 Justin Baird is an Innovationist at Google. Joining Google two years ago, he brings over ten years of product management and high tech experience, in areas ranging from R&D, embedded DSP and software development, high speed digital networks, and large scale entertainment systems. He holds a U.S. Patent and has written a number of technical papers within these areas of research.
Justin's focus is to drive thought leadership with clients and agencies to support innovation opportunities via Google's technologies, and to demonstrate how these technologies can be leveraged to drive highly effective business solutions.
During his tenure at Google, Justin has helped launch local YouTube portals across Asia Pacific, supported the rollout of numerous consumer products, helped launch the first Android mobile devices in the region, and brought the Creative Sandbox to Australia.
Justin is also actively involved in Google’s philanthropic efforts to help drive positive change through technology. More...  John Bolakis
Executive DIrector, Seo.com.auFounder of SEO in 1999, John is one of the foremost experts on Search Engine Optimisation in Asia Pacific with over 15 years experience in Telecommunications, Marketing & Advertising.
Since the launch of www.SEO.com.au, his team have helped many businesses reach their potential through cost-effective search engine marketing & optimisation including the likes of BHP Steel (rebranded to Bluescope Steel), eBay,Telstra, GetLocal (sold to News Interactive, rebranded to TrueLocal), SelfCert (sold to SEEK, rebranded to SEEK Learning), P&O Cruises and Choice Home Loans (recently sold to Challenger).
For more information on John, visit www.linkedin.com/in/johnbolakis and www.google.com/profiles/johnseo  Evan Balafas
Director, Excite Digital MediaManaging Director of Excite Digital Media, Evan Balafas is accountable for global operations that continue to drive and grow the vast Excite Digital Media Search Network, and extensive ‘Search’ services.
Evan’s 10+ years of Sales and Business Development in the search space make him a well connected pioneer in today’s Mount Everest of online marketing.
During his previous role as National Sales Manager for Sensis, Evan was pursued for General Manger at Searchtown (a division of Ansearch).
Evan resisted head-hunters due to his critical role in the launch of two major projects; www.sensis.com.au, and the world's first SMS based advertising product, originating from 1234 Call Connect.
Prior to Sensis, Evan was NSW Sales Manager for Australia’s most enterprising Search Engine Company LookSmart.
Evan managed a portfolio of accounts representing over $7.25 million in annual revenue for Looksmart; considered the leading authority in Cost-Per-Click (CPC) advertising (before the Australian operations were purchased by Sensis). More...  Matt has worked at Viva9 since 2006. A member of the IPMG Group, Viva9 is an Australian-built and run affiliate and performance marketing company with offices in Sydney and Melbourne,
An online veteran, Matt has been involved in online media and advertising since 1995, starting off at ACP, where he was the Commercial Director responsible for launching multiple Web sites and multimedia properties, starting off at Computer Publications.
With stints at Yahoo! AUNZ, One Digital, and most recently as MD of digital agency Freestyle Media, Matt has worked across all facets of online, and is a regular speaker on performance and affiliate marketing.
A sporting tragic, Matt is hoping Spurs will continue their strong start to the Premier League, and that the Socceroos will win the next World Cup…  Grace Chu
Managing Director, FirstClick ConsultingGrace Chu is the Founder and Managing Director of FirstClick Consulting, a strategic search marketing agency that provides SEM and SEO services to mid and large corporates. Grace has 18 years industry experience in internet marketing, management consulting and people management.
Before starting FirstCLick, Grace was employed in a number of senior roles with eBay Australia, where she led internet marketing and seller marketing aimed at buyer and seller acquisition, activation and retention. Prior to this Grace was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company where she worked with international clients to develop and implement strategies spanning sales and marketing and operational improvement. Grace has also been employed in a number corporate and agency marketing and PR positions.
Grace earned her MBA degree from the Wharton School in Philadelphia and her Bachelor of Business Administration from the National Taiwan University.  Justus Hammer
Marketing Manager, Getprice.com.auJustus Hammer is marketing manager for getprice.com.au, Australia’s leading comparison shopping engine.
He joined the company in November 2007 and is responsible for all marketing activities with a particular focus on analytics and search engine marketing.
Before coming to Australia, Justus worked as business development manager for MindMatics, a full-service mobile advertising agency in Munich, Germany.
He also worked as marketing manager for GoYellow, Germany’s leading online directory.
Born and raised in Munich, Justus received a Master of Economics from the Ludwig Maximilian University and completed his education with a Master of Commerce in Information Technologies from the Macquarie University, Sydney.  Karen Grinter
Senior Client Advisor, Global ReviewsKaren Grinter is a Senior Client Advisor with customer experience benchmarking consultancy Global Reviews. Specialising in the area of usability, Karen provides advice in improving online customer experiences to some of Australia’s leading companies across a range of industries.
