Society Member, Maria MacNamara MRSN, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) — the national peak body for the Australian space industry. The SIAA, formed in 1992, works closely with Australian governments, international partners, academia, and industry to advance Australia’s space industry and economy.

Maria McNamara takes up her new role at the SIAA on 22 April 2024 at a turbulent time for the Australian space sector following a sequence of recent cuts from current state and federal governments to investments in space, including the axing of the $1.2 billion National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO), announced in 2018, that would have led to the launching of four local satellites in 2028.

Maria McNamara is widely regarded as a transformational leader who has worked in membership organisations, the public sector, and the global ICT industry. Most recently, she served as Director, Government Affairs and Innovation Strategy, at the global ICT infrastructure company, Kyndryl — a recent spin-out of IBM’s infrastructure service business.

During 2012–2019, Maria worked as an advisor to former Senator Arthur Sinodinos AO FRSN who, amongst his ministerial portfolios, served as the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. During this tenure, Senator Sinodinos initiated the review of the Australian space sector that played a crucial role in the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018.

The Council of the Society warmly congratulates Maria MacNamara on her new appointment and wishes her every success in the meeting the challenges that lie ahead.