Irish Australian Business Awards Peoples Choice 2018

Harte Group was established by Andrew Harte and today consists of four companies. It all started when I came to Australia in March 2011 at 25 years of age with my wife Denise. I quickly identified a huge shortage of quality labour within the construction industry. I was aware of the amount of skilled personnel coming out to Australia from Ireland and other countries  at the time and decided there was a great opportunity to link these skilled people with companies in Australia. So then in June of that year I set up Eire Workforce Solutions which provides labour hire services.

Our main point of difference at Eire Workforce Solutions is our experience in the civil industry. We use our knowledge of the this industry to train all our recruiters to have a sound knowledge of each specific trade. We now have offices in Melbourne and Sydney.

In 2012 I established Harte Excavations which was a natural extension to Eire Workforce Solutions by providing our clients with access to plant and machinery. Harte Excavations started with 2 excavators which I imported from Ireland. We have continuously added to this fleet over the past 6 years and now have over 30 units of heavy plant which we hire out all over Melbourne.

In 2014, Eire Traffic Services was established which added a traffic control offering to the business. In 2017 I established Harte Civil Vic which completes contract work as a main contractor and brings together the other 3 businesses.

Harte Civil Vic started in 2017 and employs a great team of civil engineers and skilled civil workers and have completed major road projects for local councils and government bodies. Solving our clients problems by offering a one stop shop solution has aided the success of the company by being able to offer a full service and this is what gives us the edge over our competitors.

Harte Group employs 15 office staff and employ a total of 180 Employees. The company has earned the globally recognised ISO accreditation by demonstrating robust systems and management practises.  We have grown to achieve an annual turnover of 18.5 million last financial year and we forecast 30 % growth in revenue this year. Our Vision is to continue this growth while maintaining the excellent reputation we have established.

Our growth story is proof of what a young ambitious team can achieve from small beginnings in a short few years.

After leaving behind a successful career as an investment analyst at one of the largest global investment funds, in the space of under two years I have started and grown a disruptive business in the corporate accommodation space.

What started as a side business to earn passive income while pursuing an alternative business opportunity, became a full-time commitment in September 2017. Since then, in the space of less than a year I have driven the company to making over $1m in annual revenue and employing 8 full time staff, as well as being on the verge of becoming the largest short term property management company in Australia despite taking on minimal outside investment.

We will shortly be opening offices in Melbourne and Brisbane as well as Perth early next year.

We now provide accommodation to employees from industry giants like Deloitte, Minter Ellison, Westpac, Wesfarmers, Atlassian and Salesforce, with multiple full time staff, as well as corporate partnerships with companies like McGrath Real Estate, Koala Mattresses, Asahi and HelloFresh. We have grown from a valuation of $500k to more then $10m within the space of less than a year.

We have also developed technology that we deploy in our properties that effectively transforms homes into full-offering hotels, with our in-room tablet providing all of the services that a hotel would offer including 24/7 concierge, room-service, car-service, spa offerings and more.

Building a business that is quickly becoming the go-to accommodation provider for the corporate relocation market as well as for several multi-nationals in the space of under a year is the hallmark of the Irish attitude of never dreaming too big and taking a risk to make a dream come true. We always punch above our weight and that is exactly the spirit we embody at Urban Rest Apartments.

Haldon Industries was established by Jake Reardon and Sean Halpin in February 2016 with the goal of becoming industry leaders in the areas of water and waste management.

Since then they have grown to become one of the leading names in the treatment of emerging contaminants and are setting the standard on the treatment of contaminated water and waste in Australia today.

From their office in Alexandria NSW they provide their services Austrialia wide while also being involved in projects as far away as Colombia and the U.S. Their clients range from major names in the construction and waste management industry to the NSW State Government and the Australian dept of Defense.

I have over 14 years’ experience in Big 4 professional services firms, encompassing both client delivery and business development across many industries with a focus on the resources and technology sectors. I enjoy mentoring colleagues as well as driving teaming across functions and with stakeholders to deliver integrated solutions.

I work with companies ranging from start up to SME and through to multinationals. As part of a national team of 70, I directly manage 18 team members across Perth and Melbourne in advising our diverse clients on global investment and innovation incentives to lower their cost of innovation and the development of governance frameworks to manage risk.

