Ms Deena Shiff has been appointed Chair of remote operations consortium AROSE following the retirement of inaugural Chair David Flanagan.
Mr Flanagan is retiring as AROSE Chair after four years helping guide the organisation to a leading position in the remote operations sector for Space and on Earth. He will continue in an advisory capacity.
During Mr Flanagan’s tenure as AROSE Chair, the Consortium grew significantly with new Members and Collaboration Partners and in 2023, AROSE was awarded the Stage 1 of the Trailblazer program which will see Australia design, build, test and operate an Australian-made lunar rover for NASA’s return to the surface of Moon.
Ms Shiff has had a distinguished career in law and as a senior executive in the communications industry. From 1998-2013, Ms Shiff held senior roles at Australian telecommunications giant Telstra and was the founding CEO of Telstra’s corporate venture capital arm, Telstra Ventures. In 2006, Ms Shiff became Telstra’s first woman Group Managing Director. Over the last 10 years Ms Shiff has served on the boards of several Australian growth stage technology companies.
Ms Shiff is currently also the Advisory Board Chair for the ARC Centre of Excellence on Automated Decision Making and Society (ADM+S), a Non-Executive Director of ASX listed health software company ProMedicus, a Board Member of the global health organisation, GAVI, and of Opera Australia.
She has a Bachelor of Arts (Law) from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Science (Economics) from the London School of Economics.
The Hon Stephen Dawson, Western Australian Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and the Digital Economy; Science; Medical Research; Minister Assisting the Minister for State and Industry Development, Jobs and Trade, said: “The Western Australian Government has made a substantial investment in the local Space sector, including in AROSE. We recognise Space is accelerating technology advancements which benefit other industries. Space also helps to develop workforce skills and diversify job and business opportunities. We welcome Deena to this important role as Chair of AROSE and thank David for his great service helping establish the AROSE Consortium as a leader in Australian remote operations for Space and on Earth.”
Ms Deena Shiff said: “It is a great honour to follow in David’s footsteps to take on this important role as AROSE Chair. I believe that Australia is ideally placed to combine its expertise in robotics and automation in remote environments by applying it in Space and deep sea. The AROSE Consortium has brought together industry and researchers to spearhead the development and deployment of these exciting operations and applications.”
Mr David Flanagan said: “It has been hugely gratifying to see AROSE grow in reputation and importance to Australia’s Space sector, and as an accelerator of remote operations technology and expertise across industry. Future generations are relying on us to create the opportunities they need to enjoy fulfilled and prosperous lives. The AROSE Consortium is also building pathways for students to pursue diverse careers at home in robotics and automation.”
AROSE CEO Leanne Cunnold said: “It’s great to have Deena on board in what will be an exciting year for the AROSE Consortium. Her knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we deliver the design for the Trailblazer lunar rover to the Australian Space Agency, continue to strengthen the nation’s remote operations capability and expertise, and inspire new generations to pursue careers in robotics and automation.
“I thank David for the enormous contribution he has made as our inaugural Chair and the strong leadership he has shown during a transformative period for the organisation. David’s energy and enthusiasm is contagious, and he has helped secure the AROSE Consortium’s position as Australia’s trusted leader in remote operations for Space and on Earth.”
Deena has been a full time Non-Executive Director for the last 10 years, largely in global, growth-stage technology businesses.
Her current board roles include ASX-listed ProMedicus, and the Geneva based Global Health Initiative, GAVI. Deena also chairs the International Advisory Board of the ARC Centre of Excellence on Automated Decisions and Society, based at RMIT.
Previously, Deena chaired the Australian Broadband Advisory Council (2020-2022) and the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (2015). Previous board roles have included Infrastructure Australia and Export Finance Australia.
Before her board career, Deena worked as in-house legal counsel and as a partner at law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, followed by a 10-year senior executive career as a Group Managing Director at Telstra. In 2011, Deena established Telstra’s corporate venture capital arm, Telstra Ventures.
