CEO Monthly August 2017

CEO MONTHLY / AUGUST 2017 3 , Most CEO’s would expect many challenges but also opportunities within their company, so we gave Julian the chance to tell us what problems he has had to overcome with his organisation. “Ulitmately, we had a drought of entries when the GFC hit the world economy. Most businesses just wanted to survive and didn’t have either the time or money to get involved in entering an awards program. However, the market bounced back and we have a very healthy pipeline each year. Innovation is alive and kicking.” Contact: Julian Day Contact Email: [email protected] Address: Consensus PTY Ltd, PO Box 223, Drummoyne, NSW 2047, Australia Phone: +61 413 309 056 Website: www.consensus.com.au Consensus was started in 1999, with the express mandate and passion to create a unique platform for identifying the most innovation technology designed and developed in Australia. We spoke to Founder & CEO of Consensus, Julian Day to find out more about his company and his 2017 Global CEO Top 100 Award. Driving Your Business to Excellence Julian Day studied Business Management at Plymouth Polytechnic and entered the computer industry in 1978. In the UK, he worked in a whole variety of sales and technical roles, which included Computer Manager for Oxford University Press in Corby. Julian tells us about his move to Australia, and how he can lean on his past experience to further his knowledge as CEO. “In 1986, I emigrated to Australia and joined a start-up company as Sales & Marketing Director which we grew to a multi-$Million company in three years. I then worked as a Project Manager on many IT projects in Banking & Finance, leading large teams to achieve goals with full accountability for budget, compliance and reporting to key stakeholders. I recognised a gap in the market to create an Awards-based company specifically in the technology area and incorporated Consensus in July 1999. My years of technical knowledge, project management, significant network and position in industry gave me the ability to build Consensus through rewarding those that share my passion for excellence.” Consensus work extensively with startups and serial innovators to honour them with a prestigious Consensus Award. Julian details how the company has grown since its inception and the company’s results speak for themselves. “The company is always growing. We extended the Awards to New Zealand in 2006 and are currently setting up in Europe and Asia. Within Consensus Group we have the Consensus Awards, a consulting company and a professional association, Australian Consensus Technology Association (which has over 1,000 members). “Currently, we have eight awards programs and have conducted well over 1,000 evaluations through our 160+ judges. Our passion for excellence has been rewarded over the last 18 years with a success rate of 9 out of 10 of the Winners going on to become world successes, all with 12x returns. Three ‘Unicorns’ judged when they were going to market; Atlassian, WiseTech Global and the BANCS technology are all multi-$Billion concerns.” Part of the company’s success comes from the firm’s approach when undertaking a new client. First impressions are always important and a lot of business can spread through word of mouth. Julian discusses how he ensures that the company can meet the needs of everyone involved. “Ensuring the best outcome for us and our clients, we spend a huge amount of time observing industry trends, where innovation is emerging, and keep a finger on the pulse across the start- up community. We encourage participation in the Awards, however perform a significant amount of filtering on all entries to ensure they meet both our and the judges’ high level of quality before accepting an entry. The Judges may confer as many Awards as they wish based upon the three criteria; innovation, potential and performance.” Regarding his leadership style, Julian remarks on the fact that all his colleagues share the same vision. The company boasts a wealth of experience and knowledge within the industry, therefore there is not too much work to ensure that all staff are working towards the same vision. “My colleagues all share the same vision. We are focused to help and assist new innovations get the recognition they deserve. Our large number of judges (our brains trust) have over 4,000 years of experience and industry knowledge which is core to our mandate of peer assessment and consensus of opinion of a large number of people.” 1708CE02