I started my career as a corporate tax graduate with Deloitte Ireland. My move to Australia in 2011 aligned with my specialisation in the R&D Tax Incentive and Government Grants. On moving to Australia, I joined EY and progressed to Senior Manager, introducing 11 new clients (including ANZ bank) to the firm in first last 12-month period with the firm resulting in $900k of additional revenue. In addition to my SM role in the R&D team I had a key role in the sponsorship and mentoring of high calibre technology organisations through the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award resulting in the development of robust relationships and introducing relevant service offerings to these organisations to assist their expansion and growth.

I joined Deloitte Australia in 2015 as an Account Director and progressed to Partner in June 2018. I believe team development, including technical development is the core to market growth and I assist my team with their career planning and progression, encouraging and leading them to think innovatively about what we do and how we do it.
I believe this business success and perseverance shines a fantastic light on the impact Irish people can have on Australian business. I promote the strength of the Irish education system and the hard-working nature of the Irish workforce and drive opportunity for those who wish to embark on a career in Australian business.
Additionally, given the multi-national nature of my client base I form connections for them to the Irish business community should they be interested in setting up a European office or embark on joint ventures with third parties based in Europe.

I became the Chief Risk Officer at EISS Super over four years ago, a role that has been one of my greatest challenges but also one of my greatest achievements during my time in Australia.

I moved here in May 2009 to further develop my career by taking on the role as a Manager at KPMG Sydney before being head hunted by EISS Super. EISS Super is an award winning not-for profit industry superannuation fund which manages over $5.5 billion in funds under management for over 22,000 members.

Since I joined in May 2014, I have led the significant growth of EISS SUPER from $4.3 billion funds under management to currently $5.5 billion. When I commenced, there were 9 people in the Trustee office. Today there are 70 staff. I currently have a team of 8 people under my leadership.

I have been instrumental in the development of the organisation, executing the growth strategy and leading by example, mentoring all staff to invest in EISS Super’s vision ‘to inspire Australians to make smart decisions that ensure financial security and comfort in retirement’.

One of my key achievements at EISS Super in the past year is leading ‘Project Energise’ to transition our largest outsourced provider; our Administrator to a new provider, Mercer. As the Business Project Lead, this will transform the business and way of operating to be wholly focused on the best member experiences. I was identified by our CEO as the most skilled person to lead the largest project that EISS Super has ever undertaken.

To complete this transformation, I have demonstrated strong entrepreneurial vision for the future growth of EISS Super, which has allowed me to implement the following key changes as part of the project:

• a brand-new member centric experience with an enhanced mobile friendly online account;
• rolling out Salesforce Marketing Cloud to our Marketing Team which will allow us to provide our members the tailored experience they desire;
• introducing Salesforce Client Relationship Management to the Financial Planning team which provides direct one touch visibility to members’ preferences;
• improved financial planning process;
• increased transactional functionality for members;
• improved end to end member, pension and employer administration processes;
• removing fees for the members including exit fees, family law information and family law split fees;
• reduction in insurance costs for members; and
• overall reducing administration costs that will be directly passed on to ensure members have a better retirement outcome.

“It is a testament to her dedication and passion for the organization, which would not be in its current form without her”. Alex Hutchison, CEO at EISS Super

The core objective of EISS Super is to put members at the centre of everything it does. That ethos is fundamental to why I enjoy working in this industry. In my role, I endeavour to continually maintain a strong risk culture and robust risk management governance controls to ensure that everything EISS Super strives to achieve is in the best interests of members. I have built the risk management function from scratch and it is evident that a strong risk culture exists and permeates. A recent Internal Audit of the Risk Management Function based on the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’) requirements and best practice processes was very complimentary to how my I run my business unit. The Internal Audit concluded that the operation my risk management function was clearly above superannuation industry peers and demonstrated upmost best practice, which is testament to my leadership.

I have recently established a Project Management Office and Project Steering Committee to oversee the consistent implementation of all projects and initiatives under one risk banner. One of the key Projects, I am also leading is ‘Project Sea Eagle’. The purpose is to review EISS Super’s investment risk appetite and investment strategy to ensure that the investment strategy is appropriately tailored to our members and also provides adequate options for younger members with a long investment period. Under my leadership this project, will also enhance EISS Super members’ retirement outcomes.

