Smart Cities Forum: Building a Contemporary Australian City - 29 August 2018

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Keynote Speakers: Merrick Spain, Smart Cities Manager, Local Government, Telstra Australia and Ranil Sharma, General Manager, Telstra Cities, Telstra Australia

Managing for growth. Managing digital and social divides. Protecting our best qualities as we build a future city. Building safer and inclusive communities. Sharing open data and learning through innovation. These represent both the challenges and outcomes Hobart can address through the adoption of Smart City initiatives. Join two of Australia’s leading “future city” evangelists, together with a panel of authoritative strategic planners as we spend an evening discussing Hobart’s thought-leadership role as a capital city within the Australia’s national smart city blueprint.

Moderator: Alex Johnson, MC and Journalist

Panellist 1:

Merrick Spain, Smart Cities Manager, Local Government, Telstra Australia

Panellist 2: Ranil Sharma, General Manager, Telstra Cities, Telstra Australia


Panellist 3: Stacey Pennicott, Executive General Manager Membership and Community, Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania

Panellist 4: Neil Noye, Director City Planning, City of Hobart

Panellist 5: Peter Carr, Director City Innovation and Technology, City of Hobart


When: 29 August 2018, 6pm - 8pm, doors open 5.45pm

Where: Hobart Town Hall Ballroom


Merrick Spain Bio

Merrick is an emerging technologies expert, currently leading strategy and market engagement in Australia for Telstra in the Smart Cities and Communities space. Merrick leverages diverse experience and deep insight in building corporate insight into the evolving market, and helps governments and their citizens understand the possibilities presented by the convergence of the informational and physical worlds for the way cities and communities function and the changing ways people aspire to live in them. He has led the strategy and engagement for a number of organisations in emerging technology markets throughout his career, including Wireless and Mobility, RFID, Robotics, and various vertical industry software technologies. His knowledge and experience across multiple industry segments provides the foundation for building a practise that is focussed on the macroeconomic outcomes for cities and their numerous stakeholders.

Ranil Sharma Bio

Ranil is the General Manager, Telstra Cities. He has been the Industry Lead in Smart Cities and Utilities for Telstra and led the Steering Committee creating Telstra’s Smart Cities Strategy. He was also the Telstra representative on the ASCA Industry Board. His accountability is to understand the sector needs and provide thought, insight and leadership about how emerging trends and developments can help to create and fulfill a richer experience for the Communities of Interest.

Ranil's perspectives have formed from experiences in major corporate and startup companies within the technology, consulting and distribution/retail sectors with roles in Consulting, Business Development, Marketing, Sales/Management and General Management.

He is a father of 3 girls and has an active interest in health, wellbeing and psychology.

Stacey Pennicott Bio

Stacey Pennicott is a senior executive with the Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania (RACT). As Executive General Manager, Membership & Community, she is responsible for a broad portfolio including leading RACT’s mobility and digital transformation strategies. Stacey is an active participant on a range of national and international forums, gaining insights from her Automobile Club peers on a range of emerging mobility and technology related issues.

Neil Noye

Neil is the Director of City Planning at the City of Hobart. He is responsible for the land use and development planning of the city as well as overseeing a suite of public space improvement and connection projects within the CBD.


Categories: public forum

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