CO-FOUNDERS

Professor Glenn Withers is a Distinguished Honorary Professor at the Australian National University and Visiting Professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra. His Harvard PHD was on the topic of human resources for defense. He has held appointments at Harvard University and Cambridge University, as well as ANU, and has consulted widely for governments and companies from the OECD and the North-West Shelf Consortium to the US Defense Department and the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In Australia. He has been head of the National Population Council and the Economic Planning Advisory Commission and helped to establish the Bureau of Labour Market Research, the Bureau of Immigration research, the Productivity Commission, Crawford School of Government and Universities Australia. He was awarded honors by the Australian government for developing the Australian Immigration Points System. He is immediate past President of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Council of Learned Academies. Currently, he is Chair of the Global Board of the Global Development Learning Network, a World Bank affiliate that operates in 60 countries. He has a wide range of publications in books, academic journals, government reports and consultancy reports, particularly focusing on education, skills, workforce and population issues.

Lisa Materano has vast experience in sourcing, comparing, and providing Executive and Practitioner Programs in Cyber Security, including for the Vietnamese Government from 2010.  Her career includes roles in the public sector as an Economist and Senior Researcher, and as a Lecturer in the field of economics within Australia and the Asia Pacific.  Following these roles, she then moved into business and education innovation and management, including amongst these activities a $26m project to establish a Technical College under the Australian Government, as well as significant federal and local government contracts for education and training, and a range of other contracts including with the Department of Defence, Qantas, ACT Government, NSW Government, The Australian National University, CBA, and AECOM Australia.  She embraces each of higher education, vocational education and workplace learning. She is Director of Blended Learning International Pty Ltd and a Director of Leadership Learning International Pty Ltd, and is also a Governing Committee member for the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) (World Bank) for the Asia Pacific.  Her formal qualifications include BEc, MEc, Dip Ed, DipTAA, CIVTAE.

Professor Greg Austin is a Professorial Fellow with the EastWest Institute based in New York, and a Professor of Cyber Security, Strategy and Diplomacy with the University of New South Wales Canberra. His academic career, including a Senior Visiting Fellowship in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, has included eight books on international security, as author or editor, and leadership of several international research projects. His service as a research leader for prominent global NGOs, such as the International Crisis Group and the EastWest Institute, has seen him work from Brussels and London with leading governments at Ministerial level (Russia, China, UK, India, United States, Turkey, Australia), major international organisations at leadership level (United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, R20 for Climate Action), and leading corporations (AT&T, BT, Perot Systems). He has consulted for the UK Cabinet Office, the UK Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the European Commission, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He began his career in Australian public service roles, including posts in Canberra and Hong Kong in defence intelligence, parliamentary committees, and ministerial staff.  Austin has a Ph D in international relations and a Master of International Law, both from the Australian National University.

Dinar Thalieb is an education and marketing professional currently working in the vocational education sector in Canberra, in which she focuses on the creation of innovative vocational training between Australia and the Asia Pacific, such as Indonesia, China, and Sri Lanka. Dinar has worked  at the Rector’s Office at the United Nations University in Tokyo, and the Australian National University in Canberra. Besides being selected as the 2010 Indonesian Youth Minister for Development for the Youth G20 Summit, Dinar was also selected as a Global Changemaker, and has various volunteering experiences in assimilation projects for migrants and refugees in Australia and education of entrepreneurial skills in Poland. Dinar has a Bachelor of Arts (Development Studies) and Master of Business (Graduated with Merit) from the Australian National University.

Kay Austin has served in senior executive roles in the civil service in Canberra in human resources. Her experience includes management roles in the Australian Signals Directorate, the British MIinistry of Defence,  the ACT government, Government House (office of the Governor General), and civil personnel in the Australian Department of Defence. She was a member of a review team for military retirement benefits. Kay held teaching roles in Hong Kong. She is a graduate of the Senior Women in Management Program of the Australian Public Service. Kay has a Bachelor or Arts and Diploma in Education.