Expanding my network and learning from other peoples’ working experience is integral to my personal development. I was chosen as a member of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce Emerald Influence Peer to Peer Mentoring Program and nominated as the “Young Professional 2017”, where I have met so many astounding like-minded people. Also, I am intrinsically involved in the Risk Management Association, where I was the first non-bank, superannuation member. Also, broadening my horizon and interest in the investment management industry, I have implemented an investment operational and risk management due diligence review program of all our investment managers in-house instead of relying on the assessment of an outsourced provider. I have presented on the operation of this program at conferences including the annual Conexus Financial Superannuation Symposium, on the topic of the ‘Importance of the Investment Risk Function in a Multi-Manager Environment’.

I also taken great joy in applying my risk and project management skills to other areas in life. This includes part taking in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in December 2016 where risk management is such a key focus in the preparation of an offshore yacht race. Also, embracing my working knowledge of investment risk management, I have undertaken further education in the past 18 months having passed Level I, Level II of the CFA Candidate Program, where I am scheduled to sit Level III in June 2019. I have also applied to participate in the Harvard Advanced Management Program in March 2019 in the United States.

Below is a quote on my performance from Alex Hutchison, CEO at EISS Super:

“Stephanie is hard-working, reliable and incredibly smart in her thinking in leading “Project Energise”, establishing a risk management function and spear heading initiatives across the business. She was hired in her current role as Chief Risk Officer, based on merit and her outstanding attention to detail and dedication at KPMG servicing EISS Super as a client. She came here, when EISS Super was going through a challenging time however she has helped the company grow by over $1bn in 4 years and increasing the human resources from 9 people to now 70. It is a testament to her dedication and passion for the organisation which would not be in its current form without her”.

NeoData Australia is the premier secure data company. NeoData have deep functional and technical expertise in designing and delivering innovative solutions for our customers in multiple technologies most notably in the Oracle technology stack. Along with successfully delivering professional services to over 70 companies in the ANZ region NeoData have expansed into ASIA and also proudly have expanded into EMEA establishing our Irish operation this year with the launch of our Dublin office.

NeoData work with customers to realise goals and objectives through the innovative use of cloud and on premise technologies - supporting innovation, market disruption and operational excellence. At the heart of these outcomes is data security. NeoData plan and execute secure data strategies upholding some of the most stringent data security standards in the world.

NeoData is today globally recognised by Oracle and its customers for its excellence in customer success. This coupled with NeoData’s high level of community engagement, and social consciousness, offers NeoData’s customers services that transcend short-term financial benefits and value long-term mutual outcomes.
 

The IT Services Industry is dominated by large multi-national companies with a chequered history in respect to delivering value and upholding ethics and the law. It is in this market that I have grown NeoData to compete and thrive, taking great satisfaction in the realisation of commercial success while proving that poor ethics are not an ingredient of good commerce, quite the opposite!

Further to proving that good commerce and ethics are sound partners, providing a workplace that offers progression and succession to the young is a sadly rare thing. NeoData have developed a range of graduates who have grown into successful and happy professionals. NeoData continue to participate in both internship and graduate programs, offering students a chance to develop experience so they can get started in their chosen fields.

Success is defined across many dimensions in subsequent sections, and should prove to others out there, that there is always room for success, if you’re driven and confident to stand by your beliefs and work hard. However, more importantly, I believe there is an important message to those who dare to dream and act, that there is opportunity in all endeavours to make a positive impact on the lives of people and communities. Inspire people and serve as an example that sound ethics and compassion have their place in the centre of good commerce.

We believe LiveTiles should be considered for this prestigious award given its strong Australian roots and its new Irish Artificial Intelligence R&D hub, established in Sligo, in the northwest of Ireland in May 2018.

While LiveTiles is rapidly developing a series of products and solutions to revolutionize the future of work and truly empower uers, we would specifically like to hightlight LiveTiles Bots as a flagship product because of its unique ability to simplify how businesses build and deploy personalized AI solutions.

By putting powerful technology in the hands of technical and non-technical users, LiveTiles Bots’ drag and drop, 'no-code' bot builder allows any business to quickly reap the benefits of simple AI to drive productivity and release the talents of its people.

For the same reason LiveTiles allow businesses to build personalized digital workplaces. AI in the workplace is not about finding the one ‘chat bot’ solution for all employees, but multiple and even bespoke AI assistants that are truly ‘your’ assistant.

LiveTiles Bots is a chatbot builder, powered by Microsoft Azure’s Bot Framework and Cognitive Services, which enables users to create bots with customized abilities – tailor made to suit any role, any team, in any organization.

