Customer Fireside Chat and Q&A

Unlocking the Value of Automation with Ansible Automation Platform

Join us for an exclusive fireside chat featuring the Head of Infrastructure from a major Australian airport and the Head of Automation at a leading Australian telco, as they share real-world insights into the business impact of automation with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. This engaging discussion will explore how each organisation has approached automation, the key initiatives driving efficiency and scalability, and the challenges of securing executive buy-in for automation investments.

From streamlining network and infrastructure operations in a high-demand telco environment to enhancing resilience and service delivery in aviation, our speakers will discuss the measurable value and ROI of automation, lessons learned along the way, and their vision for the future of enterprise-wide automation. Don’t miss this chance to gain firsthand insights from industry leaders who are transforming operations with Ansible Automation Platform.

Red Hat Locknote

Mission Critical People Power

Mission critical automation is unlocked by people power. So, how do we ignite our teams to truly succeed? Red Hat’s Open Innovation Labs, backed by the full force of Red Hat Services, with our ecosystem of partners, can help you unite Business with Engineering, and win. Donna will wrap up the day with action steps to set you on your way.

Customer Automation Journey

Join us for an insightful session with Westpac, one of Australia's top four banks, as they discuss their journey from AWX to the Ansible Automation Platform (AAP). For years, Westpac relied on AWX to automate their infrastructure but did not initially see the value of moving to AAP. However, recent shifts in their approach, coupled with the value proposition of Red Hat's technology and strategic partnership, led them to modernise their automation strategy with AAP.

In this session, alongside the Ansible Sales Specialist, Westpac will share how their need for scalability, enterprise-level support, advanced features, and a collaborative Red Hat partnership drove their decision to migrate. We'll explore how Westpac is leveraging Red Hat's engineering-led engagement to build an "Automation as a Service" offering, supported by a Red Hat-led Community of Automation that is driving adoption, expansion, and skill development across the bank.

We’ll conclude with insights into the additional requirements for building an automation service, and how tools like DevSpaces and Ansible Lightspeed environment are enabling Westpac to create automation code faster and more reliably than ever before.
Don't miss this chance to learn how Westpac is transforming enterprise automation and driving innovation with Red Hat!

Customer Fireside Chat and Q&A

Unlocking the Value of Automation with Ansible Automation Platform

Join us for an exclusive fireside chat featuring IT leaders across Financial Services, Logistics and Telecommunications as they share real-world insights into the business impact of automation with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. This discussion will explore how they have approached automation, the key initiatives driving efficiency and scalability, and the challenges of securing executive buy-in for automation investments.

From streamlining network and infrastructure operations in a high-demand telco environment, enhancing resilience and service delivery in aviation, to ensuring compliance to critical APRA policy, our speakers will discuss the measurable value and ROI of automation, lessons learned along the way, and their vision for the future of enterprise-wide automation. Don’t miss this chance to gain firsthand insights from industry leaders who are transforming operations with Ansible Automation Platform.

Master of Ceremonies

Mark Carter is an international keynote speaker, trainer and coach. He has over 25 years experience as a global learning and development professional with his first role being developing leaders for Contiki Holidays.

His TEDx talk was the movie trailer for his second book, ‘Add Value’, published globally by WILEY. Mark is the creator of a learning management system for SME’s and a media contributor. He regularly consults businesses around critical business pillars including: culture, leadership, value, adaptability and sales. His keynotes and rich academy of training programs all have a common thread specialisation in people and behaviour Born in England, raised in Scotland, nurtured by Europe and several round world trips he’s called Australia home since 2002. Mangoes, after all, don’t grow in Edinburgh.

Vice President, APAC Technology Sales.

Vajira serves as the Vice President, Red Hat APAC Office of Technology. With a tenure of slightly over two years with Red Hat, he brings a strong career that has spanned across the United States, Europe, and Asia, accumulating over 30 years of invaluable industry experience.
In his current capacity, Vajira plays a pivotal role in shaping and implementing Red Hat's comprehensive Technology portfolio and strategic initiatives throughout APAC.

APAC Automation Platform Leader, Red Hat

Session Time: 12:35 PM - 01:05 PM
Charles McClelland, Technology Leader & Open Source Advocate

Bringing over two decades of experience in the US technology sector, he currently serve as the Technical Sales Leader for Red Hat's Automation Platform in the Asia Pacific Region. Chip believe Automation is the key to unlock the value of today’s emerging technologies such as cloud and cognitive.

Prior to his role at Red Hat, Chip held key positions at IBM, focusing on systems and cloud sales for government, defense, and large private sector clients. Charles diverse background includes military service, academia, and consumer packaged goods brand management, offering a comprehensive understanding of both business and technology.

Recently moved to Singapore where he enjoy outdoor activities such as mountain biking and actively contribute to the open-source community, particularly in the Internet of Things (IoT) domain.

Automation Sales Specialist, Red Hat

Session Time: 03:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Tertius Bouwer is an Automation Specialist for Red Hat, with expertise in automation leveraging Ansible technology, supporting the automation journeys of organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

Tertius has a keen focus on driving organizational growth and efficiency through automation. He harnesses the power of Ansible to streamline processes and optimise workflows for clients across diverse industries in Australia.

Having honed his skills over the past 20 years, Tertius possesses a deep understanding of how automation can revolutionise business operations, enabling companies to achieve their objectives with greater speed and precision.

Tertius combined technical acumen with a customer-centric approach, he excels in crafting tailored solutions that meet the unique needs of each client.

