Full Name
Dr Paul Robards AM
Position
Chief Data Integration Officer
Organisation
Department of Defence
Speaker Bio
Paul also manages the implementation of the Defence Business Integration Program to ensure the right capability investment and intended effects are realised across the Defence enterprise.

Paul served for over 30 years in the Australian Army. He studied for his Civil Engineering degree at the Australian Defence Force Academy before undertaking postings to engineering units in Sydney, Brisbane and Papua New Guinea. After completing a Masters of Science in Management at the US Naval Postgraduate School in 2001, he worked in Army Headquarters and Defence People Group in roles such as strategic workforce planning, workforce analysis and people policy. After completing an operations analysis course and training with Defence Science and Technology, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012 as an operations analyst. Following his operational experience, he worked with NATO partners to develop joint doctrine to manage the risk of green-on-blue attacks.

Paul transitioned to the Defence public service in 2019. As a member of the Defence Senior Executive Service, he has worked across a number roles in People Group where he was responsible for delivering HR and people services, the management of HR systems, and HR transformation. Paul was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in the
2010 Queens' Birthday honours. In 2011, after several years of part-time research, he was conferred a Doctor of Philosophy in Information Science from the US Naval Postgraduate School.

Dr Paul Robards is the Chief Data Integration Officer (CDIO). He is responsible for the Defence Data Strategy and the OneDefence Data Platform, which will enable Defence to better govern, trust, share, discover and use data. He is also responsible for the Defence Artificial Intelligence Centre (DAIC), which will accelerate the adoption of AI in Defence, and ensure appropriate governance and assurance.
Paul Robards AM