Hero Macdonald
Deakin University
Hero Macdonald is University Librarian at Deakin University, a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL), and Chair of the CAUL Content Procurement Committee. Hero’s career reflects a sustained commitment to advancing information equity. In 2026, Hero received the CAUL Distinguished Service Award for their values-led leadership of CAUL’s major publisher negotiations, which delivered unprecedented levels of open access publishing for the region. They bring deep expertise in leadership, digital innovation and sector governance, having previously also served on the Trove Strategic Advisory Committee and the Australian Library and Information Association Board. Hero is deeply interested in how AI is reshaping the scholarly information ecosystem, and what this means for learning, research and the integrity of the scholarly record for the future.