IAPA expands Advisory Committee with Australian Analytics Leaders

Additional analytics, data science and AI clout to guide association

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.