Global Reviews have offices in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Clients in the travel sector include: Virgin Blue, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Flight Centre and Whereis.com.au. Global Reviews provide advice across key communication channels including online, contact centre and branch network.
Karen has been working in the online space for over 11 years as a usability practitioner, interface designer and consultant. In that time she has worked for Opodo.co.uk in the customer experience team and on the redevelopment of australia.com for the Australian Tourist Commission.  Jacqui Jones
Managing Director, Keyword IntentJacqui Jones is an Internet entrepreneur with skill sets in search and online marketing and building web “software as a service” applications and media sites. She has commenced her new business, KeywordIntent.com to transform SEO productivity. Starting her Internet career in 1996, Jacqui led the SEO team at Netconcepts in New Zealand and USA, managed the digital team at Yellow NZ and ran her web development company Webenz.  Alan Kohler
Founder and Editor In Chief, Business SpectatorAlan Kohler is Australia’s leading business commentator (and a very busy man!). He is the founder and editor in chief of Business Spectator and Eureka Report.
In addition Alan is the finance presenter on ABC Television News and host of Inside Business on ABC TV.
He is a former editor of The Australian Financial Review and The Age, former business editor of ABC TV’s 7.30 Report, former Chanticleer columnist for The Australian Financial Review and a former columnist for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Alan has a direct interest in the online publishing world and strong opinions on where it is heading. www.twitter.com/alankohler  Alan Long
Research Director, HitwiseAlan Long, Research Director for Hitwise Asia Pacific heads up a team of analysts who delve into online insights across 160+ industries covering more than 1 million websites daily from the Hitwise sample.
Alan is a well regarded advertising and digital media strategist, with a vast background covering more than 20 years of experience. Prior to joining Hitwise, Alan worked with Sensis MediaSmart and Fairfax in senior commercial roles and has spent the best part of 15 years in the digital market as publisher, consultant and strategist.  Gary Ng
Founder, E-Web MarketingGary Ng is the Founder and Director of E-Web Marketing and a nine-year veteran of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Gary is held in high regard as one of Australia’s leading search engine optimisation and marketing experts, advising Australia’s top companies on how to grow their business online.
After studying Marketing and Economics at Macquarie University, Gary started E-Web Design as a web development company back in 1999. After surviving the dot com bubble burst of 2001 and having dabbled with getting Google rankings for his own websites as his primary form of marketing the business, Gary changed the focus of the company to purely Search Engine Marketing and SEO services in 2004. Since then he and his team have been helping their client’s websites to rank prominently on the major search engines such as Google.
With their own website currently ranking number one on Google Australia for the search term “SEO”, E-Web Marketing is now recognised as one of the leaders in the industry with clients such as Fitness First, ACP Magazines, Kennards Self Storage, Grant Thornton, UNSW and many more. More...  Gary Nissim is a leading expert on all aspects of search marketing including: pay per click, search engine optimisation, optimised PR and social media marketing.
As dgm’s Head of Search, Gary is in demand as a speaker and writer on search marketing. This demand continues to increase as advertisers are keen to understand and grow their knowledge on the complexities of this medium.
He leads a team of dedicated search experts who apply dgm’s leading technology and their unparalleled experience to every campaign.
Over the past decade, Gary has worked for leading global brands from a wide range of verticals.  Jared Oaken
Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Getprice.com.auJared co-founded Getprice Australia in 2005. As chief product officer he is responsible for the company’s technical direction, SEO and product strategy.
A software engineer by training, he has been active as an entrepreneur since 2000, with a focus on building consumer-centric software applications, including one of Israel’s leading online auction sites.
In 2001 he co-founded and became product manager of Getprice Israel, which was sold to MSN Israel in 2005.
At Getprice, Jared has led the evolution of the company’s matching and search algorithms, linguistic toolset, user experience and content strategy. Under his watch, Getprice’s audience has grown exponentially and one of Australia’s largest retail websites.
In addition to his technical expertise, he is an authority on ecommerce, online retail, user conversion pathways, SEO and online marketing.  A 15 year veteran of international marketing and communications, Nicholas O’Flaherty is the Managing Director of full service PR and Marketing Communications consultancy, Bullet PR, which he founded in 2000.
The sole PR practitioner on the NZ Marketing Association’s e-Marketing Network Executive, Nicholas is a strong advocate for the role of communications professionals in an organisation’s online strategy.
