AI-MEDIA - Key Persons


Alison Loat - Managing Director

Job Titles:
  • Independent, Non - Executive Director
  • Managing Director
  • Non - Executive Director
  • Chairman of AIM 's RNC
  • World Economic Forum Young Global Leader
Alison is Chair of AIM's RNC (Remuneration and Nomination Committee) and a member of the ARC (Audit and Risk Committee). Non-Executive Director | BAH, Queen's University, Kington Canada; MPP, Harvard Kennedy School Alison joined the Board in 2018 and is the Chair of Ai-Media's Canadian entity. Alison is the Managing Director, Sustainable Investing and Innovation at OPTrust, a Canadian public pension plan, where she is responsible for environmental, social and governance related aspects of $23 billion CAD in globally diversified investments and for building and managing an investment portfolio that deploys capital at the intersection of sustainability and innovation. Previously, Alison was the Senior Managing Director of FCLTGlobal where she worked with asset owners, managers and companies to advance long-term investing. She's also worked at McKinsey & Company, a healthcare technology company and was on the founding team of the MaRS Discovery District, a medical commercialization facility in Toronto. She has a deep commitment to public service. She co-founded and was the CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy and was a Senior Fellow and instructor at the University of Toronto and the president of the Canadian Club of Toronto. Alison is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, an Advisory Board member at the Max Bell School at McGill University, a board director at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and a governor of Ridley College. In addition to Ai-Media, she is also a board director at The Logic, a privately held media company. She received both the Queen's Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals for her service to Canada and was named one of the WXN 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She holds a BA (Honours) from Queen's University and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Harvard Kennedy School. Alison is a member of AIM's RNC (Remuneration and Nomination Committee) and a member of the ARC (Audit and Risk Committee).

Anthony Abrahams - CEO, Founder

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Co - Founder
  • Director
  • Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Tony co-founded Ai-Media in 2003. Tony served as a Director of Northcott Disability Services from 2010 to 2018, and was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2013. Co-Founder, Director and CEO | BCom (Hons). LLB (UNSW), MPhil. MBA (Oxford) Tony co-founded Ai-Media in 2003. He served as a Director of Northcott Disability Services from 2010 to 2018, and was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2013. In previous roles, Tony worked to establish the Oxford Internet Institute in 2001, while attending the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Tony has been a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors since 2006.

Bill McLaughlin - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Product Officer
  • CTO
Bill McLaughlin is CTO at EEG and also now Chief Product Officer globally at Ai-Media. Since 2007, Bill has been with EEG in software development, engineering management, and product roles, and has architected the company's leading software solutions including iCap, Falcon, Lexi, and Alta. Bill initiated EEG's entry into cloud SAAS business models which have become the company's fastest growing segment and is a leader in the live IP video production community. Bill holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Columbia University.

Cheryl Hayman

Job Titles:
  • Independent, Non - Executive Director
  • Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Cheryl joined the board in March 2022 and has extensive experience working as an independent Director across multiple sectors including ASX-listed companies as well as industry bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Her Board roles include Beston Global Food Company (ASX: BFC) and investment company HGL Limited (ASX: HGL). Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, and serves as Chair of AIM's Remuneration and Nomination Committee and member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Deanne Weir - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Non - Executive Director
  • Chairman of Seer Data
  • Director of Ai - Media
  • Member of RNC ( Remuneration and Nomination Committee
Deanne has served as a director of Ai Media since 2010, and became Chair in August 2013. An entrepreneur, company director and philanthropist, Deanne previously spent 10 years at ASX listed company Austar United Communications as a senior executive, including as General Counsel and Company Secretary. Deanne is also Chair of Seer Data and Analytics, an Australian technology start-up. Deanne is passionate about community engagement and the power of story-telling to help influence social change. Deanne was a long-term Board member and Deputy Chair at Screen Australia and in 2017 was appointed Chair of the Sydney Film Festival. Deanne is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In addition to her role as Board Chair, Deanne is a member of RNC (Remuneration and Nomination Committee).

Donna Reid

Job Titles:
  • Chief Transformation and People Officer
Donna joined Ai-Media in March 2021 after five years as the Director of Content Service Operations for Foxtel Media. She holds degrees in Law, Human Resources, Economics, Nutritional Science, and a Master of Law & Relations. Donna has more than 20 years' experience in Human Resources and Operations. She has executed global people strategies throughout APAC and America before expanding her role into broadcast operations at Fox Sports. In that executive role, Donna as a key lead of the 2 year Fox Sports ‘Move' project was responsible for the national broadcast infrastructure transition from Fox Sports' old home in Sydney's Pyrmont to Artarmon. Her experience with large and diverse teams as well as her passion for people development, mentoring, coaching and employee engagement will round out Donna's key Ai-Media responsibilities.

James Ward

Job Titles:
  • Chief Sales Officer
James Ward joined Ai-Media in 2013 based in Sydney Australia, and was responsible for Ai-Media's People Team for five years, leading the business through significant growth periods as Ai-Media increased its presence in the APAC region. In 2018, James relocated to London to lead Ai-Media's expansion in to the EMEA region. In the role of VP-EMEA, James delivered exponential growth in the access services and multi-language localization market throughout EMEA. Now in the role of Chief Sales Officer, James works with our customers on a global level to understand and meet their requirements in a growing market.

John Bird - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Executive
John Bird is an experienced executive and recently held the role of CFO and COO of Regeneus, an ASX-listed biotechnology company, where he worked alongside Ai-Media Non-Executive Director John Martin in his former role as Chairman and CEO of the company. Previously, Mr Bird provided financial and strategic management services to ASX-listed companies, including on mergers and acquisitions. Mr Bird is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chartered Secretaries Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University.

John Martin

Job Titles:
  • Independent, Non - Executive Director
  • Non - Executive Director
John joined the board in 2010 and served as the company's first Chairman until 2013. He is an experienced company director and business executive, having served as CEO and director of ASX-listed Babcock & Brown Communities, Primelife and Regeneus. John is a former corporate and executive partner of the law firm Allens where he specialised in M&A, fundraising and corporate advisory. He is a Non-Executive Director of Australian national law firm, Sparke Helmore; biotech company, Biopoint; and US internet services and infrastructure company, Lokket. John is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Chair of AIM's ARC (Audit and Risk Committee), and a member of AIM's RNC (Remuneration and Nomination Committee).

LEXI DR

LEXI DR (Disaster Recovery) offers peace of mind around the clock, with the ability to deliver live, automatic captions on-premises and off the cloud.

Lisa Jones - Secretary

Job Titles:
  • Company Secretary
Lisa Jones is an experienced corporate lawyer and corporate governance professional with more than 20 years' experience in commercial law and corporate affairs, working with both public and private companies in Australia and in Europe. She was a senior associate in the corporate & commercial practice of Allens and has held general counsel and executive positions with private and public listed companies in Australia and in Italy. Lisa is the principal of Jones Meredith Group which provides bespoke company secretarial and corporate governance services to listed and unlisted companies.