Ko-Lab Series 2: A panel discussion on “Driving a customer-centric culture through DevSecOps: balancing speed, security & reliability”

After the sell out success of our first event, the Ko-Lab Series returns! Ko-Lab Series 2: A panel discussion on all things DevSecOps where we'll discuss: 

🎯 “Driving a customer-centric culture through DevSecOps: balancing speed, security & reliability”

Details 🚨

Join us at CommBank's Axle office in South Eveleigh where you'll:

💛 Network & make new connections with likeminded people who share a passion for tech🤝

💛 Hear from industry experts about important topics across DevSecOps  ☁️

💛 Witness how impressive the CommBank Tech Hub is 🤩

💛 Enjoy free food & drinks whilst raising money for charity 🍻🍕

As always 💯% of ticket proceeds will be donated to charity.

This time we're supporting Tour De Cure. A charity that is dedicated to helping find a cure for Cancer. With your support, they’ll continue raising money to fund the boldest research, the widest-reaching cancer prevention campaigns, and the support programs that make a real difference. 💪🏽

Our all-star panel ⭐️

🎤 Brendan Hopper - CIO for Technology - Commonwealth Bank

Brendan Hopper is the Chief Information Officer for Technology, Distinguished Engineer and is the Group Head of Engineering at CommBank. He has spent the past decade building the bank’s cyber security and digital assurance processes and credentials, including education and protection. Brendan is also part of the faculty at UNSW’s School of Engineering and Computer Science and sits on the Industry Advisory Board of Computer Science and Engineering. 

He is the co-founder of SECedu, a partnership between UNSW and CommBank that trains the next generation of cyber security professionals and is an Independent Director of the Future Skills Organisation.

🎤 Helen Lau - GM Engineering Platform - Commonwealth Bank

Helen is leading the engineering technology team in Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Helen has over seventeen years of experience in the IT industry with a technical consulting, software engineering, architecture and management background. She enjoys working with business and technical people, learning new things from others and mentoring the next generation of engineers.

Prior to joining CBA, Helen was the Strategic Client Technology Lead in Microsoft, where she managed the largest Azure account in the country and was responsible for driving cloud adoption, digital transformation, sustainability implementation, and application modernisation.

She was formerly the Head of Digital in Caltex / Ampol Australia, leading the Innovation Lab (C-lab) responsible for Digital, Software Development, Big Data and Productivity applications overseeing a large team of UX/UI designers, engineers, testers, scrum masters, product owners and engineering managers.

Helen graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with honours in Software Engineering and Finance. 

Happily married with two daughters, Helen loves staying active, spending time with her family and is an avid reader.

🎤 Al Sheeran - Enterprise Cloud Transformation Strategy & Execution - AWS & Microsoft

Al Sheehan is a distinguished expert specialising in leading Cloud Operating Model Transformations for major customers in the Financial Services Industry and Government sectors. Al has pursued these endeavours whilst working with both Microsoft and AWS, where he developed deep ties with engineering teams in both companies. This dual exposure has enriched his perspective and allowed him to bridge the gap between leading cloud providers and their major customers.

With a proven track record of delivering transformative results and a deep commitment to advancing the field of DevSecOps, Al is well positioned to provide valuable insights and guidance on the future of secure, efficient cloud operations.

🎤 Rajini Carpenter - CTO - Before Pay

Rajini Carpenter, as the CTO of Beforepay, shapes the future of ethical lending with her strategic oversight of IT, security, Data and engineering functions. She leads a compact, high-impact team at Beforepay, an organization that stands out for its commitment to transparent lending, 4.9 star app rating from customers, utilises AI and machine learning for risk assessment efficiently driving customer and business outcomes. 

Previous to Beforepay, Rajini spearheaded the engineering team at Deputy as VP of Engineering. Whilst at Deputy the tech team doubled to 100+ engineers and so did scaling of the distributed systems across the globe. Deputy reached a valuation of $1.1B recently adding to the 15th unicorn status in Australia. Rajini also spent 24 years in Fintech in various high profile banks such as CBA, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and ANZ. 

🎤 Nick Williams - Principal Engineer - Equal Experts

Nick is a principal engineer and consultant with delivery experience across the UK, Europe and Australia. He has led a variety of complex projects, ranging from embedded systems in the warehousing and logistics industry, to the design and development of the UK government's largest data platform. 

In recent years, Nick has held a mixture of platform lead and architect consultancy roles with the aim of enabling teams to focus on delivering on user-centred design, whilst maintaining the right security posture and ensuring the overall alignment of technology at scale. By evangelising DevSecOps practices and implementing tools and techniques such as Digital Platforms, Secure-by-design, TDD, continuous delivery, service catalogues, SBOMs, amongst others, Nick has helped a diverse range of clients achieve greater throughput, improve their operational efficiency, and create more effective and scalable security practices.

Moderated by.....🥁

Alejandro Sanchez Giraldo-  - Head of Quality Engineering & Observability - DevOps1 

Alejandro brings over 15 years of extensive experience in the tech industry, specialising in quality assurance, DevOps, and observability. His career spans diverse sectors, including both enterprise and startup environments. Alejandro is dedicated to enhancing engineering practices within organisations and empowering teams to elevate their engineering standards. He is a strong advocate for collaboration, believing in the power of teamwork to drive excellence and efficiency.

Throughout his career, Alejandro has navigated various roles and industries, gaining invaluable insights along the way. His guiding principle is fostering teamwork and collective growth. By building strong community connections and promoting collaboration among internal and external stakeholders, Alejandro believes organizations can cultivate a culture of engineering excellence. 

Important Info 

You'll need a valid NSW Photo ID to show on entry to the CommBank Offices. Please register for your ticket using your legal name as the concierge will cross check against your ID.

If you’re purchasing multiple tickets, please add each attendee’s legal name in the form and ask them to bring along their photo ID to show on entry. 

Please arrive 15-30 minutes early to allow time to get into the building and enjoy a drink before we kick off at 5:30pm. See you there!