One month ahead of its 10-year milestone, the global hotel industry’s leading cloud platform, SiteMinder, announced in August 2016 it would be opening an office in Galway, Ireland, to support its then-20,000 hotel customers globally. The office would complement SiteMinder’s existing EMEA headquarters in London to service hotels both within the region and around the world, and to form the company’s sixth office alongside its Sydney head office, Bangkok, Dallas and Cape Town.

Within three months, SiteMinder had created 100 jobs for multilingual sales, customer support and onboarding professionals in Galway, and it has expanded further since to support a customer base that now consists of more than 30,000 hotels located in 160 countries globally. Today it is one of the few technology providers servicing the entire EMEA region from Galway, and is proud to be an enabler of both internationalisation and exciting career opportunities for local talent.

SiteMinder’s exponential growth over the years has seen it become a recognised leader not only within the hospitality and travel industry, but indeed within the broader technology and business scene. The company has been ranked by venture capital firm H2 Ventures and specialist lending provider Investec as among the 20 greatest pioneering technology companies to come out of Australia and New Zealand, to be at the leading edge of the ‘ideas boom’ and drivers of the economy of the future.

It is SiteMinder’s continued success and relentless pursuit of growth that saw its Sydney head office honoured with a welcome from President Michael D. Higgins, Sabina Higgins, Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald and IDA Ireland CEO Martin D. Shanahan in October 2017, as part of the President’s State Visit to Australia.

For these reasons and more, as detailed within this submission, SiteMinder is undoubtedly a worthy winner of an Irish Australian Business Award.

Kingspan Insulation has strived from the beginning to improve the built environment through consistently improving their business, products and service. Beginning as a small business, AIR-CELL, selling only flexible insulation products, the business was later acquired by the Kingspan Group, whom originated in Ireland and has since expanded to a global presence.

In 2017 Kingspan Insulation established a state of the art manufacturing facility in Somerton, Victoria. The factory was built in aim to become Australia’s first 5-Star Green Star manufacturing facility. Its low energy usage and the addition al a solar array on the facilities roof, may see the factory operating on it own generated power without having to pull power from the grid. This will open up opportunity to increase production, sales and employment within the company.
 

Through the Kingspan values, the business has developed a strong, positive culture resulting in low staff turnover and great development within the business.

The company’s continued focus on research and development and its commitment to a more sustainable built environment, ensures the business is always growing and searching for way to give back to the local community, its customers, and its stakeholders.

Kingspan Insulation is a leader in the insulation industry and aim to continue setting the standard for local manufacturers in Australia.

Established in 2014, Access Visas Migration Services provides professional immigration advice, visa case management and migration services to individuals, families, trades, professionals, small local businesses and large corporate companies.
I, Mairead O'Connor, am the Principal Migration Agent and I migrated to Australia myself in 2003. I quickly fell in love with the country and it's lifestyle, and after my first year was sponsored by an Australian company on a 4 year temporary work visa.
I was through my own first-hand experiences with visas and the intense and complex Australian migration system, where I developed my interest into the profession. After a number of years of deliberating it, I decided to go back to study and completed my Graduate Certificate in Migration Law from the Australian National University (ANU) in 2013. Access Visas Migration Services was established in 2014 and I haven't looked back since.

The Access Visas office is located in Randwick, Sydney. I work with a number of small and large Australian businesses, from a range of industries and with individual clients from all over the world, including a very large proportion who are Irish. Services include the full management of a wide variety of visa types such as Employer Nominated, Regional, Skilled, Family & Partner and Business & Innovation visas.
I endeavour to focus on offering my clients an honest, tailored and effective approach to suit their particular immigration requirements; ensuring that the comprehensive advice and assistance provided gives them the best opportunity to meet their migration needs and secure relevant visa types. The visa regime in Australia is in a state of continual change and in a time of great confusion and ongoing amendments to the migration regulations and policies, this level of service is crucial. My business is solely based on referrals and word of mouth and fortunately, I haven't found a need for marketing.
Next year I hope to expand the business a little and take on some extra help, while ensuring to maintain the same level of boutique and personalised services, that has built the sound reputation of Access Visas.
I am a Registered Agent with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), a member of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) and Migration Alliance (MA).

I genuinely love my job and can't imagine another area of law that offers quite the same level of satisfaction. Nothing feels as good as calling someone to tell them that their Australian visa has been approved.