University of Tasmania CIO retires

The University of Tasmania is looking for a new chief information officer as incumbent Adrian Dillon retires from the role.

Dillon wrote on his LinkedIn profile that he would change his status to ‘retired’ as of April 28 after working with the Tasmanian university since 1998.

He has been CIO for four years and deputy CIO for six years.

The part-time Australian Access Federation (AAF) board member told iTnews heading into retirement now was ideal.

“With my wife effectively retiring nine months ago, it is time to stop, take stock and enjoy the next phase of our lives together," he said.

“I don’t intend to stop completely [but] rather add value where I can by mentoring and coaching tomorrow's IT leaders both within and outside the sector."

Recruitment for Dillon’s replacement is already underway with a March deadline in place.

Associate director for enterprise business services, Richard Eccles, will cover any interim period prior to the new CIO commencing.

Over his tenure at the university, Dillon said he acted in the CIO role for [around] 12 months before formally taking it on, during which time he took “the opportunity to develop a five-year digital strategy, with an investment roadmap which has been reviewed annually based upon university priorities and available capital."

“Naturally, increased focus and investment in cyber has become key, with a cyber security maturity uplift program having being undertaken over the last three years," he said.

“The university is very much data-driven, with the incoming CIO able to build upon that and shape the next iteration of the digital strategy moving forward.”

He said university's approach to technology and digital has shifted.

“IT is no longer seen as a cost centre, rather [it is] a digital enabler," he said.

“Even over the financially constrained period of the last few years, annual capital investment in new digital solutions aligned to the roadmap has at a minimum been maintained, and in key priority areas increased.

“The role really provides a great opportunity for a new digital leader to work with an awesome team to further evolve the university’s digital ecosystem.”

During the course of his career at the university, Dillon was able to part take in multiple projects covering “everything from contract negotiations, planning and implementations associated with on-island dark fibre”, core ERP system upgrades and integrating new platforms.

He said he garnered “a sense of satisfaction” that the university had “fundamentally shifted the dial” through "the myriad of initiatives we turned around in a very short timeframe” between February and March 2020.

This ensured the university “could continue to deliver its core services of teaching and research with minimal impact – which coincidentally led to a Vice-Chancellors award to the entire section for outstanding contribution in response to Covid-19, in December 2020.”