As a freelancer my focus is on helping organisational leaders come to grips with the challenges of AI integration, focusing on enhancing human capabilities rather than replacing them. With the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence reshaping every facet of the workplace, my goal is to demystify AI for leaders and help them harness its potential while mitigating its risks. In parallel with this work I remain heavily engaged with the Consumer Data Right community as a convener with the… Show more As a freelancer my focus is on helping organisational leaders come to grips with the challenges of AI integration, focusing on enhancing human capabilities rather than replacing them. With the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence reshaping every facet of the workplace, my goal is to demystify AI for leaders and help them harness its potential while mitigating its risks. In parallel with this work I remain heavily engaged with the Consumer Data Right community as a convener with the Consumer Data Advocate (CDA). Show less

Same job, same team as in my previous role at Data61 but MoG'd ("Machinery of Government") into Federal Treasury. Solving the same challenges but for slightly different bosses.

Leading a team creating the technical and consumer experience standards that underpin the Consumer Data Right. The Consumer Data Right (CDR) is a key competition and consumer reform being implemented to enable and establish ethical sharing of consumer data across the Australian economy, starting first with the banking and energy sectors.

Leading technical working groups developing consensus banking industry positions on the details of the Open Banking standards under the Consumer Data Right (CDR). Working closely with the ABA's member banks, regulators (ACCC), the Data Standards Body (Data61) and subject matter experts from across the financial services sector. Areas of focus have included API development, information security, user experience and systems implementation and testing.

AltusQ is a business coaching firm operating across Australia and New Zealand, with clients ranging from SME’s to the very largest multinationals. As AltusQ’s CTO I was responsible for building and managing platforms for mentoring and leadership programs, client/program management and knowledge management. I also built and managed the AltusQ website and social media channels.As a coach my focus was on assisting businesses to understand and adapt to the opportunities and changes that new… Show more AltusQ is a business coaching firm operating across Australia and New Zealand, with clients ranging from SME’s to the very largest multinationals. As AltusQ’s CTO I was responsible for building and managing platforms for mentoring and leadership programs, client/program management and knowledge management. I also built and managed the AltusQ website and social media channels.As a coach my focus was on assisting businesses to understand and adapt to the opportunities and changes that new technology brings. Clients were diverse, including digital marketing agencies, software developers, multi-national construction firms, industry associations, sporting bodies, legal and accounting firms, health insurers, urban planners, trainers, security consultants, child care centres and industrial printers. Show less

Co-founded the Lending Industry XML Initiative (LIXI) to create e-commerce messaging standards for the mortgage lending industry. Led the technical side of LIXI from a blank sheet of paper to almost universal industry adoption of a broad family of innovative standards.This role required a particularly wide range of skills ranging from purely technical (crafting XML schema and supporting documentation) to collaborative (chairing and guiding hundreds of industry standards meetings) to… Show more Co-founded the Lending Industry XML Initiative (LIXI) to create e-commerce messaging standards for the mortgage lending industry. Led the technical side of LIXI from a blank sheet of paper to almost universal industry adoption of a broad family of innovative standards.This role required a particularly wide range of skills ranging from purely technical (crafting XML schema and supporting documentation) to collaborative (chairing and guiding hundreds of industry standards meetings) to evangelism (building support for LIXI across the lending industry).Sharon Waterhouse, Head of Direct Distribution, Newcastle Permanent Building Society (and former LIXI Director) said: "Barry's ability to straddle the divide between business and technical expertise was instrumental in LIXI's success. He repeatedly demonstrated a natural talent for helping people with diverse perspectives come to recognise their shared interests."Prof. Ross Jeffery, NICTA Research Group Manager said:"Barry has provided the knowledge basis for the business requirements and relevant industry engagements for five LIXI-NICTA R&D project collaborations over the past three years. More importantly, it is Barry's breadth of experience, capabilities and vision for the industry that have allowed these projects to move from concept to fruition and success."During my time with LIXI I was also heavily involved in the planning stages for the National Electronic Conveyancing System (NECS) - now known as PEXA (pexa.com.au). Simon Libbis, Executive Director, National Electronic Conveyancing Office said:“Barry Thomas is highly regarded by the National Electronic Conveyancing Office and our stakeholders. Our work is carried out in a challenging political environment which requires an uncommon degree of diplomacy, authority and knowledge to negotiate. Barry has been a huge asset to our work as he has all these skills...” Show less

Engaged to assist Resimac in adapting to the new standards-driven loan processing technologies arising from my work with LIXI. Advised the Resimac CEO and CTO on emerging technological and strategic opportunities.

LTS was a highly innovative developer of systems for the automated processing and approval of mortgage loan applications. My role there was largely to re-imagine how the mortgage lending industry could work if built on a standards-compliant, web-based architecture. This work led directly to the founding of LIXI (lixi.org.au), which became the peak technical standards body for the Australian mortgage lending sector.

Built a team of 10 writers to document Solution 6's extensive range of accounting software products. This was a highly dynamic environment with rapid growth, huge off-shore clients and plenty of management drama. It was exciting and I learned a lot but I can't honestly say it was fun.

Managed technical documentation, intranet and ISO 9000 projects for a wide range of clients, including banks, insurers, IT companies, government departments and even a margarine manufacturer.

Initially engaged as the technical writer for Cochlear's software team, working on ensuring all documentation met the exacting standards of the FDA. Moved on to help devise, write and implement a new company-wide product development process.

Originally employed by the State Bank of Victoria as a graduate trainee computer programmer, initially programming in COBOL on IBM mainframes. Moved on to Oracle development on an AS/400. Retrained in S/370 Assembler after SBV's takeover by CBA. Swapped over to technical writing and became the lead writer on the Commonwealth Bank Methodology project where we created 16 volumes of "best practice" on IT systems development that I now cringe to remember. The most interesting (and, in the longer… Show more Originally employed by the State Bank of Victoria as a graduate trainee computer programmer, initially programming in COBOL on IBM mainframes. Moved on to Oracle development on an AS/400. Retrained in S/370 Assembler after SBV's takeover by CBA. Swapped over to technical writing and became the lead writer on the Commonwealth Bank Methodology project where we created 16 volumes of "best practice" on IT systems development that I now cringe to remember. The most interesting (and, in the longer term, most useful) aspect of this experience was leading a project to convert the CommBank Methodology documentation to SGML. Show less