Senior Specialist Solution Architect, Automation

Session Time: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PM

Mina George is an Automation Specialist Solutions Architect at Red Hat with over 18 years of experience managing and automating infrastructure services in multi-cloud environments across the telecom, ICT, finance industries, and government sectors.

Mina has extensive hands-on experience in designing, implementing, and operating solutions using multiple products in the Red Hat portfolio, as well as non-Red Hat industry-leading technologies.

With a zero-touch automation mindset, Mina excels at evaluating organisational challenges, identifying potential process improvements, and designing solutions aligned with business growth and systems/workflow optimisation.

Director, Business Value Practice ANZ

Session Time: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PM

Rick Morar is a seasoned professional serving as the Director of Red Hat's Business Value Practice for Australia and New Zealand, and Community Lead (Asia) for our Business Value Community of Practice. Rick collaborates closely with our clients to help co-develop their business case for investment and value realisation.

Rick offers his vast experience to you. He has helped numerous organizations achieve their strategies with a focus on value. He's adept in both business and technology, with a track record spanning globally and various sectors including Public Sector, Financial Services, Telecommunications, Retail, and Manufacturing. His ability to comprehend the intricacies of various industries and tailor solutions to meet specific needs has consistently delivered significant results for his clients.

Rick has engaged actively with clients from notable organizations, including Spark NZ, Farmlands NZ, Hong Kong Telecom, Singtel Optus, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ Bank, Westpac, NAB, JP Morgan, Flight Centre Travel Group, Toyota Materials Handling Japan, Samsung, LG, Energy Australia, Woolworths, Coles, Tesla, Vertafore, PWC, Grant Thornton and numerous others across global industry sectors.

Rick holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Marketing) and an Associate Diploma of Engineering (Electrical/Electronics). Residing in Sydney, Australia, he is an avid road cyclist, a passionate photographer, and actively pursues self-development.

Rick also dedicates time to coaching and mentoring, showcasing his commitment to fostering growth and success in both personal and professional spheres.

Automation Sales Specialist

Session Time: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PM

Ron Tapia-Sealey serves as an Automation Specialist at Red Hat, with a primary focus on supporting the adoption of automation within organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

He has over 25 years of experience in enterprise technologies in the Telecommunications and Banking sectors, focusing on driving business outcomes through the strategic implementation of automation.

Drawing from his background as both a customer and a vendor, Ron brings a distinctive perspective to address the challenges encountered by organisations, thereby ensuring that clients derive value from impactful solutions that are tailored to their business objectives and contribute to the transformation of their operational processes.

Senior Solution Architect

Session Time: 03:45 PM - 04:15 PM

Stu has enjoyed a career at many Corporate/Enterprise, Vendor and Partner Organizations in a wide variety of roles - and has always maintained an eager and active interest in all things Automation and Platform LifeCycle Management.

His tenure at these organisations involved both solution design and technical leadership. But more importantly, the experience gained has provided the basis for a broad range of platform integration skill(s) and business and technology outcome disciplines that continue to support Customers and their journeys.

Principal Solution Architect

Session Time: 03:45 PM - 04:15 PM

Stan Kozlov is a Red Hat Associate Principal Solution Architect, specializing in enterprise and telecommunications solutions. He helps organizations design and implement robust, secure, and production-grade solutions leveraging Automation, Cloud-Native Development, and Artificial Intelligence. With a background in network engineering and software development, he has worked with Tier 1 and Tier 2 telecom companies worldwide.

Service Owner of Patterns Automation, Westpac

Session Time: 01:25 PM - 01:55 PM

Sean is the Service Owner of Patterns Automation at Westpac. He has over 25 years of IT experience and has spent the past 16 years at Westpac, including the last 7 years leading and driving the infrastructure automation transformation.

Senior Engagement Lead in the Open Innovation Labs, Red Hat

Session Time: 05:05 PM - 05:20 PM

Donna Benjamin is a Senior Engagement Lead in the Open Innovation Labs at Red Hat, and the Product Owner, and Maintainer of the Open Practice Library. Donna leads teams to succeed at delivering desired outcomes through the facilitation of open practices, and empowers people to take intentional steps toward their goals.

Head of Digital Infrastructure, Australian Payments Plus

Session Time: 03:35 PM - 04:05 PM

Bobby is the Head of Digital Infrastructure at Australian Payments Plus. He leads a team of engineers specialising in Infrastructure, Network, Database, Cloud, and DevSecOps, responsible for supporting Australia's major payment brands, including BPAY, Osko, Eftpos, and NPP.

With over 15 years of experience in the Australian payments industry, Bobby is highly skilled in managing critical payment rails that require high service level agreements (SLAs). He is a passionate advocate for implementing strategies that harness the full potential of cloud services, such as AWS, Azure, and GCP, to host the essential infrastructure needed for Australia’s real-time payment solution.

Principal Architect, Red Hat

Robby works in regional strategic architecture practice in the APAC office of technology at Red Hat. He is an experienced Hybrid Cloud consultant and IT expert with a track record of results in regulated Enterprises. He has over 21 years of experience in Banking and Wealth Management Technology. Robby helps clients realise their technology ambitions, guiding and supporting their journeys from heritage IT. Robby has a number of granted software patents - notably a novel method for the management of computing secrets, and methods to optimise container runtime behavior. 

Server Operations Team Leader, Sydney Airport

Session Time: 03:35 PM - 04:05 PM

Ramy leads the Server Infrastructure Team at Sydney Airport, bringing over a decade of experience across a wide range of IT roles. With a strong technical background and deep understanding of critical infrastructure, he excels at managing complex systems and driving operational excellence. Ramy is dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that enhance efficiency and support long term growth and is passionate about creating meaningful, impactful change.