Justin Baird

Justin Baird is a leading innovator who is renowned for delivering exceptional integrated experiences, with intelligent technology solutions. An award winning technology futurist, Justin is sought after both locally and internationally for his presentations relating to digital, media and marketing futures.

Justin has held leadership positions in companies that have included Google, Dolby and Jumptank. He is head of technology (Asia Pacific) at the experience agency Imagination, has been managing partner at Mosaic, managing director of R&D, technology & innovation at Accenture Studios, the chief technical officer & head of APAC at 1 Page and partner and group innovation director Dentsu Aegis at Jumptank. At Hanson Robotics, he led creative robotic performances, one of which featured on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He led innovation at Google, launching YouTube portals across the region, patenting Google Underwater Street View and becoming a founding member of the tech company’s creative council.

He holds two U.S. patents and has written a number of technical papers within areas of research that include engineering, analog and digital signal processing, embedded systems development, product management, high speed digital networks, large scale entertainment systems, mobile and web application deployment, and interactive multimedia installation technologies.

Justin is focused on delivering change through the development of intellectual property and products for both consumer and enterprise applications.

Justin is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA), an international network of accomplished leaders and active individuals, founded in 1754 and committed to enriching society through ideas and action. He is a member of the CSCLeaders alumni, a Commonwealth Government leadership group founded, sponsored and hosted by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, which is tackling the challenges that businesses, governments and society face today to build the global relationships needed by the leaders of tomorrow. He is a member of the I4J working group, founded by his Google colleague Vint Cerf and David Nordfors. The group is a collection of top thought-leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, policy makers, executives and more, focused on disrupting unemployment. Justin was an advisor to Infrastructure Victoria, assisting the future strategic direction and investments made for the next 30 years within the State of Victoria.

Justin’s work has been recognised as a leading talent with an AdNews 2010 “40 under 40” award. He has actively supported the local creative and digital industries through sponsorship and lecturing at Award School, has been a member of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 juries for the Young Guns international awards programme, and was a member of the mobile jury at the 2013 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

Justin is on the advisory board of Underwater Earth, which has embarked on the SeaView Survey, a pioneering scientific expedition that is carrying out the first comprehensive study to document and reveal the composition and health of coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef across an unprecedented depth range (0-100m). Justin’s work on underwater panoramic imagery is the subject of one of his patents.

Justin is also very actively involved in philanthropic efforts to help drive positive change through technology. In 2008 he drove the global launch of Earth Connect, a global social platform for Earth Hour, and in 2009 he worked closely with the United Nations to create the Show Your Vote platform, an online advocacy tool for the COP15 Copenhagen Climate Summit that was officially sanctioned and supported by the UNFCCC. The open source platform was then also used in online advocacy initiatives, including Earth Hour 2010.

With a strong passion for music, digital audio, musical computing, live sound and recording, Justin has worked with artists ranging from Elton John and Barbra Streisand through to Robbie Williams and the Dave Matthews Band in the technology and production of live performance.

He enjoys playing bass and saxophone in local Balmain pubs, and also dabbles in the ukulele, the banjolin, and some ancient Chinese instruments such as the guqin and the erhu.

Justin has also created a collaborative music education platform with composer Charlie Chan, cellist Nathan Waks, and media personality Angela Catterns in partnership with the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with the establishment of the Global Orchestra Foundation. In a world first, participants around the world were able to play the same piece of music at the same time. Enabling timing and harmony across locations, the Global Orchestra developed the “Conductor-Cam”. Through this application, musicians from around the world were give the novel opportunity to play with the SSO in time, guided by legendary conductor David Robertson. For some musicians, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play alongside the world’s best.

Justin Baird holds a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Music from the University of Miami, providing a unique background in both technology and the creative arts. He was a product management director at Dolby Laboratories Inc. and a research and design engineer at Meyer Sound Laboratories in the fields of electroacoustics and hardware design. Justin also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management.