Board of Management

Peter Cross - Chairman

Peter Cross has been involved in IT for 20 years including a distinguished period as the Business Development Manager for itSMFA.  Peter is now CEO of EXIN Australia the examining body for ITIL.  This challenging role draws on his experience as a General Manager as well as his many years in ITSM consulting and Project Management.

As the chair his portfolio includes all governance and risk issues as well as providing the strategic direction and leadership.

Peter joined itSMFA because he is passionate about the difference this organisation can make to the ITSM professsion in Australia.  He sees the contribution that can be made through a grass roots forum which is owned and run by its members is enormous.   

peter.cross@itsmf.org.au

Harry Powell - Deputy Chair

Harry moved to EDS in 1996 from the South Australian Government, where he was Manager of IT Infrastructure for the Department of Treasury and Finance. He became the Team Leader for the Justice portfolio in 1997 and then Manager in 1998. He has also performed the role of Service Delivery leader on the GMH Account in 1997, participated in the transition of the Ericsson account in 2000 and was a member of the Qantas bid team in 2001. Before re-joining the SA Government in 1990 he worked at Elders IXL as System Manager on their videotex based Elderlink product. As well as a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computing Studies from the University of South Australia, Harry has a Civil Technicians Certificate from the same University. He has also undertaken various EDS leaders and management training courses, including the Leaders Internship Program.

Harry’s portfolio is Strategic & Business Planning, which focuses on ensuring that itSMF Australia has a vision of where the organisation is going and strategies in place to enable it to get there.

Harry joined itSMF Australia to meet other people who were interested in ITIL. He says that these contacts have enabled him to continually develop his knowledge of ITIL and IT Service Management. Another benefit is that he is also able to provide his employer with useful information on what is happening in the industry.

harry.powell@itsmf.org.au

Garry Long - Treasurer, Director National itSMF Awards

Currently Principal Consultant with Planwell Technology, Garry is a highly proficient IT professional. He has eighteen years' IT experience across IT Service Management, IT Project Management and IT Operations Management. Recent experience includes the establishment of life-cycle strategic Service Management Programs at Gold Coast City Council and Queensland Department of Natural Resources & Water. Garry is highly skilled in the alignment of Service Management Tools to Business and Service Management processes - particularly Incident, Problem, Change and Configuration/Asset Management. This experience is utilised with various toolsets and is transferable to any ITIL aligned Service Management Product.

Garry manages two itSMF portfolios: Treasurer and Awards Director. As Treasurer, he is responsible for the overall financial management of the forum. He is also responsible for Financial Strategy in conjunction with the General Manager and the Board. As Awards Director, he is responsible for creation and management of the itSMF Awards, which are are a genuine indicator of quality in ITSM implementation and Project Management.

Garry says he joined itSMF Australia for several reasons. As a stakeholder in ITSM and ITIL, he wanted to play a part in its future and give something back to an industry that has treated him well. He also wanted to forge closer links with his peers in IT and actively contribute to growing the industry as a whole and as a force for good.

garry.long@itsmf.org.au

Mike Webb - Secretary, Director State Branches

Mike Webb has 26 years’ experience in the IT industry. Employed in various roles over the years for organisations such as National Australia Bank, Barclays Bank (UK), Alcoa and WA Police, he is now the Executive Manager, ICT Service Management with WA Police. Achieving his ITIL Foundations certification in 2001, Mike performed a key role within the team that implemented WA Police’s Change, Incident and Problem Management processes. He is currently responsible for two key projects – the implementation of Configuration Management and the merger of two Service Desk applications and databases into one corporate environment.

Mike’s portfolio is State Branch Management, which ensures that knowledge and learnings are shared nationally. All State chapters have a voice in the running of the forum and can access the shared resources equally. Mike has been a very active member of the itSMF professional body since 2001, when he assisted in forming the Perth chapter of itSMF Australia.

He got involved because he believed there was ‘a lot of good stuff’ happening in WA that could be contributed to the forum, but that being so far away it can be expensive to go to conferences. Mike says that the forum has been a great way of learning from his peers and sharing knowledge. It has also meant that they keep up to date in WA, and are sometimes even ahead of the East coast!

mike.webb@itsmf.org.au

Karen Ferris - Director Publications

Currently Regional Service Delivery Manager at National Australia Bank, Karen is a regular contributor to IT Service Management publications worldwide, either in a contributory, review or quality assurance role. Karen has been involved with ITIL and ITSM best practice since 1994 in the capacities of manager, practitioner, consultant and trainer, both in the UK and Australia. She has assisted many organisations adopt best practice IT Service Management as per ITIL, including (in addition to NAB) Telstra, Department of Defence, Monash University, NSW Health Department, Coles Myer and Victorian Parliamentary Services. An outstanding speaker at the inaugural itSMF Conference in 1998, Karen went on to win the President’s award at the 2005 itSMF conference in Brisbane. She has presented on ITIL and ITSM related topics in USA, UK, New Zealand and is our most popular speaker for itSMF state chapter seminars.

