Hi, I'm Stephen Carter, I work for Greenleaf Enterprises as their CTO. Formerly I was VIC/QLD State Manager and Senior Software Architect with SSW.
Some reckon I have a New Zealand accent, but I’ve never been and put it down to living most of my life in South Australia and having an Adelaidian twang.
I like to cook and my signature dish is Beef Rendang, which I make with my daughter using fresh herbs and spices, cooking slowly for nearly 24 hours. It gets consumed in a matter of minutes!
To keep fit, I enjoy training in martial arts, walking and mountain biking. I trained in Taekwondo for over ten years, ran a training centre in Adelaide and won championships for two consecutive years (2008, 2009) in Poomsae (patterns), Sparring and Power Breaking (smashing wood). I have also trained in Hapkido, which is a very different style primarily focused on redirecting an opponent’s energy against themselves. Hapkido is similar to Aikido, which you may have seen in a number of Steven Seagal movies from the 80’s and early 90’s. My son and I like to go mountain biking in the You Yangs west of Melbourne – he kicks my butt every time. There are different tracks depending on your skill level and they are rated like ski slopes, with black diamond being the hardest.
What are the three words every girl wants to hear? That’s right, “I play bass”. I’ve been playing for a few years and in 2014 took part in ‘Weekend Warriors’, a six week program where individuals come together, practice a set and then perform live on stage - it was an awesome challenge! Since then I’ve gotten together with a few friends and my partner and played at a 50th birthday party!
Travelling in South East Asia has become a bit of a passion in recent years. I have developed a bit of an affinity with Cambodia, the place, people and food, and have travelled there three times, the last time being October 2015 when I did a 100km trail bike tour of the jungle near the southern coast, where I stacked it once and became bogged in cow manure up to my knees – an experience I’ll never forget!!
Figure: River Crossing in the Cambodian Jungle
Travelling has also given me the opportunity to capture some pretty amazing photographs – I have a pretty diverse collection on my Flickr site. My Cambodian favourite is:
Figure: Favourite Cambodian Photo
Prior to SSW, I worked for Melbourne’s metropolitan rail franchisee for four years, starting there as a Senior Software Engineer on a 3 month contract, progressing to managing software development projects and finally heading up their ICT projects division. During this time I gained a lot of valuable experience in dealing with senior internal stakeholders, government stakeholders, financial management and planning at a portfolio level, but missed the technical side of IT where my passion lies. Throughout my career I have experienced working in emergency services, education, rail and transport, government, NGOs and in consulting.
I started my IT career in the late 80’s developing insurance applications in Pascal and since then have ridden the crest of numerous technological tsunamis, from the birth of the internet in the early 90’s, through to the introduction of mobile phones and mobile internet.
I believe we are on the crest of another technological revolution with the release of HoloLens, and am champing at the bit to explore the world of mixed reality and to share my learnings with developers, business, and enthusiasts alike.
