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Adrian Di Marco

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Adrian Di Marco
Adrian Di Marco – Executive chairman TechnologyOne
NationalityAustralian
OccupationExecutive chairman of TechnologyOne
Years active1987–present
Known forFounder of TechnologyOne

Adrian Di Marco (born 1958) is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of TechnologyOne, Australia's largest enterprise software company.[1][2][3]

Early life and career

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Di Marco was born in Brisbane in 1958, the child of Italian immigrants.[4] He attended St James College in Brisbane.[5]

He became interested in IT after helping his brother, who was studying engineering at university, to program one of the first digital computers. After high school, Di Marco completed a science degree at the University of Queensland,[6] majoring in computer science.[4] Early in his career, he worked at Arthur Andersen (now Accenture).[4]

TechnologyOne CEO

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Di Marco founded TechnologyOne from inside a demountable office in the car park at JL Mactaggart Industries' hide processing plant in Hemmant, Brisbane, in 1987.[7][8][9] The company initially received with a small amount of capital[10] from JL Mactaggart Industries.[11]

The company began providing financial software,[12] building its products around relational databases.[13] It has since developed enterprise resource planning software[14] for sectors including local government, universities,[4][15] and hospitals.[16]

In 1998, when Oracle launched a competitor product and revoked TechnologyOne’s licenses, Di Marco made the company’s products database independent, building its own sales, marketing, and implementation divisions.[17][10][18] In December 1999, Di Marco led the company into its listing on the ASX making it one of the most successful floats of the DotCom era.[19] In 2001, he was appointed chairman of TechnologyOne.[20]

Di Marco was member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was Deputy Chair of the Australian Information Industry Association from 2002 to 2004.[21] He was the Director of the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation Board from 2004 to 2012.[22]

In 2004 Di Marco won the Pearcey Award for innovative and pioneering achievement and contribution to research and development in IT.[23] He was awarded Fellow of the Australian Computer Society in 2010.[24] When he stepped down as CEO in May 2017, Di Marco was one of the longest-serving chief executives of an ASX-listed company.[25][26]

As CEO, Di Marco established the philanthropic TechnologyOne Foundation,[27] which has made donations to Opportunity International Australia,[28] the School of St Jude in Tanzania, The Fred Hollows Foundation, and others.[29] He also advocated against a business model run by professional managers, which caused the company difficulties in the early 2000s.[5][25] He has argued that a focus on corporate governance weakens companies and that subject matter experts are more important to have on a board than independent directors.[25][30]

Post-CEO

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In May 2017, Di Marco stepped down as CEO from the company but remained its Executive Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer.[31][17][32] As of 2019, Di Marco’s 8.6 per cent stake in the company was worth more than $240m, and with his other investments in property, his net worth is reportedly more than $300m.[33][34]

In 2017, Di Marco invested in accounting software start-up Practice Ignition.[31] In 2018, Di Marco made a $3.2 million investment in sports tech firm Fusion Sport.[35] In 2019, Di Marco made a $500,000 investment with Snackwise.[36]

Di Marco is a founding member of Software Queensland, a group promoting the Queensland software industry.[37][38] In February 2022, he announced he would be stepping down as TechnologyOne's executive chairman after 35 years with the company,[39] with his resignation effective on 30 June.[40]

