ITS Australia appoints new CEO

Intelligent Transport Systems Australia has appointed transport and logistics executive Susan Harris as chief executive officer.

Intelligent Transport Systems Australia (ITS Australia) is the national organisation focused on facilitating the development and deployment of advanced technologies across all modes of transport - air, sea, road and rail - to improve safety and productivity.

Susan Harris brings 20 years' experience across the transport and supply chain sectors to the role. She has worked in strategy development and delivered national and international projects involving ITS technologies.

She attended the 10th ITS World Conference, in tandem with a Port of Melbourne container freight mapping assignment that lead to the Connect Freight trial. Her international experience includes research in Shanghai and Spain, and development work in Malaysia. She has an MBA from Melbourne Business School.

ITS President, Dr Norm Pidgeon, welcomed the appointment of Susan Harris. “We are very excited to have Susan on the team at this critical time in the development of ITS solutions in Australia. We are on the threshold of an era in which a high level of communication and intelligence in our transport networks and vehicles will transform levels of safety, productivity and environmental performance.

"It is a critical time for strong collaboration across industry, government, transport operators, research organisations and user communities. Susan will strengthen the capacity of ITS Australia to play its part in forging these links, and she is already out and about doing just that,” said Norm Pidgeon.

Susan Harris said her transport and logistics industry experience highlighted the benefits that ITS technologies can bring to the community and to business. "I look forward to contributing to the ongoing development of innovative ITS technologies, and to helping facilitate their application to make our transport systems safer and more productive," she said.

Australian 2011 ITS Summit

Among her first tasks is to help deliver the second Australian Intelligent Transport Systems Summit, to be held 20 to 22 September 2011 on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Featuring more than 60 Australian and international speakers, the summit theme “Strategy into Action” will address traffic congestion and management; tolling and pricing; bus, rail and tram public transport; freight management, heavy vehicle driver fatigue and electronic work diary systems; ITS standards, and the need for an holistic ITS business architecture approach to systems deployment.

For Summit program and registration enquiries, contact +61 (0)7 3255 1002, or visit www.itssummit.com. Organisations interested in sponsorship and exhibition opportunities should telephone +61 (0)2 9254 5000 or email sponsorship@itssummit.com.

Source: http://www.tandlnews.com.au/