Adrian Turner
CEO, Data61
Ceremony: 14 October 2016, 2.00pm
Speech
So just a little bit of background on Data 61, and how I came to be back into the country. So Data 61 is an incredible organisation. It’s about 1100 people, it’s 680 PhDs, including students; it includes one-third of Australia’s ICT PhD students, as well as contributed staff. And as I look out, the thing that really struck me watching you all come across the stage is not only this sense of optimism and enthusiasm that I could see in your faces, but the diversity in the group, which is just fantastic. At Data 61, we’ve got 47 per cent of the team with a culturally diverse background, and it makes a difference.
So how I got here was, and I want to share a little bit about my personal journey, is I’m an entrepreneur and a business builder, but intensely curious at the core. And whilst overseas, I was fortunate to be there at a time where the internet was just getting born. And people that you now read about that are running global companies, all very approachable, and those companies – I remember those companies. I remember going into Nasa Ames and seeing Jeff Skoll sit at a desk with Pierre, and that company went on to become eBay. I remember sitting in a café in Palo Alto and there’s Zuckerberg, right, when Facebook was just a handful of people. And what you take away from that sort of experience is, no one really knows for sure what’s coming next. And if you want to predict the future, people have said the best way is to create it, and I fundamentally believe that.
Whilst I was over there, I had good fortune, and I worked hard, and I gave back. I had a pay-it-forward culture. In fact, that part of the world, one of the things that really strikes me is the pay-it-forward culture – people are willing to help each other a lot. And one of those ways I thought I could give back was through the expat network, and got involved with that and stayed connected with Australia that way. That connection, that spark of giving back, led to meeting a lot of entrepreneurs and people from all disciplines coming over to the states, saying ‘We need to leave the country to realise that fire in our belly and that ambition, that drive. There’s an itch that I can’t scratch; there’s something that I need to do, and Australia won’t let me do it, or the environment’s not conducive to it.’ And so because of that, I also believed in really taking action and even if it’s controversial, if you’re going to lead, and you’re going to be a leader, you’re not always going to please everybody all of the time.
So what I did was put pen to paper around that book, and was very direct in terms of some of the changes that needed to happen in Australia. For us as a country, to make this transition over the next 5 to 10 years, to be globally competitive and globally relevant, and people at the time told me don’t do it. I had a lot of people at the time say don’t do it, and this was in 2012. And in 2012, if you remember the mining boom was going strong, and the argument in that book was that the mining boom wouldn’t last. And I said ‘Even if it lasts 10 to 15 years, we’re in trouble as a country. And we need to build the infrastructure to be able to figure out how to build the new industries.’ I did it anyway – I had the conviction to do it and I had the support of the family and I got a lot of blowback, a lot of criticism at the time.
What I did do was step off the advanced board, the expat board, to make it very clear that they were my views and not the organisation’s views. What happened next though was as the mining industry hit the wall, the phone rang. And people called me down to Australia and wanted to have a conversation about the ideas that I’d written about in that book. Long story short, I got offered this job. In the book, I felt like one of the things that needed to happen was that there needed to be a group that was non-partisan, that could span multiple terms of government, that was rooted in science and invention, that could lead in the creation of new industry from within Australia.
That’s this group – that’s Data 61. So for me, I’m mission-driven in wanting to come back and do this. And the changes that are going on right now, we’re talking about as the world becomes digital and data-driven, $15 to 20 trillion dollars of GDP impact between now and 2025. Entire industries are up for grabs, countries’ relevancies are up for grabs. 87 per cent of companies know that they’re going to be disrupted in the next five years; 7 per cent have a plan. There’s massive change coming, and it’s going to touch all aspects of humanity – societal, environmental, but it’s really going to go to the core of what it means to be human as well. And you’re about to embark on journeys in such an incredible period of history, where there’s not been a time when you can influence the trajectory, not only of the country but also of the world across all of those dimensions – economic, societal and environmental.
And whilst that technology change is going on, I want to bring it back to the human and the individual perspective. So these are some reflections and some reflections on having the privilege of working with people that have changed the world in their own way. Never stop being fearless – that fearlessness that you see in kids and in our youth is the thing that pervades and is persistent in people that go on to have impact in the world. Be curious always, creative, ambitious, but do it with purpose and with compassion.