References

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  1. ^ "R&D tax credits are 'wasted': TechnologyOne founder". BRW. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  2. ^ Swan, Georgina (29 April 2010). "Aussie entrepreneur: Adrian Di Marco". Computerworld. p. 153. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  3. ^ Pennington, Sylvia (25 August 1998). "The world according to Adrian Di Marco". The Australian. p. 56.
  4. ^ a b c d Durie, John (9 August 2019). "Perseverance the key to success". The Australian. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Kitney, Damon (27 April 2019). "Learning the 'Fosbury flop' taught boss to aim higher". The Australian. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  6. ^ Chanthadavong, Aimee (29 March 2015). "The dos and don'ts: Adrian Di Marco's lessons to success". ZDNet. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  7. ^ Philipson, Graeme (6 July 1998). "A true local success story". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2.
  8. ^ Passmore, Daryl (22 July 2007). "Adrian Di Marco". The Sunday Mail. pp. T15.
  9. ^ "TechnologyOne CEO Adrian Di Marco prepares to pass the baton". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ a b Chanthadavong, Aimee (30 March 2015). "The dos and don'ts: Adrian Di Marco's lessons to success". ZDNet.
  11. ^ Adhikari, Supratim (22 May 2012). "TechnologyOne's winning formula". The Australian.
  12. ^ Bryant, Gale (20 July 1998). "'Technological cringe' leaves industry at a loss, says IT boss". Australian Financial Review.
  13. ^ Swan, David (25 November 2014). "TechnologyOne posts record profit". The Australian.
  14. ^ Barbaschow, Asha (18 November 2019). "TechnologyOne profit steady at AU$58.5m as SaaS customers reach 435". ZDNet. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  15. ^ Adhikari, Supratim (21 May 2019). "TechnologyOne half-year profit setting a good pace, says CEO Ed Chung". The Australian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  16. ^ Foreshew, Jennifer (21 July 2015). "TechnologyOne braces for new competition". The Australian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b Redrup, Yolanda (28 March 2017). "TechnologyOne CEO Adrian Di Marco steps down after 30 years". Australian Financial Review.
  18. ^ Connors, Emma (10 November 2006). "Reboot". Australian Financial Review.
  19. ^ Whyte, Jemima (2 March 2016). "Why Technology One's Adrian Di Marco will not list on the ASX again?". Australian Financial Review.
  20. ^ "Brisbane-based software development firm Technology One has appointed its founder and chief executive Adrian Di Marco to the additional role of chairman". The Courier-Mail. 8 January 2001. p. 14.
  21. ^ "About us". aicd.companydirectors.com.au.
  22. ^ The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation. "The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  23. ^ Pearcey Awards 2004
  24. ^ ACS Fellows 2009-2010
  25. ^ a b c Redrup, Yolanda (28 March 2017). "TechnologyOne CEO Adrian Di Marco steps down after 30 years". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  26. ^ Adhikari, Supratim (18 October 2016). "TechOne clears the cloud with message of simplicity". The Australian. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  27. ^ Dinham, Peter (9 January 2018). "TechnologyOne Foundation sets ambitious goal for 2018". iTWire. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  28. ^ Dinham, Peter (5 September 2018). "TechnologyOne partners with Opportunity International to help children out of poverty". iTWire. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  29. ^ Moore, Ben (22 October 2019). "TechnologyOne donates $620K, delivering on Pledge 1%". IT Brief Australia. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  30. ^ Kitney, Damon (15 December 2019). "Tech boards must find right 'risk and creativity' balance". The Australian.
  31. ^ a b Redrup, Yolanda (29 May 2017). "Accounting software start-up Practice Ignition raises $5m from Right Click and Microequities". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  32. ^ McLean, Asha (7 April 2017). "TechnologyOne CEO and founder hands reins to current COO". ZDNet.
  33. ^ Damon, Kitney (15 December 2019). "Tech boards must find right 'risk and creativity' balance". The Australian.
  34. ^ Kitney, Damon (27 April 2019). "Learning the 'Frosby Flop' taught boss to aim higher". The Australian.
  35. ^ Redrup, Yolanda (5 November 2018). "Tech player Fusion Sport jumps to life with TechOne founder funding". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  36. ^ Bailey, Michael (18 March 2019). "TechnologyOne founder Adrian Di Marco's 10-year start-up horizon". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  37. ^ Hurst, Daniel (8 October 2009). "Emmy winners the brightest in Brisbane". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  38. ^ Howarth, Brad (28 September 2015). "Australia's 10 most influential people in tech". SmartCompany. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  39. ^ Redrup, Yolanda (23 February 2022). "TechnologyOne's Adrian Di Marco steps down after 35 years". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  40. ^ "TechnologyOne founder Adrian Di Marco to depart as chairman". CRN Australia. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
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