Meet the young leaders of the iTnews Benchmark Awards 2020

Australia's young leaders of technology projects come from some of Australia's largest and most complex organisations including ANZ, the Federal Court and Nine Entertainment Co.

These finalists have contributed to significant projects and garnered high praise from their coworkers for their insights and achievements despite being relatively new to the game.

The winner is set to be announced at the Benchmark Awards gala dinner at KPMG's Sydney offices on 5 March.

iTnews Benchmark Awards 2020 young leader finalists

Jessica Der Matossian: Federal Court of Australia

Der Matossian played a key role in bringing the Federal Court’s Family Law AI Project to life, serving as both product owner and project manager.

She led the development of a proof of concept using IBM’s machine learning tools designed to help parties divide assets and liabilities during the breakdown of a relationship based on data from similar cases.

Der Matossian was integral in recognising the opportunity to improve family court services using AI to help litigants who need the most assistance in making informed decisions during the emotional turmoil of a divorce or child custody battle.

Michelle Dobson: ANZ

Dobson joined ANZ after completing a graduate program in 2014 and has gone on to establish herself as a capable leader for teams both in Australia and at ANZ’s operations in India.

As technology area lead (head of technology) for the bank’s Cloud Business Office, she’s helped the larger technology division meet its budget forecasts achieving savings worth tens of millions of dollars across multiple areas, including through the review and negotiation of significant commercial deals.

Dobson has also worked to improve the division’s internal audits processes to clarify and process how treatments can be delivered and closed while establishing regular reviews across other domains.

Ryan McCartney: Nine Entertainment Co

McCartney joined Nine’s 9Technology Enterprise & Data Solutions team as a developer after completing an internship with the media giant during his undergraduate degree.

He helped bring 9Voyager to production, an Australian first self-serve TV advertising platform for small to medium enterprises without experience producing ads for television.

McCartney’s work on the project included building out the integration layer and liaising directly with third-party technical teams like the Qantas Business Rewards team.