There wasn’t
a straight line.

The plan changed.

I had dropped out of high school and started an electrical apprenticeship. Then a severe car crash ended it. I spent a week in intensive care. My heart stopped three times. I was bedridden for five weeks, and doctors told me I would not walk for six months or work for 18 months.

A walk down the hallway.

I had promised myself I would walk by Christmas. On Christmas Day, I made it from the bedroom to the lounge room. Then I stayed there for the rest of the day. It was a very small distance and, at the time, a very big thing.

Back at work. Back to the beginning.

I returned to work eight months earlier than doctors had expected. I worked 50 hours a week on my feet in retail and hospitality while studying software development at TAFE. Until then, my computer experience was Windows 98 and dial up internet. I was learning this from the beginning.

I wasn’t ready yet.

I tried to start a web design company. It didn’t work. The biggest reason was that I didn’t have enough real world experience. I had a lot to learn about running a business, and about myself.

After that, I set out to learn as much as I could. I wanted to understand how Australian businesses worked, get experience across different areas of technology and see more of the world. I also needed time to mature. That learning became a big part of the years that followed.

A different part of the country.

I later lived in Doomadgee, an Aboriginal community in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is a younger me swimming with friends in the Nicholson River. The river is croc-infested. Stupid, yes, I know.

Learning how the pieces connect.

Software development led to database administration, then network engineering, enterprise networking, data architecture and security architecture. The work took me through private companies and government departments. Moving between those disciplines showed me what happens when one team’s decisions become another team’s problems.

Getting healthy for my kids.

I had put on a lot of weight. When I had my first child, I realised I needed to make my health a priority. I wanted the energy to be there for my kids as they grew up, to play sport with them and take part in their lives while they were young.

Over 18 months, I lost 36 kg and got back to a healthy weight. For that period, getting healthy became a key focus. I wanted to give my children my time and attention, and have the health to make the most of that time together.

The youngest person in the room.

I was the youngest person in a government IT group of 118 staff, and became its youngest manager. I led more than 30 people, including people who had been doing the job longer than I had been alive. Four years after working for some of my managers, I was managing them. The title did not erase the experience they brought to the room.

Starting InnovateX Solutions.

I was working towards becoming a CIO. I wanted to help guide an organisation’s technology decisions in a direction I believed made sense. Then I realised that, as a CIO, I could only do that for one organisation at a time. I wanted to help more businesses and work on interesting problems across different industries.

I was also frustrated by what I had seen from large consultancies. Businesses and government departments were spending serious money on reports that sat in drawers, or on solutions that did not meet their needs. The statement of work was complete, but the problem was still there. If something had been missed or fell outside the scope, the answer was another expensive change request.

That mattered to me particularly in government. It is taxpayers’ money, meant to deliver services to the public. I wanted organisations to have an option that put those outcomes ahead of shareholder returns.

I started InnovateX Solutions to connect the advice with the work of putting it into practice. To understand what an organisation needs, help solve the problem and take responsibility for the result. Doing that across different organisations gives me more room to make a difference, and keeps me learning.

Showing up locally.

InnovateX Solutions sponsored the Pine Rivers Christmas Carols. We wanted to support something that brings the local community together. Building a business also means deciding what you want to be part of outside the work.

Building. Teaching. Still learning.

I have young kids. When I think about how AI and technology are changing the world, I think about the future they will grow up in. What will their working lives look like? What will they need to learn? I want to help shape that future for them and for the generations that follow, rather than leave it to chance.

That is a big part of why I keep investing in my own learning and professional development, and why I share what I learn. Through speaking and teaching, I want to help people make informed decisions about technology, including where human judgement and responsibility need to stay.

Today I run InnovateX Solutions and InnovateX Academy in Brisbane. Through Solutions, I work as a fractional CIO, CTO and Chief AI Officer, helping organisations make technology decisions and put them into practice. The Academy teaches technology, including practical AI, data and cybersecurity, so business owners and their teams can use it confidently. The work keeps teaching me, and I bring that experience into the conversations I have on stage and in the classroom.