Hari Hara Priya Kannan

Profile

Hari Hara Priya Kannan is Chief Data Scientist at The Demographics Group in Melbourne, renowned for its data-driven journalism, corporate speaking, and business advisory services.

She writes a monthly column for The Australian newspaper, analysing business demographics and their impact on businesses and government policies.

Hari holds degrees in software engineering and data science from universities in Bangalore and Melbourne.

Hari has spoken to audiences across Australia on diverse topics including housing and home ownership, business formation, international education, Australian ethnicity, ageing and the need for strategic planning.

Specializing in both Australian and global demographic data, Hari highlights Australia's demographic trends, offering insights into consumer behaviour, workforce dynamics, and social trends, and showcasing their significance for corporate, government and industry audiences alike.

Expertise

Talking Points

Australian Demographic Megatrends

Explores demographic trends in Australia using the latest census and ABS updates, plus addresses the effects of the pandemic and the recovery process.

Compares Australian trends within a global context. Make no mistake, demographics suggest that Australia is still the lucky country!

Identifies opportunities and challenges for Australian business and government in the 2020s flowing from demographic change.

Jobs of the Future

Considers the impact AI and automation on business and government via a demographic perspective.

Discusses the prospect of job displacement (it’s more a case of leaning into change).

Talks about the skills required for the workforce of the future and explores the emerging jobs in high demand.

Opportunities in Regional Australia

Post-pandemic demographic trends show a rise in regional populations within each capital city’s lifestyle zone.

Regional growth drives business and demand for local government services. This session talks about which businesses (via ABN growth) and what services?

The challenges in regional Australia often relate to housing supply and access to skilled (and non-skilled) labour.

Customer of the Future

Identifies key demographic markets based on population growth eg ageing boomers, overseas students and the Millennials at 40.

Talks about changes in the way customers interact with business and government e.g. apps, click-&-collect, self-checkout and more.

Argues that Millennials passing into their 40s later this decade will drive demand for housing upgrades, for growing-family lifestyle e.g. Bali holidays, and for commitment to saving for retirement.

The Great Aussie Housing Challenge

Discusses the pipeline of housing supply and reasons for the trade-skills shortage (eg baby bust).

Talks about the shift towards lifestyle housing within suburbia.

Argues that a “house of one’s own” is central to Australian values and that “the house” is undergoing rapid change in style, function and possibly also production.