We sat down with Adam, our National Engagement Director, to find out what really makes him tick! With over 20 years experience in Data Analytics, he certainly had a lot to share!

Q: Tell us a little about yourself - where are you from and what brought you to Australia? 

A: I am originally from the UK where I grew up and spent most of my professional career. I’ve now built up two decades of experience working in data and analytics, working in a range of different industries and roles. I’d always wanted to live and work abroad. So when the opportunity presented itself, myself and my wife along with our young family set off on the adventure of a lifetime to come to Australia. The timing was impeccable. We arrived towards the end of 2019 just in time for record bushfires, floods and the global pandemic! Every month, there seemed to be a new natural disaster.

Q: Why did you decide to join team Intelligen?

A: It’s rare to get an opportunity to work with people who share the same values. It’s even rarer to be able to come in at the start of an exciting journey. The combination of recruitment expertise, marketing and operations which Intelligen is able to tap into is the perfect engine to bring my skills and experience to really help drive value and positively impact as many customers as we can through cutting edge use of data and analytics. It really is a situation where the sum total is greater than the individual parts.

Q: What are you most proud of with respect to your career?

A: Probably securing a Global Talent Visa which came with full working rights within Australia. The fact is that this visa isn’t typically aimed at people like myself, this visa predominantly focused on the top international talent from around the world in key sectors which have been identified as huge growth potential for Australia.

The route I adopted throughout my career has always been entrepreneurial, and it was this which formed the basis of my application. This narrative along with a portfolio of case studies and recommendation letters from previous colleagues and business partners saw me awarded the visa exactly a year to the date I originally arrived in Australia.

From that moment on, I never looked back.

Q: What is your vision with respect to impacting the Australian market?

A: Before I arrived in Australia, people who had been exposed to the Australian market mentioned that typically Australia lags behind the UK, Europe and the US. Over time, I have increasingly come across instances where this is the case.

For me, this presents a huge opportunity where you can use insights from outside of Australia to help customers really move the dial. Bringing this fresh perspective to the table is really valued by my customers. If you take this, coupled with the fact that Australian borders have been closed for a prolonged period of time, it has only increased the demand for the latest, most up-to-date skills.


Q: What do you feel is your highest value impact when engaging with clients?

A: I’ve worked in a variety of roles which allows me to empathise with my customers as I have a real-world experience of what challenges my customers are facing. For example, over the years I have worked as an independent IT contractor, Data Architect and Head of Data for large consultancies. Each of these roles naturally has a different focus and priorities and not always, are these priorities the same. Understanding these subtleties and what success criteria any engagement needs to satisfy, allows me to anticipate those stakeholder needs and ensure they are catered for throughout my customer’s data and analytics journey. Call it a personal touch, if you will!

Q: What is your favourite success story?

A: Environment and culture is everything in business. It can drive huge success or stifle momentum and extinguish business value. As an example, I was working to develop and implement a data strategy for a large insurer a few years ago. At that point in time, the culture was resistant to change and due to a lack of value realised from previous data-related projects, there was little buy-in to try and do more with data. This meant that key decisions which could have taken the company forward weren’t taken, countless hours were wasted and the business started to be caught up by the competition.

I decided to move on and took on a very similar role, in the same city, at the same time and in the same industry. The approach was similar, but the results were spectacularly different. In a short period of time we were able to modernise the entire data architecture and create a culture of innovation. How was this possible? It was possible because, in short, the environment and the people within it were open and receptive to change. They weren’t afraid to experiment, to test and learn, or to fail. Adopting these principles meant that value was realised far faster whilst a new, positive, optimistic culture was instilled throughout the organisation. These are the projects you want to be part of!

Q: We talk a lot about drive and purpose over here; what are yours?

A: I think it’s important to have a goal or purpose which is big - far bigger than just yourself. If you don’t, it’s going to be hard to motivate yourself to get out of bed and show up each day. And then what do you do when you reach the goal? So, my purpose in the broadest sense is to serve as many people as I can by adding as much value as possible. This breaks down into multiple workstreams and milestones along the way, which allows me to see real, tangible results over time, and acts as a motivator to continue striving and moving forward.

Q: You’ve got alot going on, what do you do to balance the pace of work life?

A: It’s all about finding a balance which works for you. The switch to remote working has, for me, been a game changer. I am very good at removing distractions and focusing on high value tasks to get the job done in a relatively short amount of time. And, of course, you need to balance this out by giving yourself the things you need to ensure you stay motivated and productive. I enjoy daily exercise outdoors and structuring my day around these aspects.

Adam & the team look forward to working with your organisation to reach new heights. Get in touch with Intelligen today!

Tag :- Adam Morton, Q&A, Introduction, Data & Analytics