Karen’s portfolio is Publications - one of the most important benefits of belonging to the itSMF community. Karen plays an active role as a member of the itSMF International Publication Editorial Sub-Committee (IPESC). This committee coordinates and reviews publications produced by all chapters, and provides endorsement for publications to carry the itSMF identity.

Karen joined itSMF in order to contribute to the Service Management community and promote best practice. She has found that a major benefit of belonging to itSMF is the ability to learn and leverage from the experience of others in the industry. She says the networking opportunities at a local and national (and international) level are also invaluable in helping to improve service within your own organisation.

karen.ferris@itsmf.org.au

Kathryn Heaton - Director Member Services

Kathryn’s career objective is to be able to “make a difference” by assisting enterprises to raise the profile and marketability of the services they offer, and improving the existing processes and procedures to streamline their operations. Highlights of her career have included Mentor Smith Family EXL8 Program; MOST’est Award for successful implementation of MOST Project - Westpac Bank; Bravo Award - Westpac Bank; Nomination as Team of the Month – Mortgage Centre; successful transition of systems/applications from IBMGSA to EDS control whilst continuing to meet documented Service levels; Implementation of Cross Functional/Organisation Change Management Group for IBMGSA; successful rollout of Standard Operating Environment desktops and successful provision of Help Desk to 750 government users across Adelaide.

Kathryn’s portfolio is Membership Services, supporting the membership that is the basis of itSMF’s success. Membership allows us to reach more IT professionals - promoting enthusiasm in the adoption of itSM standards and providing them with a forum in which they can gain information and share experiences. Kathryn joined ItSMF because she is very enthusiastic about improving the way things are done. Her business is involved in process improvement and it seemed a good fit. Kathryn says she has gained both personal and professional benefits from her membership. Personally through her experience as a board member and interacting with new people, and professionally through a recently completed project that was a direct result of her involvement with itSMF.

kathryn.heaton@itsmf.org.au

Johanna de Roder - Director National Events

Johanna is the Founder and Principal Consultant of an IT service management consulting practice called IT2Biz Pty Ltd. She has over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry working for both corporate and government organisations. Most recently, Johanna has been working on achieving Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance for a large private enterprise client by helping them implement best practice Service Management frameworks, such as ITIL and COBIT. Prior to that she spent seven years working with Data#3 Limited, a large Australian Systems Integrator. She held management positions in Consulting and Managed Services before being appointed as the State Services Manager for NSW/ACT.

Johanna’s portfolio is National Events Management, which ensures that all national events run by itSMF Australia are of the highest quality, with suitable and relevant content and formatting. Events must cater for all members, from large corporates to individuals, whether they are experienced or not in the use of ITIL service management framework.

Johanna joined itSMF because she had enjoyed her career in IT and wanted to return something to the industry. A personal highlight has been organising the 2007 Decade of Value Conference. Johanna says she found it highly rewarding to read all the feedback about how helpful and inspiring the event was for attendees, scoring incredibly highly for satisfaction, and she is proud to have played a key role in making this possible for people.

johanna.deroder@itsmf.org.a

Claire Brereton - Director Certification & Standards 

Claire is IT Project Director with UnitingCare Health, a private healthcare organisation responsible for five Queensland hospitals. She is responsible for the introduction of Project Management methodology and standards throughout the healthcare organisation. Her role includes mentoring all Project Managers and implementing Service Management standards, processes and disciplines. Claire and her family migrated to Australia from the UK in 2001. Claire's extensive experience in the UK included management roles encompassing Operations Architecture, Systems development and maintenance, project management and education. She is credited with having turned around two ineffective and demoralised IT organisations (Hagemeyer UK IT and Birmingham Midshires System Development), and building them into competent and respected partners in their respective fields.

Claire's portfolio is Certifications and Qualifications, supporting and influencing the development and consistency of qualifications and certifications within the field of IT Service Management - in particular ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000. This portfolio also encompasses ensuring that Australian views are represented in the development of global standards.

Claire joined itSMFA because, as a new arrival in Australia, she wanted to make professional and personal contacts. Claire says she discovered that itSMF is a real community, through which she has found friendships, career opportunities and constant encouragement.

claire.brereton@itsmf.org.au