A Chat with Anthony Wong: Corporate executive, CIO and Information Technology Lawyer; Technologist; Innovator; Futurist; Managing Director of AGW Legal & Advisory; President of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP)

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Anthony Wong.

Anthony Wong is an experienced corporate executive, CIO and Information Technology Lawyer, with over thirty years of international executive and board level experience across the public, commercial and not for profit sectors with particular experience in technology, legal, corporate governance, compliance and risk management including cyber, digital transformation and change management across the education, tourism, insurance, financial services, media & publishing, business services & consulting, and the data management and digitisation industries.

He is the Managing Director of AGW Legal & Advisory, a multidisciplinary legal and advisory practice advising in many areas of emergent 4th Industrial technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual and Augmented Reality, Digital Transformation, Cloud and Blockchain, Law and regulatory systems, Cybersecurity, Privacy and data protection, and advice on Intellectual Property protection and management.

With his extensive background including as a technologist, innovator, futurist, lawyer and as a CIO, Anthony brings unique experiences and skills to assist businesses, organizations and governments in Australia and globally. He has a unique blend of legal and information technology expertise, with a strong background in business from his vast commercial experience, law, business focus and acumen. As a futurist and transformer, he looks forward to share his ideas, knowledge, and creativity on the new technology trends and emerging regulatory challenges in the 4.0 Industrial Age.

Anthony served on the IT Industry Innovation Council for the Australian Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education for 3 years. The Council advised the Minister and the government including on innovation, skills, education and the establishment of Employee Share Options scheme for start-ups and SMEs.

He chaired the New South Wales Government ICT Advisory Panel, providing advice to the New South Wales ICT Board and served on the New South Wales Government Digital Transformation Taskforce in Sydney, Australia.

Over the course of his career, Anthony has been deeply involved in digital technologies and digital transformation. He has also held senior management positions in multinational corporations and government, including as CIO of the Australian Tourist Commission during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, led the digital transformation of the Thomson information and publishing business in the Asia Pacific and with Philips (Netherlands) in their IT Division.

He has advised on and managed many technological implementations and deployments, opportunities and challenges, legal issues and implications, policy and regulatory issues confronting business and government for more than three decades. He has worked with various public and private organizations of various sizes, including with government bodies and agencies at both state and federal levels.

As CIO for the Australian Tourist Commission, he spearheaded Australian Tourism through the then emerging era of digital and online marketing, promoting Australia as an international destination.

During his time with Thomson (now Thomson Reuters), he led the digital transformation of Thomson in the Asia Pacific working with Thomson enterprises across the UK, US, and Europe. He created one of its first start-ups to grow its then emerging digital business. He transformed the Thomson traditional information and publishing business in the age of digital disruption. Thomson is one of the largest publishers of information, professional and educational information. He created and nurtured a new digital team from ground-up to process and analyze digital information – the precursor to what we now call Digital Analytics and Intelligence.

He is a key industry thought leader and has served two terms as President of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) from 2010-11 and 2016-17, and a past President of SEARCC - a confederation of IT and technology professional associations across the South East Asian economies.

He is the President of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) www.ifip.org, headquartered in Austria established under the auspices of UNESCO in 1960.

Anthony has been invited to host a session at the upcoming 17th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), under the overarching theme Resilient Internet for a Shared Sustainable and Common Future, which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 28 November to 2 December 2022. The session provides insights on the ethical practice of AI and upcoming regulatory initiatives, highlights from the developing country perspective, the emerging technology discourses and recommendations on human rights, and call to action to address the risks and challenges arising from the use and actions of AI, autonomous and intelligent systems.

Anthony was awarded double Bachelor degrees in Computer Science and Law from Monash University, Master of Laws in Media, Communications and IT from University of New South Wales and a Master of Intellectual Property from UTS (University Technology Sydney), in Australia.

He is a Member of the Law Society of New South Wales, International Technology Law Association, the founding President of the New Zealand Society for Computers and the Law, an Honorary Life Member and Fellow of the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

He is a regular commentator and presenter on topical technology and legal trends across the globe including in Australia, US, Malaysia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, China, Europe, Switzerland and Brazil, on various print and online media, radio and TV, including on SkyNews, ABC, The Australian, and at various international conferences and forums, including at the at the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, ICT Infrastructure and Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS) 2017 in Malaysia, the World Chinese Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, and at LAWASIA in Cambodia, Malaysia and Sydney.

For further information: LinkedIn