Sue O'Connor

Sue is uniquely placed as a recognised AI thought leader and an experienced and successful Chair and Director in the digital and critical infrastructure sectors. She is an authority on how boards and organisations can assess and use AI and technology to successfully deliver sustained growth in value creation. Sue the author of the recently published whitepaper “Pragmatic and Ethical AI Governance for the Australian Financial Services Industry”. Her board career has focussed on the data centre, critical infrastructure, financial services and environmental sectors.

Sue is currently President of Bush Heritage Australia and Midlands Conservation Partnership. Her recent board roles on unlisted and government organisations include Director of CDC Data Centres and Mercer Superannuation and Chair of Yarra Valley Water and Indara Digital Infrastructure. Sue brings to boards her deep expertise in managing large-scale customer-facing businesses with high community and regulator (APRA, ASIC, Austrac) expectations where new technology creates both opportunities and risks. She is passionate about boards taking a leading governance role to ensure the implementation of pragmatic and ethical AI to deliver superior shareholder and customer outcomes while maintaining robust governance and regulatory compliance. Her Oxford University AI qualification and practical board experience uniquely positions her to guide institutions through the AI transformation journey.

Her 30+ year executive leadership career in the technology sector included 13 years as a senior executive at Telstra Corporation. Sue holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, a Graduate of Diploma Business Management and University of Oxford Artificial Intelligence Program certificate. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Besides her passion for business, Sue has a matching creative side. She uses her photography to promote conversations about the environment and our connection to it.

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