The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP has announced the appointment of two new Board members to the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) Advisory Board.
The new members are Mr Chris Williams, Managing Director of H.I. Fraser, and Ms Christine Zeitz, Managing Director of Leidos Australia.
Both Mr Williams and Ms Zeitz have extensive experience working in the defence industry and a strong understanding of defence supply chains, and will make valuable contributions to the Advisory Board.
Ms Zeitz, Managing Director of Leidos Australia, is a defence, security and ICT specialist with over 25 years of experience in directing and delivering world-class solutions and services to Defence and other customers, including exporting. Leidos Australia is a technology, engineering and science prime systems integrator with over 1000 local experts. Backed by a global organisation of 32,000 the company focuses on complex logistics, C4ISR, cyber and electronic warfare.
A former submariner, Mr Williams is the MD of H.I. Fraser, a wholly Australian owned niche critical gas and fluid SME. H.I. Fraser designs, manufactures and maintains specialist gas and fluid systems for the Australian Defence Force as well as the offshore oil and gas sectors.
Two vacancies were created on the Advisory Board by the resignations of original board members Mr John O’Callaghan and Mr Tim Shaw.
Minister Pyne and the CDIC thank Mr O’Callaghan and Mr Shaw for their contribution as the CDIC has been established.
“The Advisory Board has a critical role in positioning Australian industry to seize the unprecedented opportunities available to meet our Defence capability needs over the next decade,” Minister Pyne said.
The CDIC was established as the cornerstone initiative of the 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement. The CDIC is headquartered in Adelaide and will receive around $230 million investment over the next decade that will drive industry growth across the country.
The CDIC works with small-to-medium enterprises across Australia to promote competitiveness and guide priorities across defence industry. The CDIC offers a range of advisory services including mentoring, defence market access, export facilitation and global supply chain development.
