Tech Talent Tracker - AUCyber, Confluent, Elastic and more

Our Tech Talent Tracker rounds up all the people movements within Australia's technology industry this past fortnight. Send your appointment news to editors@techpartner.news

For our sister series covering mergers and acquisitions, click here.

AUCyber CEO Chris Wright to step down

"As a ~90% owned subsidiary of 5G Networks and as a result of the interim efforts led by the executive and the Board since February this year, a formal CEO for AUCyber is not currently required in the combined executive structure," 5G said in a statement released to the ASX.

Greg Taylor appointed SVP and GM for APAC at Confluent

He joins from Databricks, where he helped to scale the APJ business. He also recently served on the board of WhiteSky Labs, acquired by Capgemini in 2020, and has also held senior roles at New Relic, Marketo, Software AG, and Oracle.

Elastic announces Sarah Croft as partner director for Asia Pacific

Based in Singapore, she will oversee Elastic’s partner approach in the region, working closely with partners across the region to build their capabilities using the Elasticsearch Platform and developing effective go-to-market strategies with them. Croft spent the past six years at Datadog, where she led South Asian alliances and channel business, playing a key role in developing the cloud strategy and scaling key resellers across the region.

Tape Ark elevates Samantha May to MD

She is set to lead the company alongside CEO and founder Guy Holmes and will serve a concurrent role as company secretary.

Ava Risk Group CEO to retire

Ava Risk Group CEO Mal Maginnis will retire from executive roles and step back from full-time professional commitments. Maginnis, who joined Ava Risk Group in January 2023, will retire from his role on 22 January 2026. He will step down from the board with immediate effect. To ensure continuity during the transition period, the board has appointed Neville Joyce, currently a senior executive within the group, as Acting CEO effective immediately. The Company will now commence a global search for a permanent CEO to lead Ava through its next phase of growth.

Macquarie Group's Luke Clifton join Australian Telecommunications Alliance board

Macquarie Technology Group has welcomed the Australian Telecommunications Alliance’s (ATA) decision to change its constitution so that only telecommunications company leaders can be appointed to the Board. The decisions sees Macquarie’s own group executive Luke Clifton join the board.

Firmus Technologies shakes up board

Firmus Technologies has added Mike Ferraro to its board of directors as a Non-Executive
Director. He has served as CEO and MD of Alumina Limited and chief legal counsel at BHP Billiton. He also served as chair of the Australian Aluminium Council and was a member of Manufacturing Australia, where he worked closely with government and industry to promote energy policy and sustainable manufacturing conditions. Firmus also confirmed that board members Nick Curtis and Ted Pretty will step down at the end of the month.

WiseTech adds Independent Non-Executive Director

WiseTech has appointed Raelene Murphy to its board of the Company as an additional Independent Non-Executive Director, with effect from 1 January 2026. In addition to joining the board, Murphy will also become a member of the Audit & Risk Committee. Murphy has extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director of ASX listed companies and as an Audit Committee Chair, including currently serving as Independent Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of Bega Cheese Limited and Tabcorp Holdings Limited. She was formerly a MD at KordaMentha and a partner in a national accounting firm.