A stronger business behind the technology.

Jim supported a technology services group’s CEO, CFO and board as it considered the next phase of growth. He helped connect market conditions and business performance with choices about portfolio focus, organic improvement and selective acquisitions. The work brought different business lines into a consistent discussion of capabilities, customers, synergies and risk. Jim also helped structure board materials and strategy discussions so directors could examine the assumptions behind the alternatives. The contribution gave the leadership team a coherent basis for considering strategic direction and connecting it to business planning.

Jim helped an acquired portfolio of managed IT and cyber services businesses examine how it should operate as a more integrated group. He used a common activity model to connect offer development, sales, delivery, support and customer success, making overlapping capabilities and systems dependencies easier to assess. The proposed design distinguished customer-facing responsibilities from specialist and shared delivery capabilities. A phased transition plan addressed operational risks, performance visibility and communication with staff and customers. The work gave executives and the board a practical picture of the intended operating model and the sequencing required to move towards it.

As an executive in a major telecommunications and technology group, Jim built a strategic development capability spanning strategy, acquisitions, alliances, integration and divestment. He led teams across Australia and international markets and helped connect individual acquisition opportunities with a broader growth agenda. The work included a series of technology acquisitions across enterprise services, mobility, networks and security. This experience combines strategic selection with the organisation and management capability needed to integrate businesses and sustain momentum after a transaction. It informs his work on acquisition strategy, operating models and practical integration planning.

Thao worked on a technology services group’s most recent board strategy day, including the financial modelling and strategy analysis supporting the discussion. The work connected business-line forecasts and market context with alternative growth and portfolio choices. It made operating assumptions, earnings and cash implications easier to compare, while supporting the preparation of a coherent set of board materials. The contribution helped the CEO, CFO and directors examine the trade-offs behind the strategic options and relate them to the planning cycle. Her role combined financial analysis with the synthesis needed to make complex choices accessible for executive and board discussion.

Before joining KA, Thao led and shaped insight-driven product strategy and portfolio roadmap work in a major telecommunications provider’s product and technology function. She coordinated market context, strategic initiatives, success measures and roadmap material for the integrated planning process. The experience connects an external market view with the practical decisions required to prioritise products and investment across a substantial portfolio. It is relevant to organisations seeking a more consistent relationship between product strategy and business planning, with clear measures for assessing whether the intended direction is being delivered.

Thao’s earlier telecommunications strategy roles included leading strategic and productivity-improvement projects, running an enterprise group’s planning process and supporting board and investor communications on strategy and execution. She also worked on corporate initiatives on the CEO and board agenda, with a strong focus on business-to-business portfolios. Her experience combines cross-functional coordination, strategic insight and the preparation of clear recommendations for senior decision-makers. It is relevant to clients needing both sound analysis and the ability to bring complex work together into planning and communication material that executives and directors can use.

Sami contributed to and coordinated regular technology trends briefings for the carrier’s CEO leadership team, and subsequently delivered executive updates through his technology insights role. The work translated emerging developments into implications senior leaders could discuss, with deeper research on selected topics including AI, quantum computing and human-machine interaction. It combined technical understanding with clear communication for an executive audience. The experience is relevant to leaders seeking an informed view of technology change and the questions it raises for their business.

As an innovation program manager at Telstra, Sami helped assess and filter ideas from an internal crowdsourcing platform. He coached idea owners and project leaders, and drove selected projects from concepts towards implementation using Lean Startup methods. His contribution combined the early judgement needed to select ideas with the support needed to develop and test them. The experience is relevant to organisations that want a clearer innovation process and a practical way for employees to progress promising opportunities.

In earlier roles at a mobile payments software company, Sami combined technical architecture with commercial development. He led technical presales activity in EMEA, undertook technical evaluations and due diligence for acquisition activity, and helped expand operations into North America. His work included adapting solutions for new markets and planning deployments with customers and partners. This background is relevant to organisations evaluating technology fit, entering new markets or connecting a commercial proposition with the realities of delivery.