Bouncing Back
A fireside chat with Veena Bedekar and Hala Batainah on the joys of turning a career setback into a platform for success
Date & Time: 6 September 2022 (Tuesday), 6pm
Delivery: Webinar
Who can attend: Free for anyone who is a lawyer or law student in Australia
Speaker Bios
Hala Batainah (BA-TIE-NAH)
Hala is an information and technology professional who has called Australia and Canberra home since 1990. Hala has held senior executive roles with IBM and Microsoft and launched her businesses in 2018.
Hala is currently managing her portfolio career, which includes facilitation, consulting and coaching executives, emerging female leaders and high-performing teams. She is Chair of the Canberra Innovation Network; an organisation focused on creating impact for Canberra by accelerating start-ups, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Hala is passionate about information technology (IT), women in IT and the role of IT in solving some of society's trickiest challenges. She plays an active role with the YWCA's Clubhouse, and other organisations focused on making a difference and eliminating divides in our communities. She was named WICked woman of the year (twice) by WIC for her contribution to the IT industry and mentoring women. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (USA) and an MBA (Australia).
Hala is married to Marcus, a serial entrepreneur, and they have two teenage children, Maya and Hunter. Before moving to Australia, Hala lived in various countries and is originally from Jordan.
Veena Bedekar
Veena is a Special Counsel with Maddocks who is passionate about empowering culturally diverse women to flourish in their careers.
Veena has spent the majority of her legal career practising in large or national firms in Canberra, but she also has experience working in Perth and in London. She learnt from an early stage, that unexpected twists in your career can bring unexpected opportunities, both professionally and personally.
One of the reasons Veena regularly participates in industry bodies and professional associations is to encourage others from diverse backgrounds to step into leadership roles. She has been a member of the ACT Chapter of the Asian Australian Lawyers Network since its inception. Her other recent committee roles include:
Law Council of Australia’s Business and Human Rights Committee
Property Council of Australia’s ACT Retirement Living Committee
Councillor of the Law Society of the ACT (September 2020-September 2022).
Outside of work, Veena is passionate about travel. Before the COVID-19 pandemic used to travel overseas at least once a year (including a period of approximately 5 months in Central and South America). She’s used the last two years to see more of Australia, and is currently trying to rally her friends to embark on a road trip across the Nullabor.
