I will go against convention and write this in first person. I have almost 35 years of direct experience in the engineering and management of complex, technical systems and projects. My engineering experience began in the Royal Australian Air Force as an Engineering Officer working on the fantastic F-111 aircraft. Since then, my experience has grown to include an array of different systems and technology operating across land, air and maritime domains. I have worked in both public and private sectors across a range of different industries, both in Australia and overseas.

I have spent extended periods of time working across all phases of the engineering lifecycle, ranging from acquisitions involving design, development and production, through to the sustainment and disposal of complex systems. This experience gives me context and perspective which is particularly critical when working with stakeholders to: articulate business needs and requirements; define and specify the required capability; and develop realistic and workable technical plans, strategies and business cases to solve customers' problems. When I work with clients, I focus on helping them develop and grow their own technical capabilities, people and processes to equip them to deal with complexity into the future. I use established systems engineering frameworks when advising organisations on where and how to focus their process improvement efforts.

In addition to consulting, I have extensive teaching experience having taught project management, systems engineering, and an array of technical subjects at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional development levels. I have held adjunct positions at several Australian universities and I teach Magpie's tailored, in-house courses and workshops to clients in Australia and overseas. To date, over 125,000 students world-wide have completed one of my courses.

My formal qualifications include a Doctorate, a Masters and a Bachelors degree (all in Engineering); and an MBA in Project Management. I recently completed a Master of Environmental Management to inform an emerging interest I have in applying systems engineering concepts to the environmental challenges we are currently facing.

I am the author or co-author of a number of texts covering radar technology, avionics systems, systems engineering and project management. To date, about 10,000 copies of my books have been sold. Additionally, part of my doctoral dissertation has been published in a text that focuses on technical education.

My professional memberships and associations include:

• Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust)
• Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng)
• Engineering Executive (EngExec)
• National Engineering Register (NER)
• Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ)
• Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (SMIEEE)
• Member of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)