Sami Yalavac
Bupa Health Services
Interim managing director, chief information officer, Asia-Pacific
CIO50
CIO50 2022
CIO50: Australia’s most innovative CIOs
CIO50 2022
-
1
-
2 
Jason Blackman
Carsales
Chief information officer
-
3 
Greg Wells
NSW Government
Chief information and digital officer
-
4 
Richard Taggart
Sydney Local Heath District
Executive director, digital health and innovation (CIO)
-
5 
Naren Gangavarapu
Northern Beaches Council
Chief information and digital officer
-
6 
Farhoud Salimi
eHealth NSW
Executive director, service delivery (CTO)
-
7 
Warren Prentice
Department of Health Tasmania
Chief information officer
-
8 
Ben Ftizgerald
Tennis Australia
Chief technology officer
-
9 
Richard Dean
amaysim
Chief technology officer
-
10 
Richard Hilliard
My Plan Manager
Chief technology officer
-
11 
Katherine McDermott
Service NSW
Chief product officer
-
12 
Rob Pickering
AFL
General manager of technology and chief technology officer
-
13 
Richard Exton
Aware Super
Chief technology officer
-
14 
Alan Pritchard
Austin Health
Director ICT services
-
15 
Brett Wilson
Australian Red Cross
Chief information officer
-
16 
Sam Charmand
Qantas
Group chief information officer
-
17 
Raul Caceres
Canteen
General manager, data and technology
-
18 
Maria Paz
Villa Maria Catholic Homes
Chief information officer
-
19 
Will Everitt
Seven West Media
Director product solutions
-
20 
Jorge Silveira
Virtus Health
Chief digital health officer
-
21 
Mary-Beth Hosking
PointsBet
Chief information officer
-
22 
Adam Carthew
Service Victoria
Chief information officer
-
23 
Popy Bernardo
YHA Australia
Chief information officer
-
24 
Jason Cowie
Curtin University
Chief information officer
-
25 
Kate Romanova
Greyhound Racing Victoria
Chief information officer
26 - 50 (In alphabetical order)
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Scott Andrews
Inchcape PLC
Former group digital transformation director
-
Clive Bortz
Arup
Region chief information officer, Australasia and East Asia
-
Joshua Bovell
Perenti
Chief information officer
-
Jack Broughton
King Living
Chief information officer
-
Michael Ciavarella
A&S Labels
Chief technology officer
-
John Danson
NSW Rural Fire Service
Chief information officer
-
Vaughan Dixon
hummgroup
Chief information officer
-
Suzanne Hall
Jewish Care Victoria
Head of IT
-
Steve Hodgkinson
Victoria Police
Chief digital officer
-
David Hogarth
Virgin Australia
Chief information officer
-
Paul Joseph
RSM
Chief information officer and director of operations
-
Dan Kerr
Fremantle Ports
Chief information officer
-
Christian McGilloway
Ilume
Chief technology officer
-
Anthony Molinia
University of Newcastle
Chief digital officer
-
Steve Orleow
Guzman Y Gomez
Chief technology officer
-
Annelle Paemaa
Mulpha Australia
General manager, IT and business systems
-
Nathan Pilgrim
Gallagher Bassett Australia
Chief information, product and strategy officer
-
Jennifer Rebeiro
Greater Western Water
Chief information officer
-
James Robins
Peoplecare
Chief information and digital officer
-
Johnny Serrano
GroundProbe
Chief digital officer
-
Chris Seysener
Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator
Chief information officer
-
Noel Toal
DPV Health
Chief information officer
-
Andrew Todd
Iress
Chief technology officer
-
Raju Varanasi
Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta
Chief information officer and director, data intelligence
-
Alexander Young
Christadelphian Aged Care
Head of technology
Best Projects 2022
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Northern Beaches Council
Northern Beaches Council
-
Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta
Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta
-
Sydney Local Health District
Sydney Local Health District
1 |
Sami Yalavac | Interim managing director, chief information officer, Asia-Pacific | Bupa Health Services |
2 |
Jason Blackman | Chief information officer | Carsales |
3 |
Greg Wells | Chief information and digital officer | NSW Government |
4 |
Richard Taggart | Executive director, digital health and innovation (CIO) | Sydney Local Heath District |
5 |
Naren Gangavarapu | Chief information and digital officer | Northern Beaches Council |
6 |
Farhoud Salimi | Executive director, service delivery (CTO) | eHealth NSW |
7 |
Warren Prentice | Chief information officer | Department of Health Tasmania |
8 |
Ben Ftizgerald | Chief technology officer | Tennis Australia |
9 |
Richard Dean | Chief technology officer | amaysim |
10 |
Richard Hilliard | Chief technology officer | My Plan Manager |
11 |
Katherine McDermott | Chief product officer | Service NSW |
12 |
Rob Pickering | General manager of technology and chief technology officer | AFL |
13 |
Richard Exton | Chief technology officer | Aware Super |
14 |
Alan Pritchard | Director ICT services | Austin Health |
15 |
Brett Wilson | Chief information officer | Australian Red Cross |
16 |
Sam Charmand | Group chief information officer | Qantas |
17 |
Raul Caceres | General manager, data and technology | Canteen |
18 |
Maria Paz | Chief information officer | Villa Maria Catholic Homes |
19 |
Will Everitt | Director product solutions | Seven West Media |
20 |
Jorge Silveira | Chief digital health officer | Virtus Health |
21 |
Mary-Beth Hosking | Chief information officer | PointsBet |
22 |
