Melbourne Business Analytics Conference
Wednesday 2 August 2023 The Grand Hyatt Melbourne Leading The Way: Navigating Data and Digital Transformation in the Age of AI & Automation
Melbourne Business School’s Premier Business Analytics Conference
In today's age of AI and automation, businesses must embrace data and digital transformation to stay competitive. This requires a strong understanding of the latest technologies, trends and applications, as well as the ability to navigate the ethical and societal implications.
The 2023 iteration of Melbourne's premier Business Analytics Conference will centre around the theme of 'Leading the way: Navigating Data and Digital Transformation in the Age of AI & Automation'. Esteemed analytics academics, executives, and practitioners from across the globe will present to over 600 board members, senior executives, and industry professionals during this one-day event.
The conference aims to help Australian businesses gain a distinctive advantage by harnessing the trilingual insights of business, technology, and mathematics. Attendees can expect to learn about the latest business applications in Machine Learning, AI and advanced Data Analytics. We invite you to join us at the Grand Hyatt on 2 August 2023.
Speakers
Executive Director,
Melbourne Connect
Research Professor, Language Technologies
Carnegie Mellon University
Global Head of Data and On-Platform Distribution
BBC Storyworks | BBC News International Commercial (UK)
Executive Dean, School of Computing Technologies
RMIT University
Director
Centre for Business Analytics and Professor of Operations Management
Melbourne Business School
Director Centre for Sustainability and Business and Professor of Business Strategy
Melbourne Business School
Executive Director, Centre for Business Analytics
Melbourne Business School
Associate Professor
School of Computing and Information Systems
University of Melbourne
Analytics Strategy and Projects Manager
L'Oréal Australia and New Zealand
Senior Executive - Privacy & Regulatory Affairs Legal, Governance and Compliance
MEDIBANK GROUP
Past Speakers

Ryan Oliver
Senior Director
Twitter Next

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin
CEO
Optus

Professor Sinan Aral
David Austin Professor of Management, IT & Marketing
MIT, Sloan School of Management

Christelle Young
Chief Strategy & Analytics Officer
L'Oréal

Professor Raghu Iyengar
Professor of Marketing
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

Lisa Ronson
Chief Marketing Officer
Coles Group

Jordan Sweetnam
Senior Vice President and General Manager Americas
eBay

Professor Oded Netzer
Professor of Marketing
Columbia Business School

David Koczkar
Chief Executive Officer
Medibank

Professor Christine Kilpatrick AO
Chief Executive Officer
Royal Melbourne Hospital

Anil Sabharwal
Vice President, Product Management
Google

Wendy Stops
Non Executive Director
Blackmores, Coles Group, Fitted For Work

Professor Harikesh Nair
Professor of Marketing
Stanford University

Jessica Richmond
General Manager, Marketing, Data & Insights
Officeworks

Dr Phillip Lowe
Governor
Reserve Bank of Australia

Professor Steve Tadelis
Sarin Chair Leadership & Strategy
UC Berkeley (Haas)

Peter Sauerborn
Former General Manager
Amazon Marketplace

Dr Kendra Vant
Executive General Manager, Data
Xero

Glenn King
Chief Executive Officer
Property Exchange Australia Ltd (PEXA)

Lisa Buckingham
Deputy Secretary
Jobs Victoria, Secure Work and Inclusion Group in the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions
The Centre for Business Analytics Practice Prize
Established in 2022, the Centre for Business Analytics Practice Prize recognises the best applications of advanced analytics that have resulted in significant and measurable organisational impact with a $10,000 honorarium.
The work must be analytically sound, innovative (either in terms of a new methodology or application in a new problem context), and appropriate to the problem and organization. The work is also expected to provide evidence of verifiable and quantifiable impact on the organisation’s performance. The implementation of the work should be completed within the three-year period prior to the year of the competition.
The competition welcomes successful advanced analytics applications in business, government, healthcare, education, and non-profit.
Finalists 2023



Judging Panel
The judging panel for the Melbourne Business School’s Centre for Business Analytics Practice Prize includes industry leaders and prominent scholars.

