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 thirty years of 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 her deep commercial and litigation expertise to deliver responsive risk management solutions for effective information governance and regulatory compliance, particularly in data privacy and information security, 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, information security 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 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.
• 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 – Moderator, Reducing discovery costs in litigation & the new EDRM Dupe ID Specification, March 2023
• InfoGovANZ – Moderator, What are the risks for organisations using Chat GPT and similar technology?, March 2023
• Australian Privacy Commissioners’ Forum, Moderator, Privacy Awareness Week, May 2023
• Information Awareness Month Launch, Presentation on IG Industry Report and Trends, May 2023
• Women on Boards – Presentation, AI and Data: Key Issues for Directors,  June 2023
• Privacy, Law and Business Conference – Presentation, AI and Privacy Risks in the Financial Sector: Consequences for Companies and Directors, St John’s College, Cambridge, July 2023
• American Bar Association Cross Border Institute – Moderator, Is Information Governance Still Stressing Your Organisation in 2023? Paris, July 2023
• The University of Sydney, Law School – Presentation, AI Risks in the Financial Sector: Consequences for Companies and Directors, Sydney, August 2023

Click here for more speaking engagements

Publications 

• The use of WhatsApp and messaging record-keeping failures: the massive fines keep coming
• Information Lifecycle Management: what is it and how it reduces risk?
• Optus Data Breach – the risks of data over-retention
• The Primer on eDiscovery in the Asia Pacific (APAC) Region
• The Information Governance Primer – a comprehensive guide to build and improve information governance within organisations

Click here for more articles and publications

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
• Supreme Court of New South Wales
• Federal Court of Australia and High Court of Australia

Professional Associations

• Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
• Asian Privacy Scholars Network (APSN)
• EDRM Global Advisory Council
• Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia (FGIA)
• International Association of Privacy Professionals
• 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

Sibenco Legal & Advisory	Principal and Director (2012 to date)
InfoGovANZ	Founder and Director (2016 to date)
Sparke Helmore	Sydney Managing Partner (2010-2011) Partner and National Group Leader, Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and the Legal Technology Support Group (2003-2011)
Consultant	Consultant on large high-profile commercial litigation disputes (2000-2002)
Middletons (now K&L Gates)	Senior Associate, Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Group (1997-2000)
Phillips Fox (now DLA Piper)	Solicitor, Construction Group (1995-1997)