Adam Carthew | Chief information officer | Service Victoria |
23 |
Popy Bernardo | Chief information officer | YHA Australia |
24 |
Jason Cowie | Chief information officer | Curtin University |
25 |
Kate Romanova | Chief information officer | Greyhound Racing Victoria |
26 - 50 (In alphabetical order)
| Scott Andrews | Former group digital transformation director | Inchcape PLC |
| Clive Bortz | Region chief information officer, Australasia and East Asia | Arup |
| Joshua Bovell | Chief information officer | Perenti |
| Jack Broughton | Chief information officer | King Living |
| Michael Ciavarella | Chief technology officer | A&S Labels |
| John Danson | Chief information officer | NSW Rural Fire Service |
| Vaughan Dixon | Chief information officer | hummgroup |
| Suzanne Hall | Head of IT | Jewish Care Victoria |
| Steve Hodgkinson | Chief digital officer | Victoria Police |
| David Hogarth | Chief information officer | Virgin Australia |
| Paul Joseph | Chief information officer and director of operations | RSM |
| Dan Kerr | Chief information officer | Fremantle Ports |
| Christian McGilloway | Chief technology officer | Ilume |
| Anthony Molinia | Chief digital officer | University of Newcastle |
| Steve Orleow | Chief technology officer | Guzman Y Gomez |
| Annelle Paemaa | General manager, IT and business systems | Mulpha Australia |
| Nathan Pilgrim | Chief information, product and strategy officer | Gallagher Bassett Australia |
| Jennifer Rebeiro | Chief information officer | Greater Western Water |
| James Robins | Chief information and digital officer | Peoplecare |
| Johnny Serrano | Chief digital officer | GroundProbe |
| Chris Seysener | Chief information officer | Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator |
| Noel Toal | Chief information officer | DPV Health |
| Andrew Todd | Chief technology officer | Iress |
| Raju Varanasi | Chief information officer and director, data intelligence | Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta |
| Alexander Young | Head of technology | Christadelphian Aged Care |
Best Projects 2022
| Northern Beaches Council | Northern Beaches Council | |
| Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta | Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta | |
| Sydney Local Health District | Sydney Local Health District |
CIO50 Hall of Fame
Steve Hodgkinson
After seven successful years celebrating the achievements of Australia’s top technology leaders, CIO Australia is proud to launch the ‘CIO50 Hall of Fame’ to recognise those that have demonstrated an enduring commitment - and strong track record of success – in delivering digital innovation and executive leadership.
This year we welcomed Dr Steve Hodgkinson, chief digital officer with Victoria Police as our inaugural inductee, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a technology leader in the Victorian public sector, which saw him place in the top 10 of the CIO50 six years in a row, last year ascending for the second time to the number two slot.
Formerly CIO with Victoria's Health and Human Services departments and the recently rebranded departments of Health (DoH) and of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), Hodgkinson is credited with introducing an innovative platform+agile approach to modernise application development in large government agencies slowed by deeply embedded 'waterfall' processes for IT deployments.
This enabled his team to deliver a sustained transformation journey comprising more than a hundred projects over his tenure, without the dramas and project failures that are common in public sector agencies.
Hodgkinson tells CIO that the Hall of Fame is a fitting new addition to the CI050 program, recognising those technology leaders who have delivered innovative outcomes year-on-year and hung in for the long haul, as opposed to churning to a new job every few years - as is increasingly common nowadays.
“What probably pleases me the most about there now being a CIO Hall of Fame is we now have formal recognition of CIOs that achieve both innovative outcomes and longevity of tenure in the industry.”
Hodgkinson paid tribute to this year's CIO50 winner, Bupa’s Sami Yalavac, who he has “watched come up through the ranks year after year”.
“It's relatively easy to 'pull one out of the hat' when you're lucky enough to get a big lick of money or organisational circumstances that enable you to make things happen quickly,” he notes.
But the fact is that a lot of CIOs don't last long in their roles.
“Guiding digital transformation in large complex organisations is about getting the right people in the right places at the right time; establishing new ways of working across multiple disciplines; building connections and trusted relationships; and delivering consistent results. It takes time.”
In his 2022 CIO50 nomination, Hodgkinson explains how he is now bringing his knowledge and expertise in managing agile projects to Victoria Police, the largest law enforcement agency in Australia.
Currently he's working with his team to mobilise various programs of work to a “high cadence”, using cloud and repeatable processes as part of the broader strategy to fully modernise the mega agency.
“Vic Police is widely regarded as a challenging environment, especially with regard to IT,” Hodgkinson says.
“It really is the ultimate challenge and it's a long game”.
