Mohan Aiyaswami is Chief Information Officer at Tennis Australia, a role he has held since March 2023 following senior technology leadership positions at organisations including the Australian Department of Defence, Tabcorp, DXC Technology, Toll Holdings, and Optus.
His formal moderating journey began roughly a decade ago, when, as Chief Technology Officer at the Department of Defence, he was asked to moderate a panel on innovation, a role that suited him because he could frame the organisational context for the panellists. Since then, Mohan has moderated numerous sessions for The Ortus Club, drawn by topics that let him learn as much as he contributes.
How did your moderating journey begin?
Mohan traces his first experience moderating back to a panel on innovation at the Australian Department of Defence, a role that emerged from his position as CTO rather than any formal training.
“It started when I was working at the Australian Department of Defence about ten years ago, when I had the opportunity to moderate a panel of speakers on innovation. That was my first outing, and I quite liked it because it gave me an opportunity not just to moderate, but also to learn and share.
My connection to The Ortus Club came a bit out of left field; someone introduced me, and I have liked moderating for Ortus ever since because the topics are genuinely interesting. As the CTO at the time, I was the right person to moderate because I could give the panellists context around my organisation and what we were looking for, so they could tailor the conversation towards the topic. I do not think there was any particular qualification I needed beyond that.”
What do you find most exciting about moderating?
Mohan draws a firm distinction between an interviewer and a moderator, explaining why steering and contributing to a discussion enriches the experience for everyone in the room.
“It is not just a question and answer session; you are not just an interviewer. Being a moderator gives me the opportunity to do two things.
First, you can steer the conversation towards the actual topic rather than just asking a question and letting someone answer. At a recent Ortus Club session on integration, for example, I steered the discussion towards a more specific angle, because integration on its own is such a broad topic.
Second, unlike an interviewer, a moderator can also contribute to the conversation. When someone says something, I can say, ‘I understand that, because I faced this challenge myself, what do you think about it?’ That begins a genuine discussion rather than a point-and-shoot exchange of question, answer, question, answer.
I see the role of the moderator as an enricher of the discussion, not simply someone who asks the right questions and collects the answers.”
How do you prepare to moderate an Ortus event?
Mohan explains why he treats preparation as an exercise in audience empathy, working backwards from what attendees want to take away from the session.
“First and foremost, I spend time familiarising myself with the topic, even though you might think that with my experience I already know it. For the last session, on integration, I spent time with the Ortus team to understand what the audience really wanted out of it, and I tried to frame it as if I were sitting in the audience myself.
I make notes on what relevant experience I can bring to the table, and when I speak to the panellists beforehand, I make sure we are all aligned on the outcome we want. People are spending two or three hours of their time, so I put myself in their shoes: why would I do that, and what would I expect to get out of it? Then I work out how to shape the session to make sure they get exactly that.”
What tips would you give to aspiring moderators?
Mohan offers three principles: treat the audience as part of the panel, prepare around the outcome rather than just the topic, and be willing to share genuine failures alongside successes.
“The first thing to understand is that moderating is different from being an interviewer; it is not a question and answer exercise. You should think of yourself as almost part of the panel, and you should include the audience as if they were additional panellists too. If there are three speakers, think of it as five people in the room: the three panellists, you as moderator, and the audience.
The second tip is to prepare, and not just on the topic itself, but on the outcome that the organiser expects the audience to walk away with.
The third is to be authentic about sharing your own lived experience, and that does not mean only success stories. All of us have failures too, and it takes some boldness to talk about what can go wrong, because the leaders who come to these Ortus sessions want to hear lived experience and battle scars, not just theory.”
How has moderating contributed to your growth as a leader?
Reflecting on a decade of moderating, Mohan credits the practice with sharpening his focus on business outcomes and reinforcing empathy and humility as leadership qualities.
“First, you learn to understand the actual business outcome you are trying to achieve as a technology leader, whatever the topic happens to be, whether it is a platform migration, integration, or AI. As long as you know the outcome for the end audience, you can structure your strategy around it.
Second, you learn to take time to talk to people who have lived experience, so you do not have to repeat the same mistakes; there is nothing wrong with making new mistakes, but you should not have to repeat old ones. I would boil the rest down to two qualities: empathy, always trying to put yourself in the shoes of your leader, your CEO, or your end customer, and humility, walking into any session knowing that you do not know everything.
That keeps an inquisitive, almost childlike mindset that wants to keep learning. I am a firm believer that we can grow together, learn from mistakes together, and correct each other, and I do that even with people who would technically be considered competitors, because sharing and enriching each other’s knowledge has been one of the most important parts of how I have grown as a leader.”
Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network
Across Mohan’s insights on treating the audience as part of the panel, preparing sessions around genuine outcomes, and leading with empathy and humility, one pattern is clear: these are not qualities that develop in isolation. They are built through repeated, high-trust dialogue with peers who bring their own lived experience, including their failures, to the table.
His vision of the “moderator as enricher” reflects a broader reality: today’s technology leaders cannot rely on internal experience alone to sharpen their thinking. The most effective executives, especially those navigating complex technology transformation, actively seek out peer dialogue as a strategic necessity to test their assumptions and learn from others’ battle scars.
At The Ortus Club, we host curated executive roundtables that bring together senior leaders facing these exact challenges. Step into a room where the audience is treated as part of the conversation, and engage in the kind of open, high-value dialogue that turns individual experience into shared growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between an interviewer and a moderator, according to Mohan Aiyaswami?
A: An interviewer asks questions and records answers in a largely one-directional exchange. A moderator steers the conversation towards a specific outcome and actively contributes to it, drawing on their own experience to enrich the discussion for the audience.
Q: What does Mohan mean by the “five-person panel”?
A: It is a preparation mindset in which the moderator treats the audience as active participants alongside the named panellists, rather than as passive listeners, so the session is shaped around their needs as much as the speakers’ answers.
Q: Why does Mohan emphasise sharing failures, not just successes, during moderation?
A: Senior leaders attending executive sessions are often more interested in lived experience and lessons learned from setbacks, or “battle scars,” than in polished success stories, because failures offer more practical, transferable insight.
Q: How does Mohan prepare for an Ortus Club session?
A: He familiarises himself thoroughly with the topic, consults with the Ortus team on what the audience wants to achieve, aligns panellists on the intended outcome beforehand, and mentally puts himself in the audience’s seat to judge whether the session will deliver value.
Q: What leadership qualities does Mohan credit to a decade of moderating?
A: He points to empathy, consistently putting himself in others’ shoes, and humility, approaching every session with the awareness that he does not know everything, as the two qualities that have most shaped his growth as a leader.
