Danny Butt

Partner

Danny has over 12 years' experience working in new media as an editor, researcher, designer, educator, and consultant. Since co-editing New Zealand's first magazine about the Internet in 1993/4, he has developed significant new media ventures in both commercial and non-commercial sectors. His recent work focuses on the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and creative industries for social, cultural and economic development in the Asia Pacific. He is a member of the Working Editorial Committee for the Digital Review of Asia Pacific, the comprehensive reference on ICT-for-development in the region; and editor of the book Internet Governance: Asia Pacific Perspectives published by UNDP-APDIP and Elsevier. He is also on the Steering Committee for the Pacific Rim New Media Summit, to be held in San Jose in 2006 as part of the InterSociety on Electronic Arts (ISEA2006) symposium, and he sits on the ISEA2006 advisory board.

In his previous role as an academic, he was founding Director of the Creative Industries Research Centre at the Waikato Institute of Technology, where he also established the Digital Media programme. He has given invited presentations at numerous international conferences on culture and technology. He holds an MA by research (with Vice Chancellor's Commendation) from Macquarie University, Sydney, where he studied socio-economic inequality in the information society. He is an associate member of the ORBICOM International Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications.

Robert Hutchinson

Partner

From late 2000 through 2005 Robert was Head of the New Media & Digital Services Interface stream at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where he was responsible for developing broadband and digital television strategies and initiatives for the corporation, including the digital TV channel ABC2. He led the team which launched the new channel to deadline and budget and oversaw the development of the website and channel brands as creative director of both the TV channel and the ABC website abc.net.au, one of Australia's largest and most visited content websites. He was responsible for the introduction of integrated best practice models across new media content production and presentation, including a user-experience focused production process, broadcast production facilities specifically designed for cross-media production and a cost-recovery model which enabled the accurate representation of true costs in content projects.

Robert has been working in the media and Internet industries since 1995 in a variety of roles including new media arts practitioner, web designer and business analyst. As a principal of ICVP.com he was responsible for establishing Internet ventures for major advertising and media companies including Saatchi & Saatchi (Wellington) and The Radio Network (NZ).

Robert has been funded by the Australian Film Commission to produce and direct a short film (Weed Eater, 2004) and worked as director and assistant director on several commercials and channel identities for the ABC. He is currently developing a number of film and new media projects as an independent producer and is a board member of Streetwize Communications, a national not for profit social communications agency.