A lot of the world that we’re moving into now, technology doesn’t have intent by itself; it’s how we apply the technology, and it needs to be applied with compassion in the period we’re moving into. Never stop learning. The ability to learn and re-learn will be the basis of your own competitive advantage in the marketplace and your own personal happiness. Small things lead to big things when you’re authentic and true to yourself and don’t compromise in your own core beliefs.
When I interview people I ask them one question: the first question I ask them is ‘What’s your superpower?’ I believe everyone is really, really good at something. Everyone is an outlier at something, and ask yourself, what is that something? What is that something that I lose myself in, that I lose a sense of time when I’m doing it? And lift the scale of ambition, because what I see coming back into the country is talent on par with anywhere in the world, and we need to back ourselves and lift the scale of ambition.
The second thing I want to touch on is the relationship with time, and Ron touched on it as well. It’s perishable. One thing that I notice as well in other parts of the world is this relationship with time is different – there’s an urgency; there’s a sense and appreciation of opportunity cost. Don’t waste time on the things that don’t align with your core beliefs and your purpose. Don’t waste time on people that try to suppress your creativity and your ideas. Find time for balance, look after yourself along the way. Look after your family – family comes first. At the end of the day, family matters more than anything.
So in finishing, it’s, there’s an easy path when you graduate – there’s an easy path to slip into a role, to slip into work, and to follow. There’s a harder path to continually challenge the status quo and to lead. I encourage you all to find the courage the conviction inside of yourselves to go out into the world and to be leaders at this special time. Make your mark and don’t settle for anything less than fully expressing who you are, and your ideas. Challenge authority constructively – the world’s moved increasingly to a world of meritocracy, which is great news for you all. And know that your insights are as good or better than anyone’s around you. Don’t let anyone tell you things are not possible – I can’t tell you how many times people have sat across the table and said ‘You can’t do that, it won’t work; you can’t do that, it’s not possible.’ Don’t listen to them.
I have the privilege of working with all of these amazing minds and students, and every day they come to work to challenge the status quo and to do things that have never been done before. Australia’s undergoing massive change, and so is the world. Lead the change. Be entrepreneurial. Control your own destiny. As you think about jobs, think about the underlying systems and structures of the world. Think about the opportunity presented by five billion people that are going to be looking for work – a $75 trillion dollar global economy. And if you believe the numbers, only 13 per cent of the world are engaged in jobs that they really enjoy. There’s an opportunity there to reframe the whole notion of work and jobs.
Think bigger. And as you have success, which you will, in whatever form that means for you personally, give back. Give back, don’t stop. The world needs you to give back and participate. I always say to senior leaders, and I have – I’ve had the privilege of interacting with heads of state, the leadership in our country, global leaders around the world in the private sector and in the non-for-profit sector, and I always finish when I speak with a statement along the lines that says ‘I’ve seen the future. The next generation is coming with or without us. We need to set them up for success, we need to impart wisdom where we think we can add value, but we need to get out of the way, and let them step into the world and the opportunity.’ You are that generation – you are the next generation, and I urge you to step up into the challenge.
There’s never been a more important time for yourself, for the country, for the world. This is truly your time. Take it. Thank you.
About the speaker
Adrian is the CEO of Data61, Australia’s largest data innovation group based at CSIRO. Data61 is also Australia's largest research organisation focused on all aspects of Data; sensing, robotics, machine learning, optimisation, visualisation, cognitive sciences.
Adrian is a successful and influential Australian technology entrepreneur, spending 18 years in Silicon Valley.
From 2006-2011, Adrian was chairman of Advance.org, the not-for-profit network which connects 20,000 expatriate Australians living in 90 countries. He was recently named Co-Chair of the Cybersecurity Growth Centre and is a member of the Board of the Australian eHealth Research Centre. He is both co-founder of Mocana (which provides security systems for connected devices and apps) and the author of Blue Sky Mining – Building Australia’s Next Billion Dollar Industries, which was published in 2012.
In 2014, Turner launched Borondi Group, a holding company focussed on the intersection of pervasive computing, platform economics and traditionally conservative industries like agriculture, mining, water management, transportation and healthcare.
Adrian maintains close links with UTS and in 2014 he was appointed to the UTS Business School Advisory Board. The organisation guides the strategic direction of the Business School and helps inspire the transformation of the school's teaching and research programs so they meet the demands for knowledge and leadership in businesses of the future.
Adrian is a UTS graduate with a Bachelor of Business and has completed the Executive Program for Managing Growth Companies at Stanford University.
