With our rapidly growing size, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a few of our new team members who have joined us in the last 6 months. The staff and management at NetSpot are pleased to welcome each and every one of them to our team.
Introducing...
Brett Buchel
Senior Director, Operations
Joined January 2012
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| Role Responsibility |
A member of NetSpot’s executive management team who is responsible for the Operational arm, which encompasses Infrastructure & Systems; Support & Service Delivery; and the Help Desk. |
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| Career Highlights |
- Senior Management of IT at The University of Notre Dame Australia (2009-2012)
- IT Director at The University of Witwatersrand, South Africa (2004-2008)
- IT Director at Charter Life Insurance, South Africa (1990-2004)
My career started as a mainframe programmer in the days of the punch cards, progressed through Analyst, Oracle DBA, Business Intelligence, Networking & Infrastructure, Project Management and into IT Management in the late 1990’s. I moved into executive management in the early 2000’s where I focused on IT strategy, IT financials, Risk Management, Quality Assurance and IT Methodologies. |
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| Qualifications |
- CIO Professional Certificate, Wits University
- Prince2 Certification
- ITIL v2 Certification
- CMMi Certification
- Oracle DBA Masters
- CUC Diploma
- N.Dip CDP, Natal University
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
A fast growing company that has a work-hard, play-hard attitude, where staff are highly valued. |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
Experience in senior management of large and small teams within the Private and Education sectors, combined with a breadth of knowledge across all IT verticals and experience of bringing about sustainable change within IT operations. |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
- To end each day knowing I have made a difference.
- To be instrumental in the continued sustainable growth of NetSpot.
- To bring about change that meets the demands of a growing company, whilst retaining the flexibility and agility that NetSpot is known for.
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
Enjoy the extreme so it seems:
- In 2000 I cut my leg open by the rudder of my canoe during a 3-day canoe marathon when shooting the rapid known as “RIP”.
- In 2008 I was a Scuba Dive Master & Technical Diver, enjoying open water shark diving and cave diving.
- And in 2010 I cycled across Australia (Perth to Sydney) with colleagues from other universities.
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| Family |
Married to Sue with three lovely children, Lauren (16), Julia (14) & Connor (10). |
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| Hobbies |
Camping, 4x4, gardening, cycling and of course a technology junkie. |
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| Other Associations/Affiliations |
- Member of Australian Computer Society
- Alumni of Council for Australia University Directors of IT (CAUDIT)
- Alumni of Association of South African University Directors of IT (ASAUDIT)
- Alumni of Rotary Club, Benoni
- Member of Sharklife Conservation Group
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| Crowning Achievement |
Relocating my family to Australia (via the UK I might add). |
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Raymond Antonio Wijaya
Software Engineer
Joined on December 2011
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| Responsibility |
Bug fixes, developing new features for Moodle. |
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
- Software developer at the Faculty of Education, Arts and Creative Media of Murdoch University Perth WA.
- Murdoch University’s Microsoft Student Partner at Microsoft Corporation Australia
- Digital Book Producer at the Association for the Blind and Guide Dogs Perth WA.
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| Qualifications |
- Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, Murdoch University Perth WA.
- PHP and Aspx.net courses at Bickenhall College London, England.
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
Top 3 biggest Moodle partner in the world |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
My experience of working on Moodle based project for Murdoch University WA |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
Making Moodle be the most popular LMS in education sector. It deserves it! |
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Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I have been playing acoustic guitar since I was 12 and I love Cabernet Sauvignon so much. I once thought I should have moved to Coonawarra for good and become a wine connoisseur instead! |
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| Family |
The youngest and the most spoilt child in the family! |
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| Hobbies |
Acoustic guitar, martial arts and soccer. |
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| Other Associations/Affiliations |
Associate, Australian Computer Society Western Australia Branch. |
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Crowning Achievement |
- Murdoch University Leadership Award 2009
- Australian Computer Society (ACS) Foundation Award 2009
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Liam Farnan
Help Desk Support Officer
Joined on December 2011
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| Responsibility |
Supporting clients |
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
McDonald's Crew Member |
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| Qualifications |
Studying Computer Science |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
Interested in the work |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
I hope to learn a lot more |
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| Family |
A younger brother, mum and dad. |
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| Hobbies |
PC games, music, movies, basketball, pool |
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Cameron Beer
Help Desk Support Officer
Joined on December 2011
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
Supervisor at Gateway Tavern, Mildura |
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| Qualifications |
- Advanced Diploma in Multimedia
- Currently studying IT / Archaeology
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
eLearning is a great area to get into. |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
To help clients get the most out of their software. |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I want to combine IT and archaeology to document the shipwrecks surrounding Australia. |
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| Family |
Mum, Dad and two older sisters |
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| Hobbies |
Gaming, swimming, Scuba diving, reading |
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| Other Associations/Affiliations |
PADI |
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| Crowning Achievement |
Finally getting around to completing my Scuba course |
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Thomas Fliegner
Sales Support Coordinator
Joined on November 2011
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| Responsibility |
- Follow up on inbound leads
- Pre-sales, sales and account management, administration and logistics
- Assist with pre-sales activities
- Assist in miscellaneous internal projects
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
- Lexibook: developing eLearning products and content
- Freelance educational content provider
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| Qualifications |
Diploma of Social Pedagogy |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
It's an exciting and fast growing company in the eLearning sector. |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
10 years developing educational applications. |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
To bring my experience and interest in eLearning sector and to become a successful member of the NetSpot team. |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I just recently migrated to Australia after living in Hong Kong for almost 13 years. I really enjoy Adelaide. |
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| Family |
My wife and stepson here in Adelaide, my parents and a younger sister back in Germany. |
