Susan Bennett

LLM (Hons), MBA, FGIA, CIPP/E

Principal & Director
M:  +61 (2) 8226 8682
E:  susan.bennett@sibenco.com
Connect with Susan on LinkedIn

Overview

Susan is the Principal of Sibenco Legal & Advisory and Founder & Executive Director of Information Governance ANZ (InfoGovANZ). With over twenty-five years experience as a lawyer and advisor, Susan works closely with corporate and government clients to deliver tailored legal and risk management solutions that meet client needs and strategic objectives.

Prior to establishing Sibenco, for many years Susan led large litigation cases and inquiries involving the production of large volumes of documents/data. She draws on this experience to deliver responsive risk management solutions for effective Information Governance and regulatory compliance, particularly in data privacy, cross border data protection and critical incident planning and response.

Susan founded InfoGovANZ in 2016 to break down the ‘information silos’ she observed among professionals, to enable more connected thinking and innovation for Information Governance best practice and help drive more holistic solutions, particularly for data privacy and cybersecurity. For more information – visit www.infogovanz.com.

Susan holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Laws, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional – Europe (CIPP/E).   Susan is Chair of Sedona® APAC Working Group 6 – International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure, and a member of Working Group 11 – Data Security and Privacy Liability.  Susan is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia (FGIA), a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (iappANZ), a member of the Asian Privacy Scholars Network (APSN), a member and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Areas of Expertise

Susan delivers strategic, practical and responsive advice to organisations in:

• Information and Data Governance –  frameworks, policies and procedures to strategically maximise the value of information to achieve organisational objectives, while minimising the risks and costs of holding it.
• Privacy and Data Breach – policies and procedures complying with privacy requirements, privacy impact assessments, privacy-by-design, ethical frameworks for data analytics, cyberattack preparation with critical incident planning and data breach response.
• Corporate Governance – governance frameworks, policies and procedures to achieve organisational objectives.
• Legal Project Management – timely delivery of projects within budget through the effective use of technology and people.
• Inquiries – representing people and organisations involved in Inquiries & Royal Commissions.
• Investigations – providing independent workplace investigations and reports.
• Workshops and Presentations – helping leaders achieve strategic objectives and manage legal risks.

Speaking Engagements

• InfoGovANZ Webinar – Building Trust in the Public Record, Facilitator, November 2020
• ARMA InfoCon 2020 – ARMA International, Australasia Keynote Presentation – InfoGov 2020: A Global Perspective from Down Under, October 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – Draft Data Availability and Transparency Bill, Facilitator, October 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – APAC Privacy Law Update: Cross-Border Transfers, Facilitator, October 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – AI Transparency in Digital Government, Facilitator, September 2020
• IAPP KnowledgeNet Panel Discussion –  Redefining Privacy in the post Pandemic era – Panel member, June 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – Presentation with Eric Mandel, EDRM & InfoGovANZ – Information Governance Models, May 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – ARMA’s Information Governance Implementation Model – IGIM – Facilitator, May 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – Information and Data Framework & National Archives of Australia Policy work – Facilitator, May 2020
• InfoGovANZ Webinar – Information Governance & COVID-19 – Panel Facilitator, May 2020
• Information Awareness Month(IAM) 2020 Finale – Informed about your Changing Environment – Panel member, May 2020
• Legalwise, 13th Annual In-house Counsel Conference – Presentation: A Guide to Litigation for In-House Counsel: Getting there Efficiently, Sydney, March 2020 (see also interview Managing Litigation Efficiently and Other Challenges Faced by In-House Counsel)

Click here for more speaking engagements

Publications 

• Information Governance: Optimising the Lifeblood of Organisations, published November 2019 and Governance Directions, February 2020, Vol 72, Number 1
• Data as a Strategic National Resource: The Importance of Governance and Data Protection Governance Directions, August 2019, Vol 71, Number 7
• Big Data, Privacy and Information Governance: Implementing an ethical based assessment? Governance Directions, June 2019, Vol 71, Number 5
• Corporate Governance in the Digital Economy: The critical importance of Information Governance, Governance Directions, November 2018, Vol 70, Number 10
• GDPR: Change to European Privacy Laws and its impact on Australian businesses – Governance Directions, March 2018, Vol 70, Issue 2
• Australia’s new Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme: Is your Data Breach Response Plan up to date? – published January 2018
• What is Information Governance and how does it differ from Data Governance? – Governance Directions, September 2017, Vol 69, Number 8
• Information Governance Leadership – controlling data and information to achieve strategic objectives – Governance Directions, December 2017, Vol 69, Number 11
• Why Information Governance Needs Top-Down Leadership – Governance Directions, May 2015, Number 4

Qualifications

  Tertiary Education

• Master of Business Administration (Exec), AGSM (2003)
• Master of Laws (Hons), University of Sydney (1999)
• Diploma of Legal Practice, University of Technology Sydney (1990)
• Bachelor of Laws, University of Tasmania (1990)

  Professional education

• Certified Information Privacy Professional – CIPP/E (2018)
• Legal Lean Sigma® and Project Management (2014)
• Leading Professional Services Firms, Harvard Business School (2011)
• Company Directors Course (GAICD), AICD (2007)

Practising Certificate & Admissions

• Unrestricted Practising Certificate New South Wales, Australia
• NSW Supreme Court, Federal Court of Australia and High Court

Professional Memberships

• Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
• Fellow of Governance Institute of Australia (FGIA)
• Asian Privacy Scholars Network (APSN)
• International Association of Privacy Professionals (iappANZ)
• New South Wales Law Society
• Sedona Conference® Working Group 6 – International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure
• Sedona Conference® Working Group 11 – Data Security and Privacy Liability

Career overview