Co-founder and Managing Director
"A uniquely qualified young entrepreneur from the web design and development sector... with an intriguing mix of strategic business nous, team creation and management skills, and hands-on creative direction experience"
Background
Establishing himself in the web design and development industry in 1998 as a founding member of a successful Internet Development Firm, Glen has a solid and diverse background in multimedia, fine arts, corporate design, and web technologies.
Armed with a strong discipline in customer service and stakeholder analysis, he is also a strategic thinker and has broad experience in business strategy and development. More recently this has been elevated to a formal acknowledgement by undertaking elements of an MBA with the Australian National University on a fully funded scholarship (through EDS and the ATO) and being certified with a Graduate Certificate in Management.
The Dot Com Boom and Bust
With a desire to create a robust business drawing on collaborative skills he formed a partnership with two Tasmanian residents and a Victorian businessman in 1999. This was the birth of 'Little Devil Media' (LDM). The LDM venture was founded on the back of a large 12-month contract involving interactive web projects and online branding components with Sporting Pulse (an online sports directory) and SportTip (an internet betting client). This was the dawn of web-based betting and application development occurring at the height of political debate and licensing issues prior to the dot-com crash. In less than two years of trading as LDM he and his partners became market leaders, setting the benchmark in their field for product and service delivery in Internet design and development. In 2000 the partnership gave birth to 'autopublish' - the web-based content management system. Content management, web-based applications, and in particular the design and development of financial transaction-based applications soon became the core business of the partnership. This was more than just a service area for their businesses; this was adopted as a philosophical approach to design and development for the web and has since formed the backbone of all of Glen's web-based business activities. In 2002 the partnership created a nationally recognised Real Estate directory, 'PropertyPoint'; and then in 2004 a property listing management product 'AgentPoint' with extensive online services and user management components. In each project Glen carried out the creative direction and personally produced the finished art aspects of each product suite. After 5 years of successful operation the LDM partnership was dissolved (in June 2004) to allow clear separation between the business units that had emerged. Throughout its existence, and under Glen's creative direction, the LDM partnership was considered a key stakeholder in the local and interstate IT industry.
Focal Point
In 2004 Glen relaunched the core web design and development business as Future Medium with his longstanding friend and business associate, Patrick Herrera. Together they retained the rights to the autopublish product technology and scaled up operations, whilst also launching complementary ventures with partners in strategic locations across Australia and overseas. Future Medium evolved to become a tightly focussed vehicle for combining brand sensitive interactive design skills with content management philosophies and web application experience. Recently this has led to the design and development of experimental web-based financial applications and user management systems. These developments, more often than not, are through collaborative ventures that require Future Medium to work closely with other service providers, namely project managers and technical teams, to provide seamless and business focussed outcomes. The emphasis on strategic alliance formation has given Glen great insight into creating and monitoring processes for interaction between the company and its allies. In his role as Creative Director, Glen has been responsible for the production of standardised document deliveries that accurately summarise implementation requirements for creative and front-end aspects of project processes.
The combination of Glen's concepts, creative vision and thorough understanding of online business models results in dependable and innovative solutions for his clients. His requirements analysis and review processing is from both the end-user and client viewpoints and often coordinated with other industry experts. The quality of these specification documents determines the success or failure of each and every project and has a direct relationship to his businesses standing in the industry.
Team Building
His joint venture, Future Medium, employs 8 Tasmanians in fulltime capacity with a committed crew of contractors. He takes great care in monitoring HR issues, managing staff needs and morale. Glen keeps his team happy and focused, and is proud to say that they are testament to these efforts. He considers himself to be a role model and mentor to his staff and leads by example. He strongly encourages leadership and initiative amongst all employees, assisting them in learning project management and delegation of authority.
As well as managing a dynamic team of employees, he is also involved in mentoring newcomers to the industry. His commitment to management methodology not only ensures professional staff development within his company, but also allows him to offer his skills to the greater community. He has regularly supported work experience students, both from schools, and individuals seeking to improve their skills.
Acknowledgements
He achieves much success and recognition for his design, management and service to his long-term clients. He receives regular interstate and international exposure for his innovative and functional solutions through his company. His project execution and personal conduct have allowed him to form strategic working relationships with key high profile players and influential members of various market sectors, both local and interstate.