Tava Olsen
DEPUTY DEAN, ACADEMIC, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Dr Jenny George
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CONVERGE INTERNATIONAL

Prof. Nicos Savva
PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS; CHAIR, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS FACULTY, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL

Natalie Field
CHIEF DIGITAL AND DATA OFFICER, BUPA

George Saoud
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF EMERGING BUSINESSES, COLES

Prof. Huseyin Topaloglu
HOWARD AND ELEANOR MORGAN PROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING, CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Previous Practice Prize Winners
In 2022, the inaugural Practice Prize was awarded to Suncorp (pictured) for its use of geospatial data to inform the way property insurance risk is assessed and priced.
Venue
Grand Hyatt Melbourne
123 Collins Street, Melbourne
A Melbourne icon, the Grand Hyatt is located in the heart of the city along the prestigious Parris end of Collins Street surrounded by the city’s high fashion and fine dining.
Hotel Policies
Click here to view all hotel policies.
Getting to Grand Hyatt Melbourne
Click here to view map, parking and transportation information.
Conference Agendas
Track 1 - Leading the Way: Navigating Data and Digital Transformation
9.00am - 9.15am
Welcome
Acknowledgement of Country & Conference Welcome: Professor Yalçın Akçay
Director, Centre for Business Analytics & Professor of Operations Management, Melbourne Business School
Conference Opening: Professor Ian Harper AO
Dean, Melbourne Business School
9.15am - 9.30am
Opening Keynote
AI is only as good as we lead it
Stela Solar – Director, National AI Centre – CSIRO
9.30am - 10.00am (Session 1)
Rodrigo Pizarro
Chief Executive Officer,
L’Oréal ANZ
10.00am - 10.30am (Session 2)
Sarah Hunter
CEO & Managing Director,
Officeworks
In this session, Officeworks Managing Director Sarah Hunter will be sharing the retailer’s journey to use data, insights, and analytics to create an even more relevant and rewarding customer experience. Through strategic investment in modern data systems, these analytical insights are contributing to Officeworks making bigger things happen in supporting Australia to work, learn, create and connect.
10.30am - 11.00am (Session 3)
Data Driven Storytelling – Crafting Compelling Narratives with Numbers
Harleen Thethy
Global Head of Data and On-Platform
Distribution at BBC Storyworks,
BBC News International Commercial (UK)
Uncovering key insights is one skill, and communicating them is another; we’ll explore the art of storytelling and crafting together fact with creativity to tell a story with data that captures the audiences attention, and allows you to guide the core messaging behind your data.
11.00am - 11.30am
Morning Tea
11.30am - 12.35pm (Session 4 & 5)
Navigating the Generative Frontier: The Evolution of Decision Making in the Age of AI
Moderator: Professor Yalcin Akcay – Director, Centre for Business Analytics & Professor of Operations Management
Melbourne Business School
Professor Yalçın Akçay
Director, Centre for Business Analytics & Professor of Operations,
Melbourne Business School
Dr. Amina Crooks
Director, Customer Strategy and Design,
Deloitte
Professor Eduard Hovy
Research Professor, Language Technologies Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University & Executive Director, Melbourne Connect
Associate Professor Toby Murray
School of Computing and Information Systems,
University of Melbourne
Rowena Westphalen
Senior Vice President, Solution & Customer Advisory,
Salesforce
Join us for an insightful panel exploring the profound impact of generative AI on decision making within businesses. This panel brings together esteemed academics with expertise in AI and cybersecurity, alongside senior business leaders, to shed light on the challenges and opportunities presented by this transformative technology. Gain valuable insights into the implications of generative AI and discover how businesses can navigate its complexities to make informed decisions in an evolving digital landscape.
12.35pm - 1.30pm
Lunch
1.30pm - 2.00pm (Session 6)
Driving Innovation in Retail: Exploring the Impact of Generative AI
Professor Yalçın Akçay
Director, Centre for Business Analytics & Professor of Operations,
Melbourne Business School
We will delve into the profound impact of generative AI on driving innovation within the retail industry. By exploring the limitless possibilities that generative AI offers to reshape the future of retail, we will uncover the transformative potential of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies in revolutionizing customer experiences, driving personalized marketing strategies, and improving the supply chain.
2.05pm - 2.35pm (Session 7)
Advancing AI for a More Connected World
