I started as a Technical Office in 1987 at Australia’s largest telecommunication research laboratories, the Telstra Research Laboratories – TRL). It was here I developed broad, transferrable soft and technical skills across multiple technology domains. TRL closed its doors in 2006 after 80 years of advancing, modernising and making the telephone network available to all Australians, no matter where they lived. TRL (and Telstra still) also influenced international communications. I am very proud of the work I did, the experience and skills I gained, and the influence I had.
Building on skills and talents from my time at TRL and a Masters in Virtual Communications from RMIT; specialising in strategic online communications, Understated Excellence™ was formed as a vehicle to give back to the Australian community, for smaller businesses and entities (including community groups). It was here I leant empathy and understanding of constraints of budgets, knowledge, and applications experienced by smaller businesses. Understated Excellence has given those entities the confidence and abilities to grow. I am very proud of the results I delivered and achieved and the influence I have had.
I have also undertaken contract and corporate work in parallel to Understated Excellence using learnings across all entities, to the benefit of all entities. Many of these skills and others can be used for process improvement, systems and data analysis, and digital transformation.
Some of these were implemented and achieved include:
- Analysis (business, data, systems and competitors).
- Development (specifications, applications, websites, content, processes).
- Configuration and Management (servers, analytics, projects).
- Information Architecture, Usability and Accessibility.
- Designed strategies, implemented and improved onsite and organic search results.
- Liaised between idea generators and developers to manage projects and expectations.
- Retained and regained sovereignty over sites, data and domains.
- Documented and improved processes (by discovery and automation).
- Evaluated technologies and services and recommended solutions or improvements.
For more detailed information, please feel free to review the resume's below.
Resumes
It seems that as time goes on, resumes need to get shorter and shorter...
- 2012 - Now | Large and Long Term | Summary - 2 Page | Shorter HR Version | PDF download
- 1987 - Now | Large and Long Term | Summary - 3 Page | Shorter HR Version | PDF download
- 2007 - Now | Contract and Corporate | Summary - 6 Page| (HR Version) for a quick overview | PDF download TBC
- 2007 - Now | Contract and Corporate | Detailed - 24 Pages | for a more comprehensive read | PDF download
- 2006 - Now | Understated Excellence | Summary - 2 Page | (HR Version) for a quick overview | PDF download TBC
- 2006 - Now | Understated Excellence | Detailed - 19 Pages | for a more comprehensive read | PDF download
- 1987 - 2006 | Telstra Research Laboratories | Summary - 2 Page | (HR Version) for a quick overview | PDF download TBC
- 1987 - 2006 | Telstra Research Laboratories | Detailed - 10 Pages | for a more comprehensive read | PDF download
Qualifications
- 2025 - Certificate. of Appreciation. 2025 Federal Election
- 2024 - Certificate. Excavator and Tractor Operations
- 2024 - Certificate. White Card (Construction)
- 2024 - Certificate. First Aid and CPR
- 2022 - Certificate. Graduate Certificate in Applied Data Science
- 2021 - Certificate. Agile Data and Information Management
- 2018 - Certificate. Marketing Analytics and Insights
- 2006 - Certificate. Masters of Arts (Virtual Communications)
- 1998 - Diploma of Engineering
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1998 - Associate Diploma of Engineering (Computer Systems)
Major project was to use Motorola 6809 chip an assembly language to program a custom built machine. A standard project was a watering system. My project was initially rejected because it wasn't complex enough, because it didn't have a keypad and timers. However, Don Burke on his popular gardening show of the day suggested that watering during the day wasted water due to evaporation and the best time to water when the sun was set and the soil was dry. My project used light and moisture sensors to automatically water the plants based on watering needs at an appropriate time (when there was no Sun). There was only about 30 lines of code. My project was also handed over and re-used multiple time by multiple students later on.
I did see a watering system based on similar principles about 20 years later, but it appears that days, dates and times have made a comeback since then...
- 1990 - Associate Diploma of Engineering (Electronics)
- 1991 - Certificate of Technology (Electronics)
- 1985 - Basic Electronics Certificate
- Queen Scout Award
2022 | Graduate Certificate | Applied Data Science (CSU)
- Certificate. Graduate Certificate in Applied Data Science
- Academic Transcript
- Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement
Documents Generated
- Glossary of Statistical Terms (PDF)
- Flowchart with Formula (PDF)
- Language of Statistics (PNG)
- Qualitative Statistics Tests (PNG)
- Quantitative Statistics Tests (PNG)
- Course Feedback: STA501 (PDF)
2022 | Short Course | Business Analytics Tools for Finance Professionals (CPA Australia)
2021 | Short Course | Agile Data and Information Management (CSU)
2018 | Short Course | Marketing Analytics and Insights (RMIT)
A transitional course to
- provide further insight to the use and application of Big Data.
- to compliment learnings of the Big Data project I was working on at Telstra in 2018,
- to give access and familiarity to applications used in industry: Tableau and Adobe Analytics
Results
- Certificate. Marketing Analytics and Insights. Pretty proud of the outcome.
- Final Project Submission (YouTube), Opens in New Window. It's hard to fit everything into 5 - 10 minutes and provide details on everything...
- Final Project Slide Pack (PDF), with some of the dummy data I generated: occupancy (PDF) and potential affiliates (PDF), the excel files used a random number generator and every interaction modified data.
- Final Project Reflections (PDF), I was submitting in a remote area in NSW and the file took almost 6 hours to upload. Screen recording was interesting, but Windows 10 has a native screen recorder called Game bar, used for recording Game Play
2006 | Masters of Arts | Virtual Communications (RMIT)
- Certificate. Masters of Arts (Virtual Communications)
- Academic Transcript
- Statement of Academic Completion
- Presentation: Summary Overview of Research Project
Telstra Research Laboratories
While it is difficult to list everything over nearly 20 years work experience, I have included an overview of my work and achievements in Telstra Research Laboratories (TRL). The Labs had a significant impact on Australian and global telecommunications research, discoveries, industries, products and services. I am proud of my time, training and experiences in what was Australia's largest telecommunications research facility and the contributions both The Labs, my colleagues and I made.
Some highlights of Brendan's work in the Telstra Research Laboratories
- 1987 - 2006 | Telstra Research Laboratories | Summary | (HR Version) for a quick overview | PDF download TBC
- 1987 - 2006 | Telstra Research Laboratories | Detailed | for a more comprehensive read | PDF download
Some background and history of the Telstra Research Laboratories
- See some of the history of the Telstra Research Laboratories
- from wikipedia Telstra Research Laboratories
- and apparently, what it is now. it seems very safe Telstra Labs
- YouTube Video celebrating 80 Years of Telecommunications Research
See some of the companies that have emerged from TRL and it's people:
- Gazunti. using Artificial Intelligence to mine unstructured data.
- StopMotion Pro Animation software on Academy Award winner Harvey Crumpet. See the Harvey Crumpet on YouTube
- TelePower Australia Alternative Energy and other Telecommunication and Power related technologies and management.
- PrepSail Online training courses to help you to Learn How to Sail.
- 1194 Online George, The Talking Clock