GrowthOps goes for growth under new leadership team

Scott Tanner and Clint Cooper (GrowthOps)

GrowthOps CEO Paul Mansfield, along with independent non-executive chairman Dominique Fisher and non-executive director Melissa Field, have all retired from their existing roles at the entrepreneurial advisory and operations firm, with Clint Cooper taking up the new managing director and CEO position.

Along with Cooper, Scott Tanner will take over the position of independent non-executive chairman, while Phillip Dalidakis, Jessica Hart and Craig McMenamin have been appointed non-executive directors and Craig Davies has been appointed executive director for technology and cybersecurity.

Additionally, Phillip Kingston, founder and executive director of the Australian headquartered IT and business consulting firm, will transition to the position of non-executive director.

The replacement comes as GrowthOps shifts its focus to growth, according to a statement from the firm.

Trimantium GrowthOps Limited listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 16 March following the mega-merger of eight separate companies has finally wrapped up the integration of the five technology-driven businesses that make up its IT services offering.

The legacy businesses comprising the initial group included enterprise cloud and software solutions provider, 3wks, mobile applications developer, Jtribe, enterprise IT consulting, cloud and software solutions provider, Digital Moshi.

The other companies involved in its inception included digital marketing and technology player, KDIS, creative agency, AJF Partnership, content producer, Khemistry, branding and graphic design firm, Voodoo Creative, and the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership (IECL).

Since then, the publicly-listed company, which subsequently rebranded as GrowthOps, has snapped up other tech players, including ServiceNow partner Entrago, which GrowthOps moved on in March.

Now, with the leadership shuffle underway, Tanner thanked Fisher, Field and Mansfield for the contributions to GrowthOps, the firm's board, its shareholders and employees.

“Highlights of their contributions include the IPO, the successful integration of ten businesses, and launching a unique growth services offering into the marketplace,” Tanner said. 

“We are also grateful to Paul Mansfield for committing to work with Clint to ensure a smooth transition. The retiring directors conclude their tenure at GrowthOps with our sincere appreciation for their leadership and dedication to the company during its foundation year.” 

Of note is Davies, who in his position of executive director for technology and cybersecurity will be starting up GrowthOps' cybersecurity consulting practice, as well as assisting the firm's board and management to develop its technology service offering. 

Davies’ comes on board with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. Davies is the CEO and co-founder of TriSecOps, which was founded in 2018 by Davies and Phillip Kingston, and has receive backing and investment from Trimantium Capital, the group behind GrowthOps.

As well as non-executive director and chair of the audit and risk committee at RightCrowd, Davies is director of Another Challenge Ventures, workshop facilitator at Zambesi, advisor at Deckee and advisor to the chair at Bugcrowd. 

He also has had a number of roles at AustCyber, Slingshot Accelerator, Secure Code Warrior, Altassian, Cochlear and Westpac. 

Several of the new hires have been sourced from outside the technology industry. 

For example, Cooper’s previous experience is in sport, being the founding CEO and director of the Twenty20 Big Bash League cricket club the Melbourne Stars, as well as being the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Cricket Victoria. 

Tanner said the board made a deliberate decision to recruit a CEO that was not previously involved in the “the traditional creative, technology and consulting industries.” 

“The new chief executive officer, Clint Cooper, is a highly respected executive leader from the elite sport industry,” Tanner said. 

“He has an exceptional track record of delivering strong business performance, and driving innovation. 

“Importantly, Clint is a galvanising leader, whose attributes and values align with GrowthOps.”

 Cooper added that while his career path to GrowthOps was not “traditional”, he still felt “a great sense of alignment with the company’s DNA”. 

“It’s only 18 months since the company launched and, under Paul’s leadership, it’s achieved some challenging milestones that I plan to build on to further accelerate its growth,” Cooper said.

 “I’m also very excited to be joining a board with such outstanding capability and experience. We’re determined to realise the potential of the company.”

Meanwhile, Tanner’s experience is rooted in the banking industry, with over 30 years of experience across Westpac Group, Bank of Melbourne, St George Bank and National Australia Bank. 

He also is currently the chairman of Committee for Melbourne,  chairman of advisory boards for PropertyShares, UbiPark, IMPOS and Asia Pacific Capital, a director of the Melbourne Business School and is managing director of SMT Advisory Services.