Naomi Shepherd
Group Industry Director,
Meta
2.40pm - 3.10pm (Session 8)
How Digital is Shaping Everyday Experiences in Grocery
Ben Hassing
Chief Digital Officer,
Coles
Digital technologies have redefined the way we shop - what were once physical storefronts, now offer personalised and convenient experiences, anywhere, anytime, and anyhow. Ben will outline how Coles is exploring omni-channel strategies and innovations, as it shapes the future of grocery.
3.10pm - 3.40pm
Afternoon Team
3.40pm - 4.10pm (Session 9)
Marvel Stadium and Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology
Rob Pickering
General Manager, Technology,
AFL
Marvel Stadium has a vision of being the most technologically advanced stadium in the Southern Hemisphere with a key pillar of this vision being fan experiences underpinned by technology.
The AFL as owners of Marvel Stadium working with Amazon have brought Just Walk Out technology as a first to the Southern Hemisphere, unlocking fans abilities to get their food and drink in as little as a goal break (45 seconds) removing all the friction in a typical concession experience by leveraging the latest in computer vision, machine learning and camera technology.
4.15pm - 4.45pm (Session 10)
Using AI and ML to Change the Way the World Experiences Property
Melina Cruickshank
Chief Product and Audience Officer,
REA Group
REA Group Chief Product and Audience Officer, Melina Cruickshank will share insight into how Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning power market leading experiences on realestate.com.au and drive the accuracy of Australia’s number one property valuation, realEstimate. While new technologies continue to change the way in which Australians buy, rent, and sell property, Melina will discuss how REA Group's brands, such as PropTrack, were built on innovation, and how the core principles of brand equity and trust remain unchanged in the face of new AI advancements.
4.50pm - 5.20pm (Session 11)
Data and Transparency: Keys to a Sustainable World
Dr. Stephen Brobst
Global Chief Technology Officer,
Teradata
Creating a sustainable society requires data for measuring KPIs related to consumption and regeneration of resources. Making these measurements transparent through use of open data sets and then leveraging AI/ML to optimize sustainability outcomes is critical for long-term preservation of humanity. The capture of detailed data through use of sensor devices with real-time streaming and automated decision-making enables scalable deployment of “smart” technologies to preserve essential resources.
- Learn about the application of best practices in activity-based costing for the purposes of measuring KPIs to drive a sustainable society.
- Learn about the importance of transparency and open data sets to drive continuous improvement toward a sustainable society.
- Learn about the use of AI/ML techniques to optimize outcomes while considering long-term environmental impacts.
5.20pm - 6.30pm
Practice Prize Presentations & Award Ceremony and Networking Event
Track 2 - AI & Machine Learning - Applications and Implications
11.30am - 12.00pm (Session 4, 30 minutes)
Business Optimisation Showcase
Dave Scerri
CEO,
Biarri Optimisation
Practical and usable solutions to real world business problems often require the application of cross-discipline techniques. In this presentation, you will hear about how approaches from both machine learning and optimisation have been combined to unlock efficiencies in the supply chain and retail industries.
12.05pm - 12.35pm (Session 5, 30 minutes)
What does Diversity & Inclusion have to do with Artificial Intelligence?
Professor Karin Verspoor
Executive Dean, School of Computing Technologies,
RMIT University
This talk explores the proposition: "We must put Diversity & Inclusion into focus when designing, developing, and deploying AI applications." I argue that we must consider who our data represents, what assumptions are embodied in our data sets and our models, the contexts in which models will be used, and how these factors impact the creation and use of AI.
12.35pm - 1.30pm
Lunch
1.30pm - 2.15pm (45 minutes)
Data Ethics – Principles for success
Moderator: Phil Noble - Founder and Managing Director, Strategic Project Partners
Phil Noble
Founder and Managing Director,
Strategic Project Partners
Owen Zhang
Acting Director Data and Soutions,
Ambulance Victoria
Joseph Correnza
Principal & Design Director,
Arup
Melissa Monks
Senior Executive – Privacy & Regulatory Affairs,
Medibank Group
To successfully navigate the ethics minefield, the support of the whole organisation needs to be enlisted. How are larger organisations tackling this problem? In this segment, Phil Noble will share an approach to establishing a set of organisation-wide principles for handling data-ethics issues. An experienced senior panel will then discuss the challenges faced, opportunities for change, and the hurdles they seek to overcome.
