She’s smart, she’s punchy, she’s intelligent and manages to deliver presentations with a great sense of humour. Sonja Bernhardt, chief executive officer of ThoughtWare Australia, a multi award winning business and developer of Governance, Risk Management and Compliance software solutions, is a Certified Developer of Enterprise™ and the first Australian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for Women in Technology International (Silicon Valley - 8 December 2005). She is a popular presenter at ICT industry, business and management/leadership conferences and known for her obvious enthusiasm, visionary leadership, intelligent rational thinking and business acumen.

As a serial entrepreneur Sonja holds a diverse range of executive board and committee appointments, locally, state, nationally and internationally, including recently being appointed by the International Taskforce for Women and IT (ITF) as the Regional coordinator for Global Women and Technology Asia Pacific Regional Centre, as well as a member of the APEC and Latin American and Caribbean Digital Economy Forum, presented in Peru (May 2008). Other appointments include roles such as providing advise to Federal Technology and Innovation Ministers, judging Australian ICT innovation, and providing suggestions for IT policy within her home state of Queensland.