Dr Idris Sulaiman, Economist & Visiting Fellow, Australian National University

Idris is an economist specializing in energy efficiency particularly in relation to Info-Com Technology (ICT), sustainability and ICT for development. He has international working experience in research and project management with the private sector and in government-related work for several donor agencies. 

He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University (College of Engineering and Computer Science) conducting research on comparative green ICT diffusion in universities as well as on energy efficiency regulation and policies for ICT sustainability adoption.  Idris led the initial development of ComputersOff.ORG (now FFITS.ORG).

In addition Idris has worked with the Australia's Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (energy efficiency Branch) as economist and project manager implementing minimum energy efficiency standards and labeling in ICT equipment specifically computers and monitors as well authoring white papers on energy efficiency challenges facing ICT/computing equipment and data centers.

Idris is a member of the Australian Computer Society, the Australian Institute of Energy and the Australia-Indonesia Business Council (AIBC) of which he is Vice-Chair (ICT, sustainability and the environment) of the ACT Branch.

He is a graduate of the Australian National University (PhD-Economics and MEcD) and Macquarie University (MA-Dev.Studies and BA-Comp.Ec.Stats). He is also currently involved in Green ICT Advisory Committees with the ANU and ACS with a deep commitment towards local and global sustainable development.

Paul Harapin, Vice-President, VMWare Australia & New Zealand

Paul Harapin is the Vice President and Managing Director, VMware, Australia and New Zealand. Since he joined VMware in 2005, he built VMware in this region from a start-up to one of VMware’s fast growing organisations globally, with offices in all major capital cities.

Paul brings to the role vast experience in building and managing multi-million dollar IT corporations, spanning over 20 years across Asia and the USA. This includes the establishment of major Software vendor Tivoli Systems from start up through full integration with the IBM Corporation, and Micromuse, since also acquired by IBM. Paul also successfully started his own Network Managed Service Provider Company in Singapore, later growing into Australia.

He is a member of the Australian-American Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Paul is a member of the Australia Cambodia Foundation, a not for profit group assisting Australian supported Orphanages in Cambodia and is Chairman of Orphan Angels, a not for profit organisation which runs national Adoption Awareness Week, and whose mission it is to advocate and Lobby for Adoption and Forster Care reforms.  Paul is also on the Board of Green Kids Global (http://www.greenkidsglobal.org) working to provide sustainable futures for vulnerable children worldwide by developing ‘Eco Villages’ or self-sustaining communities.

Mary Hawkins, Principal, Green IT Solutions

Mary Hawkins brings both depth and breadth to Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and environmental sustainability. She has worked in the ICT industry for twenty years and has held many senior positions including the position of Head of Technology for environmental sustainability and community programs at ANZ. She has an MBA, B. Sc and Grad Dip Computing.

She believes that ICT will play a key role in an organization's commitment towards becoming carbon neutral and saving costs as long as energy efficiency strategies are incorporated into the overall technology strategy. She also holds positions on advisory panels for Sustainability Victoria’s investment fund, the Center for Organizational and Social Informatics at Monash University and ComputersOff.ORG as well as Board positions with Victorian ICT for Women, the International Women's Development Agency and Breast Screen Victoria.

Tom Worthington, Independent Consultant & Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Australian National University

Tom Worthington is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University College of Engineering and Computer Science, where he teaches web design, professional ethics, e-commerce and Green Information Technology.

Tom is author of several books, including Green Technology Strategies. His globally accredited e-learning course on Green IT is run by the Australian Computer Society, the Australian National University and Open Universities Australia.

Tom consults to government and industry on technology policy and has been an expert witness in several court cases involving international patent, computer and telecommunications issues. He is a past president, Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the Australian Computer Society, a voting member of the Association for Computing Machinery and  a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Robin Eckermann, Principal, Eckermann & Associates

Robin Eckermann discovered broadband in the early 90's and became convinced that the world sat at the threshold of a communications revolution that would transform the way in which people live and work. He has long been a passionate advocate for the socio-economic benefits offered by broadband. More recently, with climate change having come onto the radar as one of the most serious threats ever to face humanity, he has focused on opportunities to use ICT as a tool to reduce the carbon footprint of our modern lifestyles.

Robin's career in ICT spans 35 nearly 40 years. From 1996, he led the establishment of what became recognized as one of Australia's most advanced broadband initiatives - TransACT's fiber-to-the-kerb network - delivering triple play services (phone, video and data) to tens of thousands of users in Canberra since 2000. Much of his current professional work is associated with developing models for attracting investment into last-mile optical fiber infrastructure.

Robin is an Adjunct Professor in network & communications technologies, business models and project management at the University of Canberra. He is a popular and much sought after speaker on all matters relating to broadband.