Leigh is a technology executive who has delivered multiple innovation 'firsts'. She has extensive experience delivering complex and high profile tech outcomes at scale while also building happy and motivated teams. Experienced in delivering seemingly impossible outcomes, Leigh loves to learn, absorbs information quickly and enjoys using her creativity to challenge herself and her teams to continuously modernize technology as they build.
Starting out as an engineer, Leigh quickly worked out that solution designers had more influence on what was built. While working as a solution designer, she saw that Project Managers could have influence over architecture, and this drove her career in the direction of leading teams to deliver tech solutions. Career highlights include transforming ANZ's legacy Internet Banking platform from the oldest version used globally, to the newest and on private cloud within 18 months in 2020. Leigh also delivered the Australia's first Mobile Payments platform at ANZ within 11 months of joining the bank in 2014. She worked in London for the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, delivered Results Systems and GamesInfo for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and delivered one of the first agile projects at Suncorp back in 2003. Most recently at Telstra, Leigh has significantly transformed employee device connectivity from a security perspective. She also led the work to introduce Microsoft Copilot to Telstra, and supported teams rolling it out at scale through 2024. Leigh is currently leading tech work needed to support Telstra's new Data and AI joint venture with Accenture. She co-founded Technology Executive Women with Sam Davies in 2023.
Samantha Davies is the Cloud and Infrastructure Centre of Expertise (CCOE) Lead at Telstra. Sam leads multiple teams across Cloud Security, Service Management, Automation and Cloud Economics and is a key strategy lead for the cloud and infrastructure capability in Telstra.
Sam joined Telstra almost 3 years ago and prior to that she was with ANZ Bank for 11 years where she was the key lead in their Cloud Simplification and Transformation program. Prior to that she was the ANZ Cyber Defence Lead where she managed teams across multiple regions protecting ANZ bank on a day to day basis.
Samantha has lived and worked in seven (7) countries during her career in technology and started out as a software developer, database administrator and development lead. Sam is known for her passion and positivity and is often referred to as the "glue" who brings teams together. Her passion for diversity in technology has led to her starting a not-for-profit called Tech Exec Women (TEW) with her co-director Leigh Gibson which supports, connects and empowers women leaders in technology.