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

David ‘ sort of fell into ’ tech in the 80s – here ’ s what time in the sector has taught him so far .

Taking the Bendigo Bank brand into the telecommunications and mobile payments space back in 2014 was quite innovative at the time . The Australian telecoms market is difficult to enter and being able to leverage our offering to a loyal , scaled customer base was a real coup . Having been successful , I then joined Southern Phone and spent a few years helping to grow the business . They were subsequently acquired by AGL where I worked on the launch of a mobile and broadband offering . Successfully bringing these big brands to market in a highly competitive space has been very satisfying .

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

In the 1980s , no one chose technology ; you sort of fell into it . I ’ m originally from Deniliquin in regional New South Wales and I hadn ’ t used a computer before I went off to university in Bendigo . I started out studying business , then did a coding minor and found I was pretty good at it . Cue a switch to computer science and , upon graduation , a hardcore technical job managing Unix and telecoms systems for a national plumbing retailer . That role got me exposed to dealing with Optus and I ended up going to work for them a couple of years later .

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

While I ’ m not a fan of the term ‘ servant leader ’, I do subscribe to the philosophy that a leader is there to create the right environment for their team to succeed . My role is to ensure we ’ re all aligned and on track to meet our vision and our customers ’ expectations . Authenticity and humility are big in my world . It doesn ’ t matter whether you ’ re dealing with hardcore engineers or contact centre agents , it ’ s about building relationships , finding out what motivates people and helping them achieve the things they want to achieve . Those are lessons I learnt via trial and error as a younger leader and I continue to draw on them today .

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

Artificial Intelligence . We ’ ve rapidly moved past the hype stage and now we ’ re talking about harnessing it to address real world problems . Within the boundaries

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