Gary Hale is the Director of the National Resilience & Security Program Office (NRAS) and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Curtin University. In this role, he is responsible for leading Curtin’s efforts to shape national and international defence and space strategies, grow the defence workforce, drive technological innovation, and advance cutting-edge research in sovereign and space technologies. His work also focuses on fostering strategic partnerships, engaging communities to build support for national resilience initiatives, and overseeing the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP) at Curtin University. With extensive leadership experience in cybersecurity and defence, Gary previously served as CEO & Managing Director of SC8 Limited (now Sapien Cyber) and as Cisco’s strategic cybersecurity advisor for the Asia-Pacific & Japan region. Gary’s 20 years of service in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) included leading high-value aerospace capability development programs. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Communications) from Curtin University and a Master of Science (Space Operations) from the US Air Force Institute of Technology. Gary’s expertise spans space, defence, digital, and cyber domains, supporting Curtin’s mission to develop resilient, innovative, and secure solutions that benefit Australia’s national security and economic prosperity.