5 minutes with: Craig Nielsen - McAfee

Where did you grow up?

I was born and schooled in Johannesburg South Africa and became an Aussie citizen in 1992.

First Job?

My first job was as a silver service waiter at Ranelagh House in Roberson NSW while I was at Uni.   The clientele was awesome and we had a lot of fun times making sure everyone was well fed and enjoyed themselves.    Learnt a lot about teamwork in this role and how a strong team has a buzz about them.

University?

I did my undergrad degree at the University of Western Sydney and later got a MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

How did you get into IT?

I had always had a strong curiosity in software and thanks to my dad’s interest in personal computing in the 80’s, I was writing basic programs whilst a high school student on IBM XT’s and AT’s.  In the mid 90’s, I was working on developing a customer loyalty program for a well know retail organisation.  To implement the program, we needed our Point of Sale systems vendor to develop a customer loyalty module so in the end I built the functional spec together with our provider and shortly after that I joined the vendor and formally started my IT career.  Having spent many years servicing retail customers, it’s still one of my favourite customer verticals. 

How long have you been at McAfee?

I have been at McAfee for a year now which has just flown by.   I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with a really talented and committed team across APAC.  McAfee is an exciting place to be; in a very hot sector and were making lots of progress in our channels business across APAC.  Our Australia business was awarded the 11^th best place to work in Australia by BRW magazine recently.  Without a doubt, it’s recognition of the great culture here and the fact that our people are truly inspired by our mission of keeping our customers safe.

What is the biggest challenge in your role?

My biggest challenge is also one of the most exciting parts of my job.   Our APAC channel sells in 15 countries all of which have extremely different market dynamics, cultures and market maturities.  So it’s important to figure out how to implement a partner strategy in each of those countries which works locally.

Hobbies/ extracurricular activities?

I’m a bit of a sports nut and am a big fan of golf, tennis and rugby union.  I’ve played over 50 golf courses in 15 countries.  Bit of a “have clubs will travel” kind of guy.  Things I’ve still got to accomplish on my sports bucket list is to watch live the F1 in Monaco, a Wimbledon Tennis final and a Ryder Cup.

At home I like to pretend I’m a bit of a handyman but honestly, I quickly get out of my depth.  I do really like gardening and would like to think I have a bit of a green thumb.

What Technology can you not live without?

Would have to say my smart phone (protected by McAfee Enterprise Mobility Management of course).