Our Executive

Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis

Karen Curtis was appointed Privacy Commissioner in July 2004. Karen has had a policy interest in privacy for over ten years. She was appointed by the Governor General to the Privacy Advisory Committee in December 2000 and in her previous position as Director of Industry Policy at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), she had responsibility for privacy from a business perspective.

Karen was with ACCI, a peak industry association representing over 350,000 Australian businesses, for seven years. She had responsibility for a range of industry policy and small business issues affecting the competitiveness of Australian business including innovation, electronic commerce, telecommunications, regulatory reform, corporate social responsibility, food policy, government purchasing, water policy, energy policy, and environmental policy, including climate change.

In 1998 and 1999, Karen was the inaugural Executive Director of Australian Made Campaign Limited which relaunched the Australian Made Logo Scheme in 1999.

She has been a member of the Consultative Committee for the National Judicial College, a Councillor on Standards Australia's General Council, and a member of numerous government committees including the ACCC Small Business Advisory Group, the National Small Business Forum and the Government Business Climate Change Dialogue. Karen was also a Director of Small Enterprise Telecommunications Limited for four years, including two years as Chair.

Prior to joining ACCI, Karen held positions with the federal government where she provided policy advice on industry policy and S&T issues. Karen is a graduate of the University of Queensland in history, politics and law.

Karen's community involvement has included Chair, ACT Junior Girls Hockey, Member of the ACT Sport and Recreation Ministerial Advisory Committee, and Deputy Chair of the Daramalan College Board in the ACT. Karen is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Deputy Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim

Mr Timothy Pilgrim has been Deputy Privacy Commissioner since February 1998.

His career in public sector management spans more than 20 years and several government agencies.

Before taking up his appointment as Deputy Privacy Commissioner, Mr Pilgrim held a number of senior management positions in the Australian Taxation Office including the Small Business Program and the Child Support Agency.

He has extensive experience in corporate management, covering fields such as human resource management, industrial relations and parliamentary liaison. More broadly, at the corporate level Mr Pilgrim was responsible for providing high level advice on strategies for implementing large scale cultural change.

Timothy's achievements as Deputy Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner include close involvement in developing the private sector provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), which included widespread consultation with community, business and government organisations. He also played a key role in implementing the private sector provisions which took effect on 21 December 2001. Timothy has primary responsibility for oversight of policy development and public relations functions as well as managing the Office's corporate and administrative operations.

Prior to joining the Public Service, Mr Pilgrim's career was in the wine industry where he worked as an assistant winemaker and held a range of junior management positions within the industry.

Mr Pilgrim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sydney University.

Assistant Privacy Commissioner, Mark Hummerston

Mark Hummerston was appointed Assistant Privacy Commissioner in November 2006. He has primary responsibility for overseeing the compliance activities of the Office.

Mark has an extensive background in public sector management, having worked in the NSW and Queensland public sectors and in local government. In particular Mark has worked with independent integrity agencies - as Executive Director of the Crime and Misconduct Commission in Queensland and as Manager, Assessments with the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

In local government he was the Director Governance, Management and Information Services at Randwick City Council in Sydney and prior to that held various management positions with the Northern Sydney Area Health Service and at Royal North Shore Hospital.

Mark has considerable experience in leadership, corporate governance and change management. He has led large-scale projects, including organisational reform, replacement of business systems and cultural change. He also has experience in corporate management, including human resources, finance, information technology, communications and legal services.

Mark has an MBA from Southern Cross University.