Annie Vella

Annie Vella is an engineering leader and researcher focused on AI adoption, governing agentic systems at scale, and the transformation of software engineering as the craft changes. Until recently she was a Distinguished Engineer at Westpac New Zealand, where she shaped the bank's approach to AI strategy, governance and adoption. With more than 20 years of experience across startups, scale-ups, and large enterprises in four countries, she has spent over two decades on both sides of the engineer/manager pendulum - and actively encourages others to do the same. Having fallen in love with computers when she got her first Commodore 64 at age six, Annie has cared deeply about the craft ever since. That curiosity led to a Master's of Engineering exploring how professional software engineers experience the impact of AI coding assistants. Through her writing and speaking, Annie's aim is to help engineers and leaders find joy and pride in the work ahead.