Charles Todd Oration – Sri Amirthalingam – 12 October 2026, Sydney: Lucky by Design: What Australia must do to succeed in the new world
TelSoc has previously announced that Sri Amirthalingam, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Network Officer at Optus, will be our speaker for the Charles Todd Oration this year.
The Charles Todd Oration and lunch will be held, as in recent years, at the Macquarie Room, Royal Automobile Club of Australia, 89 Macquarie Street, Sydney from 11.45 am to 2 pm on Monday 12 October 2026. The formal proceedings will conclude by 2 pm. Please stay longer than 2 pm if you wish to do so and network.
Sri’s topic will be Lucky by Design: What Australia must do to succeed in the new world. It’s a big topic, involving the way our digital economy and future society will be shaped. Donald Horne in 1964 considered that Australia was lucky by accident. Sri is building on Horne’s metaphor – how to get the outcomes Australia needs in 2026 and beyond. Sri will be taking a broad perspective informed by his substantial and diverse experience in the industry and by the perspectives arising from his roles as Chief Technology Officer at Optus, his thirty-six years of experience at Telstra, and his connections to the global network of CTOs.
Sri will be introduced by our 2024 Charles Todd Oration speaker, Will Irving of NBN Co, following TelSoc tradition.
As with TelSoc’s signature tradition, Sri’s talk will be followed by a Q&A session in which TelSoc members and industry colleagues will be able to raise questions and issues – and get answers. Past experience suggests that these Q&A sessions are invariably very interesting and informative, and well worthwhile.
How to Book Seats or a Table
TelSoc is pleased to have been able to keep the prices for this year’s Charles Todd Oration at the same level as in 2024.
In order to book a seat or a table, complete the registration details on this page. Once you select whether you are a Member, Non-Member or wish to book a table for 10 people the relevant price will show. If you are not a Member of TelSoc, this is a good time to consider joining – go to the Membership page at https://telsoc.org/membership/ Then press SUBMIT and you will be taken to PayPal where you can elect to pay by PayPal or credit card.
TelSoc will follow up all bookings to confirm names (for name tags) and dietary preferences. The venue will need to know numbers and dietary preferences in good time.
About Sri Amirthalingam
Sri Amirthalingam joined Optus in January 2026. He brings over three decades of extensive telecommunications and technology leadership.
Prior to Optus, Sri spent 35 years at Telstra, where he was instrumental in shaping wireless strategy and delivering national-scale infrastructure programs – from the era of 1G through to Telstra’s industry-first 5G deployment.
Sri combines deep technical fluency with strategic foresight and commercial acumen. He has led end-to-end network planning, spectrum strategy, and large multidisciplinary teams, driving innovations that have redefined telco performance across Australia.
He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (University of South Alabama, Magna Cum Laude), Master’s degrees in Engineering and Legal Studies (UNSW), and an MBA (AGSM). He is also a Visiting Professor at UTS and a Board Member of SMARTAID Australia.
If you are planning to be at the CommsDay Wholesale Congress on 13 and 14 October…
The Charles Todd Oration will be held the day before the Wholesale Congress and that will work in well with your schedule. If you are going to Sydney for the Wholesale Congress then book to go a day earlier. It will be well worth your while.