The Certis Security Australia team, and the entire Certis family, are delighted to welcome an exceptional new member. Joanna Simpson has recently joined the Sydney office as the new General Manager, Head of Certis Technology AU!
Joanna will not only be an integral member of the Australian Senior Leadership Team, but will also be at the forefront of Certis Security’s continued focus on technology driven solutions, investments and strategies. Working closely with the Security Solutions Team, Joanna and the newly-assembled AU Technology Team will pitch, design, deliver and maintain integrated solutions for the Australian Market, including Certis mainstays Security+ and Business Process Re-engineering and Operations (BPRO®).
As head of the newly formed Certis AU Technology division, Joanna is excited to bring her extensive experience of both local and international solutions to the Australian security market.
“I want to take our customers on a journey,” Joanna says. “It’s exciting to not only seek out new clients, but to take these existing Certis customers, with whom we have amazing relationships, and guide them through the next stage of their technology journey.”
Joanna’s own journey to Certis has included senior positions in growth strategy groups that have cemented her status as a thought leader in the security and technology industries. Joanna’s interest in security was sparked during her time working in Fire Monitoring and Protection, which required her to understand and develop solutions to complex problems. This role not only helped Joanna gain experience in product monitoring and taking solutions to market, but also introduced her to the security industry through key consultants. After 9 years in Account and Administration Management at Wormald, Joanna decided to pursue her new area of interest and accepted a position as Project Manager for Process Improvement at ADT Security Australia.
Over the next few years, Joanna continued to gain valuable experience in integrated security solutions, taking on a Global Sales role for Tyco Integrated Security before moving into Security & Surveillance with Hills Limited. However, it was working with Sapio on their system-integrated monitoring centre as Head of Sales that truly made Joanna feel she had found her passion.
“There are so many different types of technology in the global market that I want to bring to Australia,” said Joanna. “Organisations are consistently moving towards cloud-based platforms and using existing infrastructure to support new technologies. That’s why I wanted to be part of Certis Security. We’re already observing the market and listening to our customers, identifying their pain points and their business operations. Understanding their key issues allows us to use existing growth strategies with new ideas, upskilling all areas of the business. We’re not replacing our existing solutions; we’re enhancing them.”
As she goes from strength to strength in her chosen fields, Joanna feels it’s important to use her position as a female leader to help others rise with her. She uses her own successful experiences to ‘pay it forward’, having spent her free time over the last few years mentoring women in security and other industries.
“I had great leaders and mentors coming up, and I had times without that support. I’m definitely at my best when I’ve had that support and someone to bounce ideas off and help me improve. If I can pass on just a little bit of that to help other women, then that’s what I think everyone should be doing to help raise others up.”
Although Joanna may be new to Certis, not all of her colleagues are new to her. Christian Dorau, General Manager Australia, Head of Sales and Marketing, worked with Joanna at Tyco and is delighted to have the chance to work with her again.
“Joanna is always at the dotted line of change,” said Christian. “She hasn’t simply changed brands; she has branded brands, and always left them better than she found them. Her exceptional knowledge of technology, sales, finance and legal will be an incredible asset for Certis.”
Joanna’s first task at Certis Security will be increasing cyber protection solutions for staff and customers, something both corporate and government organisations are increasingly interested in. But this isn’t simply a matter of observing federal surveillance and privacy acts and modernising the storage of private information. Joanna and the AU Technology Team plan to expand Certis Security’s multi-layered approach to security solutions, focusing on the convergence of physical guarding, analytics and open technology platforms, all customised to individual client needs.
“Virtually no other company has Certis’ in-house convergence capabilities, at least in the Asia-Pacific region,” Joanna attests. “Certis AU is able to leverage learnings from Singapore and partner with leaders in technology locally and globally, so that we don’t have to recreate the wheel, just adapt it. This method of extensive collaboration is quintessentially Australian, and it works.”
As is often the case, Joanna sums it up best: “I like a challenge.”