2.25pm - 3.10pm (45 minutes)
Leveraging the Power of Data in Sport
Elisa Koch
Head of Data & Analytics,
AFL
Penny Privett
Data Visualisation Lead,
AFL
This session will feature AFL's journey to build a data and analytics capability for the AFL and all 18 Clubs. This will include key focus areas for the AFL and how data is enabling those strategies, including an interactive dashboard demo.
3.10pm - 3.40pm
Afternoon Team
3.40pm - 4.10pm (Session 9)
# Building High Performance Data Science Teams that Leverage Generative AI (30 minutes)
Dr. Leo Lopes
Head of Data Science,
SEEK
What changes and what doesn’t in Data Science teams with the recent improvements to language models? How do they affect your team’s structure? How should you think of how you add value as an individual contributor and as a manager? We’ll synthesise the emerging trends within a bit of longer-term context.
4.15pm - 5.20pm (Session 10 & 11)
2023 Practice Prize Finalist Presentations
Professor Yalçın Akçay
Director, Centre for Business Analytics & Professor of Operations Management Melbourne Business School
Automated Scheduling and Routing of Road Network Maintenance
David Ming
Data & Anlytics Manager - Optimisation,
Downer Group
Elton Shi
Strategic Improvements Analyst - Optimisation,
Downer Group
Project Oracle ML Demand Forecasting for L’Oréal E- Boutiques
Louise Turner
Analytics Strategy & Projects Manager (Operations),
L'Oréal ANZ
Pathways to Homelessness
Hugh Miller
Principal,
Taylor Fry
Laura Dixie
Director,
Taylor Fry
The winning submission will be awarded an honorarium of $10,000 AUD.
5.20pm - 6.30pm
Practice Prize Presentations & Award Ceremony and Networking Event
Track 3 - Future Technologies Masterclasses
11.30am - 12.00pm (Session 4, 30 minutes)
CDO Masterclass: Addressing AI Risks – Practical Steps to Manage Disruption
Dr. Jonathan Cohen
Principal,
Taylor Fry
With rapid changes in AI technologies and new regulations coming here and abroad, many executives are planning for new challenges with governing AI systems. However, nearly all organisations have already deployed AI systems in some form or other. Further, relevant legislation is already applicable and general enterprise risk management frameworks are in place.
In this masterclass, learn from experts at a leading analytics and actuarial consulting firm how to:
- Understand your obligations from current laws and regulations, and what’s coming next,
- Assess your existing risk management frameworks and related policies in the world of algorithms and AI,
- Develop a roadmap for implementing AI Governance,
- Frame discussions about AI risks with your Board and other stakeholders.
12.05pm - 12.35pm (Session 5, 30 minutes)
CDO Masterclass: Transforming Business Engagement with Data Analytics Teams
Sandra Hogan
Co-Founder,
Amperfii
Jeremy Hooi
Co-Founder,
Amperfii
There is much to be gained with the coming age of AI and its many benefits to people and organisations. However, to optimise the benefits we need to collaborate across more teams, more than ever. This presentation will look at approaches that can improve business confidence and satisfaction with your Data Analytics program as you collaborate to deliver AI products within your organisation. We will explore ways to promote engagement with stakeholders, how change management plays a role and how to leverage a product management mindset to transform business outcomes.
12.35pm - 1.30pm
Lunch
1.30pm - 2.15pm (45 minutes)
Data Scientist Masterclass hosted by Microsoft:
Generative AI - 5 Myths and 3 Use cases
David Baker
Technology Strategist,
Microsoft
Alister Lee
Data and AI Solution Specialist,
Microsoft
With all of the hype around Generative AI (ChatGPT) in this session we will explore the impacts through the use of demonstrations and hands-on use cases. We will review some common myths and get hands-on to learn why spoken language will become the programming language of the 21st century.
2.25pm - 3.10pm (45 minutes)
Accelerate AI applications using NVIDIA GPUs and AI software
Dr. Maggie Zhang
Senior Solutions Architect & Engineer AI,
NVIDIA
Accelerating AI applications demands great computational resources when datasets increase in size and models increase in complexity. This talk will demystify deep learning training and inference using neural networks, as well as introduce NVIDIA’s latest GPU architecture and AI software stack to help you maximize the performance of your AI workloads on GPUs. We will also share some success stories to show you how customers successfully accelerated their AI workloads using GPUs in different domains such as healthcare, financial services, speech and natural language processing, and so on.
3.10pm - 3.40pm
Afternoon Team
5.20pm - 6.30pm
Practice Prize Presentations & Award Ceremony and Networking Event