Work

• Everest Engineering

  • Scaled the Australian team from inception to 80+ people in roughly three years

  • Contributed to a 10x revenue increase within four years

  • Helped establish systems and structures that supported long-term alignment and culture

  Context

  A growing software consultancy needed to scale its Australian engineering division rapidly while supporting 80+ startup clients and preserving a high-retention culture.

  My role

  As Managing Director and Director of Engineering, I led strategic planning, organisational design, coaching, and decisions around outsourcing versus in-house capability.

• Envato

  • Delivered GDPR compliance initiative and major platform and commercial initiatives

  • Established a Delivery Management Community of Practice across engineering and product

  • Coached engineers and broader teams in AI-assisted development and generative AI techniques

  Context

  One of Australia's most successful creative-industry platforms needed domain-level engineering leadership across customer account management — a compliance-sensitive area spanning payments, pricing, and customer data.

  My role

  As Engineering Manager for the Customer Account Management domain, I led a cross-functional team, managed delivery of strategic initiatives, and built practices around delivery management, AI adoption, and compliance reporting.

• RateMyAgent

  • Productivity increased significantly

  • The engineering team grew from 5 to 30

  • The business achieved a successful $100 million IPO

  Context

  A fast-growing real estate platform needed to scale without sacrificing quality or culture.

  My role

  I introduced Agile practices, guided team growth, and helped streamline product roadmaps and delivery.

• Startup advisor

  • Supported startups in building stronger technical direction

  • Helped founders navigate scaling and team structure decisions

  Context

  A consultancy environment supporting 80+ startups across SaaS, social impact, and other sectors needed practical technical strategy and scaling support.

  My role

  I acted as a strategic advisor, sometimes hands-on and sometimes at a higher level, helping clients make sound decisions and scale sustainably.

• “Rick has been a driving force behind our growth and evolution. He shaped our way of working and designed our unique org structure that continues to define how we run the business. He's built teams, taken on some of the toughest projects, and guided clients with honesty and persistence. Along the way, he's led and launched a bunch of startups, supported larger engagements and left behind systems and structures that will outlast his time here.”

• “I worked with Rick on a number of projects at Visual Jazz, varying in size and complexity and in that time he always produced great results. Rick is one of the best, expert front-end developers I've worked with in my career. Beyond his exceptional technical skills and ability to stay on top of knowledge development in his area of expertise, his attention to detail makes it easy to depend on him every time. A pleasure to work with!”

• “Aside from experience and expertise, Rick has a genuine knack of communicating ideas, problems and solutions with clarity to both lay-people and developers equally. I would definitely recommend him as an excellent lead and best practice advocate.”

• “Rick is a fantastic collaborator and knows the software industry inside and out. Whether leading teams, running workshops, or delivering outcomes, he combines deep expertise with a finely honed ability to engage and inspire. He's also an incredible presenter and storyteller — not to mention absolutely hilarious.”

• “Rick's deep connections in the startup community brought great opportunities, and his ability to keep projects on track while delivering real value was outstanding. Rick has a knack for managing scope effectively, ensuring teams stay focused on what truly matters. On top of that, he's a great leader who fosters collaboration and empowers those around him.”

• “Rick is a true gentleman and scholar, but not only that he is truly a guru of digital engineering. He always finds the best solution to the issue and architects strategies which work. He is a pleasure to work with.”

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