In the last six years, Bullet PR www.bulletpr.co.nz has focused increasingly on the social media environment and today is one of New Zealand’s foremost online PR consultancies.
He blogs at: www.bulletpoints.co.nz.  Jon Ostler
Founder, First Rate & TPNJon has founded, operated and sold a number of successful web related businesses including a web design business, an online restaurant guide, performance ad network (TPN) and most notably First Rate, a leading specialist in search and performance marketing with offices in Auckland and Sydney.
First Rate grew rapidly and consistently over 9 years and was listed in the Deloitte Fast 50 three years in a row (2006/07/08). Jon sold First Rate & TPN to Q Ltd in 2007.
Jon is currently overseeing the strategic development of Q’s digital assets including the ongoing development and expansion of its Performance Ad Network TPN.
Jon has been a regular speaker at internet related conferences for more than 10 years and is widely respected as an expert in online marketing.  Tom Petryshen
Chief Executive Officer, AmplifyResponsible for client strategy, demystifying Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and ensuring work remains fun, Tom leads an eclectic group of marketing, usability, and web development professionals at Amplify.
After studying Marketing and Communications at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and competing for Canada as an Olympic wrestler, Tom began his career developing online help systems for software, then worked in usability and web development. More...  Henry Ruiz
General Manager Consumer Marketing, Realestate.com.auArmed with over 10 years’ industry experience, Henry Ruiz is the General Manager Consumer Marketing for realestate.com.au – Australia’s leading online property website.
He is responsible for the strategic direction within the online and mobile space for the REA Group of companies on a global scale.
Henry specialises in commercial online and mobile strategy, production and management. He has extensive experience in developing new large exposure search driven websites from the ground up with a central focus on local search and media portals.
Henry's background in human centred visual design complements his current role at realestate.com.au.
During his career, Henry has been instrumental in evolving print based business into commercially viable digital media space.
He has managed online and mobile teams concurrently across Europe, Australia and New Zealand and has a wide range of experience in integrating new technologies for commercial purposes in the realm of online and wireless in multiple languages including English, French, Dutch, Flemish, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish.
Henry is highly skilled and qualified bringing a wealth of knowledge to his current role. He holds a Masters in Applied and Cognitive Psychology from RMIT and also has an Honours degree in Behavioural Psychology from La Trobe University.  Jye Smith
Social Media Strategist, Switched On MediaJye is the Social Media Strategist for Switched On Media leading and executing a range of social media strategies across a broad base of clients such as Canon, PayPal, Trivett Harley-Davidson and Subaru Australia.
Driven to deliver business outcomes from measurable social media campaigns, Jye has been involved in developing both short and long term strategies. Campaigns such as the PayPal Developer Day, required a sophisticated level of traffic analysis and measurability was key in demonstrating the effectiveness of social media activity. Jye enjoys a hands-on approach to developing social media strategies, derived from careful research.
Currently, he’s globally ranked at number 5 in the Top 27 Under 27 Marketing/Advertising blogs and holds 26th position in Australia. Previous to this Jye was Marketing Executive for CBS Interactive, responsible for a range of innovation and marketing strategies across all brands. This included not only strategic partnerships but also driving product innovation through mobile and video strategies and community management.  Chris Thomas heads up Reseo, a search engine optimisation and search marketing company based in Melbourne, Australia. Having founded and launched his own online retail business on September 11th 2001, Chris has 7 years of battle hardened, practical and commercial Search Marketing experience.
He’s worked in the SEO/SEM field for 5 years, consulting and working with brands such as Lonely Planet, Spotless, Melbourne Airport, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Plan Australia and OZ Minerals to name just a few. Chris and his team help with internet marketing strategies including SEO, Google Universal Search Optimisation, Social Media Optimisation, Google AdWords management and more.  Jeff Yang
Group Marketing Manager, e-Web MarketingJeff Yang is the Group Sales & Marketing Manager at e-Web Marketing and is an expert in delivering solution orientated SEO and SEM services.
His past experience with clients such as Smeg, Polaroid, Casio, JVC, Alesco, Mercedes Benz, Lexus and BMW combined with his passion for delivering business success, allows him to implement holistic online marketing campaigns that are constantly measured, tested and improved.
He achieves this by focusing on developing clear objectives, diligent research, generating qualified traffic, and increasing sales.
With their own website currently ranking number #1 on Google Australia for the search term “SEO”, e-Web Marketing is recognised as one of the leaders in the industry with clients such as Fitness First, ACP Magazines, Kennards Self Storage, Grant Thornton, UNSW and many more.
Jeff is excited about Search Engine Room 2009 and looks forward to sharing his insights into SEO and online marketing with you. |
.jpg){kind=small}
