On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .

Back in 2005 , I was working in BHP as CIO of Base Metals when as part of the acquisition of Western Mining Corporation ( WMC ) I got put in as the CIO of WMC . It was a $ 9.2 billion transaction and I was charged with leading the technology related integration of the two companies . We managed to roll one global operation into another – all good fun ! – on time , slightly under budget and in less than 18 months . More recently , I headed up the team that took Atturra public in December 2021 . It was the culmination of a threeyear transformation program that saw the complete transformation of the business and grow significantly .

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

As a kid , I loved all things high tech and my high school years were spent programming in the school lab . The first nine years of my working life were in the military – Army initially , and then the Airforce – and I picked up a science degree majoring in computing during that time . When I made the move to civvy street in 1997 , it was for a commercial role in technology with Boral and I ’ ve been in technology related positions ever since .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?

Despite my background , I definitely don ’ t take a military approach . I ’ m quite situational – the opposite of a

micro-manager – although if something ’ s going badly wrong , I will dive in . My guiding principles are to be fair , just and pragmatic and to not tolerate disingenuous people . My door is always open and I encourage collaboration ; I ’ ve consistently found that ’ s the way to get the best out of people .

What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?

Artificial Intelligence . All solutions now incorporate it : it ’ s embedded in everything . The geek in me really enjoys observing the evolution of econometrics – I love the fact that predictive models which I worked on years ago , and which took hours and days to run , can now be done in seconds . I think Machine Learning is going to trigger a productivity revolution in the next few years and what we really need in Australia is more people studying the fundamentals behind it so we can maximize our use of these new capabilities .

How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?

My four kids are aged from 14 to 22 and all still at home , so family activities take up a lot of my time outside work . We love playing board games together , watching movies and boating on the Hawksbury – tubing is perennially popular with the younger generation ! I ’ ve found my earlier career with the military helpful in terms of keeping things in perspective at work . What ’ s the worst thing that can happen in an office ? The reality is that , if things go wrong , we fix them . As long as no one is at personal risk or going to be hurt then don ’ t stress it .

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