Richard Willis
Overview
A lateral thinker and natural problem solver, Richard has managed large public and private sector organisations, and owned and operated several successful small business enterprises. He has a diverse business experience base in a range of industries and business environments including health services, defence, facilities management, construction, business consulting, manufacturing and service industries. Richard also has a thorough and practical understanding of the different operational, administrative, and human resource requirements of managing a successful organisation. Richard has personal qualities that complement and support the development of leadership and best practice in business including confidence, resilience, effective interpersonal skills, respect and sensitivity to the needs of others, and a good sense of humour.
Career Summary
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2004 - Present
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Partner, XBase Solutions
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July 2003 - Present
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Managing Director, Infinity Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd
Develops new business enterprises and provides consultancy services to existing businesses on the development and management of their commercial operations.
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July 2002 - June 2003
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Managing Director, Shine 123 Pty Ltd
Commercial car detailing business that was re-branded and developed into a successful commercial operation.
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July 1997 - June 2002
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Managing Director, Infinity Industries (Qld) Pty Ltd
Provision of fibreglass, flock coating and PVC coating services to a diverse range of industrial and commercial businesses.
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Oct 1996 - Aug 1999
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Managing Director, Warregal Management Pty Ltd
Provided business restructuring, project management, marketing, bookkeeping, financial management advice, and technical services advice.
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Feb 1996 - Aug 1996
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General Manger, Xanthico Construction
Large Mackay based civil contracting company with an annual turnover of $10 million and 70 staff.
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Feb 1995 - Feb 1996
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State Manager, Corp Facility Management Resources Pty Ltd
Established the Brisbane operations of the company and provided technical and management advice to Corporate Facility Management Resources' clients and staff.
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Nov 1986 - Feb 1995
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Squadron Leader, Royal Australian Air Force
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Dec 1976 - Oct 1986
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Deputy Manager, Immunology, Dr T B Lynch Pathology Laboratory
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Professional Qualifications
- Graduate Diploma of Management
- Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical)
- Associate Diploma of Administration Studies
Associations
- Associate Fellow, Australian Institute of Management (Brisbane)
- Member, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Keith Willis
Overview
Software and Hardware engineering experience in both commercial and academic environments. Strong OO design skills and experience in software application architecture, for both small and enterprise level projects.
I enjoy technical challenges and am interested in all aspects of Electronics design and Software engineering. I have had a fortunate career to date with many opportunities to design innovative Electronics and Software systems, including precision instrumentation, power electronics, robotics systems, image processing hardware/software, inertial measurement systems, embedded firmware and enterprise level networked database-driven applications (see my online CV). I also have a comprehensive knowledge of Altera FPGA/CPLD/SOPC design. I have a solid background in mathematics, (an uncompleted PhD in Applied Estimation Theory).
Programming experience primarily in C++ for Win32 using Borland Builder and Microsoft Visual Studio, C# and Delphi.Net for the Microsoft .Net platform, C on Unix, Windows and numerous embedded platforms and Fortran. Various technologies including multithreaded Win32 applications, ISAPI filters and extensions, COM+, Win32 DLLs and service applications and OLE Automation.
Significant web development experience using a variety of technologies including HTML/XHTML, JavaScript, XML, AJAX, ColdFusion, ISAPI, PHP and ASP.Net, building both highly interactive websites and web services.
Extensive database design and programming experience using various database servers, including MS SQLServer, MySQL, PostGreSQL and Borland Interbase/Firebird. Excellent knowledge of T-SQL and DDL
Engineering Skills
- Software Development (C/C++, C#.Net, Object Pascal, Fortran, Assembler, PHP, Cold Fusion, SQL, HTML, CSS, XML, XSLT, JavaScript, BASH)
- IT System Design and Administration (IIS, Apache, Cisco)
- Electronics Design (Power Electronics & Precision Instrumentation)
- Control System Analysis and Design
- Servo-System, Control and Robotics Design
- CPLD, FPGA & SOPC Design, (including Quartus II)
- Analog and digital circuit design
- Embedded microcontroller design
- Embedded real-time C firmware design
- AC, DC and Stepper Motor Control
- Schematic entry, (including Protel/Altium)
- Advanced PCB-Layout, with multiple-layers, surface mount, footprint library creation and management, design rules including features such as split-planes, transmission lines, printed antennae etc.
