New Media panellist biographies

Here is some background information on the experts forming the panel for the New Media session at the PRIA National Conference on Monday 13 October.

If you would like to find further information on them, or would like to get in touch- how about tracking them down through a form of New Media? If all else fails, let the Young Guns committee know and we will endeavour to connect you via the world wide web.

Glenn Nicholas

Glenn helps businesses find customers and convert them online. The new rules of marketing are being written day by day. Glenn translates the new rules into services available online, develops marketing strategies and implements them.

Glenn’s background has been in technology services, where he has worked for multinational companies in development, delivery, and sales/marketing roles. 2005 was the year he bit the bullet and decided to stop consulting and put his own ideas and strategies into practice. Smaller companies can go global now, and the implications of that are only just starting to be seen.

Richard Giles

Richard Giles is the CEO of Recommendation Ventures, a recommendation engine service provider, one of Australia’s top ten web 2.0 applications, and winner of the Australian Startup Carnival 2008.

Richard has been in the technology industry for almost 18 years, starting his career with a mobile phone company in 1990 when mobile phones weren’t as mobile.

Richard was an Australian web pioneer in the early-nineties, designing corporate websites, selling Internet connections to corporations, and was one of Curtin Universities first lecturers on the topic of the World Wide Web in 1995. He later worked for Sun Microsystems for nine years.

Richard’s achievements include winning the Best Australian Podcast of the Year 2006, authoring Podcasting Pocket Guide, and How To Use Flickr: The Digital Photography Revolution, and launching Scouta and managing Recommendation Ventures.

Richard is currently responsible for marketing on the committee of Australian Web Industry Association.

Richard Barrett

Richard Barrett is a professional communicator with more than 12 years experience in Australia and the UK. Richard has recently overseen the communications effort for the largest public infrastructure project ever undertaken in Western Australia, New MetroRail, which culminated with the opening of the Mandurah Line last year.

Richard currently leads a busy team as the Manager, Corporate Communications at the Public Transport Authority (PTA), where he is responsible for strategic communications, internal and external communications, crisis and issues management, media relations, event management, and community relations. Richard holds a BCom (Curtin University), a BA (UWA), and is a member of PRIA.

Richard will also be presenting on the communication hurdles experienced during the New MetroRail project on Tuesday at 2.30pm. Be sure to attend this session to learn about the challenges encountered for the largest public transport infrastructure project ever undertaken in Western Australia

Oren Van De Steen

Oren works for the PTA as a data and systems manager. In this role Oren manages the PTA contract management system, TRIS, and how it feeds into all other passenger information systems.

TRIS essentially manages all Transperth’s bus, train and ferry timetable information as well as spatial information such as bus stop locations, bus routes, and SmartRider information and data. This then feeds into passenger information applications like the Transperth website and journey planner, the call centre, public display systems, 136213.mobi, Google Transit and our the SMSservice.

In Oren’s words, he “manages stuff”.