20+ years of hands-on technology leadership

I’ve spent more than 20 years in ICT, infrastructure and operational technology, starting in hospitality technology building and supporting point-of-sale and inventory systems, then into infrastructure and network engineering roles in the UK and Canada, including running network and IT/POS operations for a major resort.

From there I moved into industrial and mining environments: as an infrastructure manager through a period of major technology growth, in FIFO mining roles working hands-on with operational technology and process control networks, and as an industrial communications lead across mining and industrial projects. Most recently, I was the sole IT leader for a remote mine site overseas, responsible for everything from connectivity and desktops to strategy, vendor management and project delivery.

That background means I’ve secured and supported networks and systems where the stakes are real: large-scale mining operations where a breach or outage doesn’t just cost money, it stops physical operations. The same thinking applies just as directly to a South West business running on a handful of servers, a POS system and a few key vendors. The risks are smaller in scale, but the principle is the same. Know what you’ve got, know who can touch it, and know what happens if it fails. That’s the tech leadership and cybersecurity side of SouthWestAI: not theory, but experience built where the consequences were genuinely high, backed by the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) certification.

More recently I’ve added AI to the toolkit, building with modern, AI-assisted tools like Claude Code, Codex and n8n to solve real operational problems rather than just talk about them. It’s the same practical approach I bring to helping SMBs use AI without the hype.

SouthWestAI brings all of that together for the South West of WA: independent technology leadership, cybersecurity and AI advice from someone who’s actually done the job, not just consulted on it.