- Design for standards compliance (EMC, ESD, Safety, etc)
- Bill of Materials Maintenance
- Design involvement from concept to manufacture-ready
- Testing and debugging at component level using traditional test equipment
- EMC, ESD and Safety pre-compliance testing
- Concurrent electrical-mechanical design
- Design for manufacture
Non-Technical Skills
- Contract Negotiation
- Client Liaising
- Project Management
- Customer Presentation
- Pre and Post sales support
- Tender Preparation
- Team Management
- Customer Training Courses
Career Summary
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Jan 2002 - Present
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Partner, NetSoft Distributed Solutions Pty Ltd
I co-founded NetSoft with a colleague and we have had eight successful years of doing business developing software and hardware systems for a diverse range of customers from small businesses to large corporations. My responsibilities included hardware and software design and development as well as client-facing roles such as contract negotiation, Project Management and Training.
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Feb 2007 - Jul 2009
(Long-Term Contract)
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R & D Engineer, University of Newcastle & ResTech Pty Ltd
I conducted research and developed new commercial products in collaboration with the University. I developed a self-exciting processor-controlled flameproof alternator for operation in hazardous environments and have collaborated on the creation of an innovative high voltage solid-state Static Var Compensator.
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Jan 1996 - Jan 2002
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Professional Officer / PhD Student, University of Sydney
I initially developed a fiber-optic token-ring servo control system that eliminated the expensive global wiring harnesses associated with traditional robotic systems. I then commenced a PhD in Applied Estimation Theory for an airborne passive vision inertial sensing system.
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Jan 1992 - Jan 1996
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Electronics Research Engineer, Anglo-Australian Observatory
I was responsible for the design of all of the electronics, robotics and firmware for the Anglo-Australian Observatory's 2dF multi-fiber spectroscope instrument. This was widely regarded at the time as the most sophisticated optical astronomical instrument in the world. The design team including myself was a finalist for the 1996 Australian Engineering Excellence award.
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Jan 1989 - Jan 1991
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Electronics Research Engineer, Department of Physics
Employed as an electronics research design engineer responsible for the design of precision electronic instrumentation used in Physics research. This included the development of a non-linear servo-control system featuring some unique engineering solutions for a vacuum balance gravity experiment measuring variations in the Newtonian gravitational constant over distances on the order of several meters. I was also responsible for the design and complete development of original geophysical instrumentation used in the application of Controlled Source Audio Magneto-Telluric mineral and oil prospecting.
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Professional Qualifications
- Certificate - Altera Consultants Alliance Program
- Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics)
- PhD Engineering - Applied Estimation Theory (Uncompleted)
Awards
- Finalist for the 1996 IEAUST Australian Engineering Excellence Award - for the Anglo-Australian Observatory 2-Degree Field Multi-Fibre Spectrograph.
Publications
- "Outline of the design of a cascaded H-bridge medium voltage STATCOM", Proceedings of the 13th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference, 2008, Poznan, Poland (2008).
- "Update on the development of a medium voltage multilevel cascaded H-bridge STATCOM", AUPEC '08 Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference 2008, Sydney, NSW (2008).
- "Servo-control system for electrostatic damping of a vacuum balance for precise weighing in a hydroelectric lake", Proceedings of the Elizabeth and Frederick White Research Conference, Gravitational Astronomy, Instrument Design and Astrophysical Prospects, Canberra, September 1990.
- "The Anglo-Australian Observatory's 2dF Facility", Royal Astronomical Society 14 Dec 2001.
- "A Low-Cost, Redundant Inertial Measurement Unit for Unmanned Air Vehicles", The International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol. 19, No. 11, 1089-1103 (2000).
- Various publications on Autonomous Navigation, Estimation Theory, and Robotics with the ACFR.
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The Business People in IT rather than IT people in business
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Tel: 1300 722 115
Contact: XBase Issue Tracker
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