managing Costs Strategically Amid Rising Technology Complexity
With technology budgets under constant and investment priorities expanding, CIOs and CISOs face increasing pressure to deliver more value from every technology dollar. The challenge is no longer simply controlling costs, but making deliberate investment decisions that align spending with business priorities, optimise existing assets, and enable sustainable growth.
Join this session to explore:
- Leveraging continuous cost visibility, disciplined vendor management, and proactive resource allocation
- Building a culture of accountability and innovation to identify inefficiencies and reinvest savings in strategic initiatives
- Shifting the narrative from cost-cutting to value creation by linking technology spend directly to measurable business outcomes
Breakout Session
The CIO's New Mandate — Leading Transformation, Resilience and Growth
As organisations face accelerating technological change, shifting customer expectations, and growing operational complexity, transformation has become a continuous business imperative. Today's CIOs are increasingly accountable for driving change while strengthening resilience, managing risk, and enabling growth. How can technology and security leaders create lasting business value in an era of constant disruption?
Join this session to explore:
- Driving transformation as an organisational capability
- Balancing innovation and modernisation with operational resilience
- Aligning people, culture, and technology to accelerate change and deliver business value at scale
Apply to Participate
Each application is carefully vetted to ensure members meet established criteria, preserving the quality of the network and enabling meaningful, peer‑level discussions among leaders from the world’s leading organizations.
Once you submit your application, a Community Program Manager will schedule a conversation to understand your priorities and interests and complete onboarding, including access to year‑round community events.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Crown Conference Centre, MelbourneYour Community Sponsors
Global Thought Leaders
CISO Thought Leader
Key Sponsors
Program Sponsors
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.
