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Gregory Punshon

I am a Generalist, bridging the technical and business domains. My focus is leading change within organisations to generate true value from service delivery business units. I draw on my leadership success across manufacturing, heavy industry, defence and government sectors to optimise the people, processes and technology within organisations. I have worked for Fortune 50 corporations and SMBs, gaining over 25 years of experience identifying problems and correcting problems with innovative solutions. I have perspective from all broad technology viewpoints and from business areas, my vision is corporate, not technology based.

I am a strong leader of people who understands the importance of investing time in staff and the benefits that flow from this

I mentor staff; one of the main values I give my managers is the understanding that they have no useful assets other than their people. Organisations recover quickly from failed equipment but slowly from a poor culture or loss of institutional knowledge. I create the most attractive work environment possible within the organisation, affording people as much flexibility, opportunity and enrichment as can be supported by organisational constraints. I work with HR professionals to improve conditions, not simply remuneration, but accommodating lifestyle choices to make the organisation an employer of choice. Generation Y staff are not difficult to manage, the same flexibility and ethical behaviour given to all staff will address their needs for clear career paths and value propositions.

Strategic thinker - I set strategic targets and deliverables that matter to the organisation

I am strong supporter of useful KPIs that support organisational goals. Creating a useful information strategy that yields these KPIs is difficult but achievable. I have found that the staff in an organisation often have little trouble identifying the KPIs that matter if the information strategy is written so that it clearly illustrates what is important to the organisation and what is not. Individual performance objectives can then be directly linked to business unit strategy and then to corporate strategy.

Experienced Technology Project Manager

I have managed multi-million dollar projects in networks, information processing and, telecommunications in manufacturing, insurance, defence and government industries. The projects themselves include the full range of IT&T services including: EDP, GIS, B2B, CRM, Integration, JIT, EDM and most other TLAs

Thought leadership

I introduced Internet access and Open Source in production roles to meet emerging business needs long before this became main-stream. I define innovation as a process that gives an organisation options. Thinking in this way, helps identify desirable future states that can be promoted to the organisation. Interoperability, managing complexity, governance and Social Networking are areas that currently require leadership.

Change management / Executive Negotiation

Generally I have been engaged to "fix" organisational problems and people. I find that most people accept and adapt to change very well so long as they are clearly informed and can respect the process used by management to reach decisions, even if they don't agree with the outcomes. There are always difficult people and situations to overcome, I treat these on their particular circumstances rather than following a one-size-fits-all rule.

Enterprise architecture

I have architected networks and information infrastructure for heavy industry, defence, government, insurance, manufacturing and retail sectors. I find the challenge stems from determining the balance between flexibility compared to reliability, and security against ease-of-use. Valid organisational strategies assist in determining the balance, however managing organisational expectations is also key as is including the skill level of the people using the system, and projections for changes in these skill levels. You can see I don't view architecture as a hardware and software choice, but an organisational activity requiring significant understanding of organisational and staff elements and change.

Strong technology knowledge across the board

I am a generalist by choice, I seek to know sufficient about many topics so I can make informed decisions and more importantly, understand when I need specialist assistance. I have worked in most sectors and in the largest and smallest of organisations. I have written code for business and industry, designed networks, implemented database systems, written and supported eCommerce applications, created integrations systems for import/export and trading entities so I have a solid foundation. As a manager and director I have maintained a current knowledge of trends and techniques, both traditional and web-based. I spend about 10 hours a week monitoring trends and changes, especially following societal computing as this will impact significantly on the workforce and customers.

Experience and skills

I have a great deal of industrial experience from working in heavy industry for many years, consulting to industry and supporting a Water Authority. This experience compliments my strategic skills and lends confidence to my vision of an achievable future.

Information Leadership

Long term strategy

I design long-term strategies for organisations. These are not valueless “word feasts”, but strategies that result in improved capability, resilience and flexibility of the organisation to changing environments.

Short term strategy

Short term strategies revolve around patterns of investment, of time and money in people, systems and infrastructure. They are informed by longer term strategies.

Policy

Policy is valueless if it does not act as a guide to the people using it. This includes both the people that are instructed in what they can and can’t do, and the people that manage situations that deviate from policy. I create policies that:

Industrial Experience

I have a great deal of industrial experience from working in heavy industry for many years, consulting to industry and supporting a Water Authority. This experience compliments my strategic skills and lends confidence to my vision of an achievable future.

Plant Types

Technical Skills

I have many technical skills, these keep me grounded and lend a firm understanding of operational capacity, and I know what top flight people can achieve.

Project Management

I learnt Project Management from BHP Engineering and real-life application. These skills were reinforced by a technology-based MBA and years of consulting.

Software, Network and Infrastructure Projects

I have skills and experience in achieving the following types of projects:

Telecommunications


Document Drafting Skills


Proprietary


Open Source


Network


Vendor Management


Project Information

I manage projects well, have an excellent success rate and teach others the skills necessary to manage their own elements of projects. I learnt Project Management at BHP Engineering through internal training and enhanced this with training from Deakin university. I am a past member of the Australian Institute of Project Management.
I manage projects in the following domains: Asset management, payroll, GIS, CRM, CMS, EDMS, Telecommunications, WAN / LAN, Defence, Data warehousing, eCommerce, Industrial Automation, Software development, DR/BC, and Printing.

Sample of successfully completed projects

Corporate Governance

I assist in the direction and administration of large organisations. I find the management of relationships among the many stakeholders in an organisation a challenge I enjoy.

Striking the right balance between accountability and efficiency is an essential skill in those forming a governing body, as is the ability to assess corporate governance systems for suitability in promoting the organisations goals. Promoting shareholder and stakeholder welfare while ensuring the requirements of increasingly regulated industries is an escalating challenge, again striking the right balance is essential.

I am familiar with the transparency and probity required of governance positions as well as the additional burdens compliance brings. For many years I have been listed as a Designated Person as the positions I occupy tend to involve the exercise of contractual and regulatory functions that can give rise to a conflict of interest. I have also participated in positive vetting associated with Defence contracting and associations. As part of governance functions I have been audited by many external bodies, I am no stranger to scrutiny.

I sit on Committees and Boards


Gosford City Council

When acting as a Director of Gosford City Council I have responsibility for:
This is in addition to my usual responsibilities for:

Contact Information

Email: consulto at consulto.com.au
Postal: PO Box 807 Raymond Terrace NSW 2324 Australia
You can always contact me at work: Gosford City Council

Industrious