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| Hobbies |
Music, motorbikes, diving, video games. |
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| Crowning Achievement |
Making the move to Australia. |
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Andrew Strugnell
Software Engineer
Joined on November 2011
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| Responsibility |
Moodle Development and Support |
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
Adam Internet – Software Engineer |
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| Qualifications |
Diploma in Software Development |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
Great team to work with, the opportunity to work on open source software professionally |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
Experience in supporting development of robust applications |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
Constant improvement of the applications I work on |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I'm somewhat obsessed with bikes, I own 10 right now (3 of which are motorbikes) and race downhill mountain biking. |
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| Family |
Youngest of three brothers (it taught me to hold my own!) |
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| Hobbies |
Downhill mountain bike racing, Taking my motorbikes to track days, anything else with wheels. |
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| Crowning Achievement |
Winning my first downhill race in both my class and the class above mine. |
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Ben Lister
Help Desk Support Officer
Joined on November 2011
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| Responsibility |
Assist with client queries |
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
- Paper-Pak - Customer sales and support
- Dept. of Community Services - Help Desk Support
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| Qualifications |
Cert III in I.T. - Network Administration |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
Recommendation from a current employee |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
Personality |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
Great things |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
- I made the transition from typically blue collared work (factory) to white collared about 12 months ago.
- I have never been to the snow
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| Family |
2 youngers brothers and 2 step sisters. No kids. |
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| Hobbies |
AFL, riding motorbikes, exercising, running |
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| Crowning Achievement |
Completing city to bay this year, first time I've run 12km. |
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Phillip Rankin
Help Desk Support Officer
Joined on November 2011
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| Responsibility |
Providing support for clients |
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
Woolworths Service Cashier |
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| Qualifications |
Still studying Computer Science at Adelaide Uni |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
I find Moodle and Blackboard very convenient, it's good to work with a company that supports them! |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
Friendly and efficient support for customers |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
Provide excellent customer service and help NetSpot grow even larger. |
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| Family |
3 brothers, Mum and dad |
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| Hobbies |
PC games, electronic music-production |
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Andreea Spoiala
Digital Communications & Events Coordinator
Joined on November 2011
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| Qualifications |
Bachelor Degree Communications and Public Relations |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
It is like a pole to the future: future of learning, collaborating and sharing knowledge |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
Creativity |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
Create an active Facebook community around NetSpot |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I love chocolate :) |
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| Family |
Mum, Dad and younger brother |
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| Hobbies |
Mountain hiking, tennis and travelling |
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Kevin Zahner
Help Desk Support
Joined on November 2011
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
- Mission Coordinator- Angel Flight Australia
- Census Supervisor 2011
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| Qualifications |
Cert IV - Frontline Management |
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
Wanted to get my foot into the I.T. door. Great location |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
- Great communication skills
- Motivation to learn more of the I.T. world
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I'm the 9th child |
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| Family |
8 siblings |
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| Hobbies |
- Playing keyboards
- Exercising
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Lawrence Maskill
Service Delivery Manager
Joined on November 2011
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| Responsibility |
Provide ongoing support to clients once they are in maintenance phase of client life-cycle i.e keep uo the good work that the sales and project teams commenced. |
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| Previous Employers and Roles |
Monash College P/L: Educational Technologies Coordinator |
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| Qualifications |
- B Arts,
- Dip Equine Naturopathy (completing)
- Level 2 Cycling Coach
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| What attracted you to Netspot? |
It's a dynamic company that's growing, moving ahead, and has a real vibrancy about it. |
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| What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
Curiosity! |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
To become curiouser! |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
I play with haiku/or rather it plays with me/publish by the wind. |
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| Family |
I have a dog, a cat, a horse, and an adult son |
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| Hobbies |
Riding my track bike, and my horse. But not at the same time. |
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| Crowning Achievement |
State Sprint Champion (age group) 2010 |
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Damien Murphy
Solutions Architect
Joined on October 2011
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| Responsibility |
To work across the diverse functional units at NetSpot to deliver great end solutions. |
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Previous Employers and Roles |
- Internode: Technical Head & Domain Designer
- Various software development contact roles
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| Qualifications |
Bachelor of Science (Maths & Computer Science) |
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What attracted you to Netspot? |
A company that's while still focussing on its core values. |
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What do you think is the number one thing you bring to NetSpot? |
A wealth of technical experience and the ability to look at the big picture. |
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| What do you hope to achieve? |
I hope to allow others to focus on their core roles while doing great things for clients. |
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| Tell us something unique about yourself? |
For several years I played drums in two Irish cover bands! |
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| Family |
A wife and two very busy young sons. |
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| Hobbies |
Cycling, drumming, Aussie Rules (Go Crows!) |
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| Crowning Achievement |
Becoming a parent. |
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