MacTech Group founders awarded the 2023 Pearcey medal

The Pearcey Foundation has awarded David and Aidan Tudehope who founded the Macquarie Technology Group its 2023 medal, the not-for-profit said.

“David and Aidan Tudehope are worthy recipients of our 2023 Pearcey Medal, for their success in innovating with technology and business models to disrupt the monopoly in the telecommunications sector, and then to expand successfully into allied technology services and products for customers in Australia and across Asia," Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM, the Pearcey Foundation chair said.

"The way in which David and Aidan have built a customer-centric culture and engaged with their communities for over 30 years to make a difference and inspire others caught the attention of our voting panel of all past medal recipients,” Fitzsimmons said.

The Tudehopes founded Macquarie Telecom in 1992, with the entity rebranding this year as Macquarie Technology Group.

Over the years, Macquarie Technology Group has grown into a fully integrated carrier with voice, mobile and data networks that provides managed hosting solutions to businesses and government users in Australia and Asia.

The Pearcey Foundation also inducted the Tudehopes into its Hall of Fame, along with professor Jean Armstrong, an internationally acknowledged expert in high speed data transmission, and logistics company WiseTech's founder Richard White.

Didier Elzinga, the founder and chief executive of Culture Amp won the Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award 2023.

The foundations state awards for 2023 were presented to:

• ACT: Marcus Dawe, co-founder and chief executive of MCi Carbon
• NSW: Emma Weston, co-founder and chief executive of AgriDigital
• QLD: Yas Grigaliunas, founder and evangelist at Circonomy
• SA: Dr Brenton Cooper, co-founder and chief executive of Fivecast
• TAS: Damian Ivereigh, founder and chief executive, Launtel
• VIC: Didier Elzinga, founder and chief executive of Culture Amp
• WA: Pia Turcinov AM, Fund WA director

The not-for-profit Pearcey Foundation was established in 1998 with the aim to raise the profile of the Australian information and communications technology industry and profession.

It is named after British-born scientist Dr Trevor Pearcey who in 1949 built the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer, or CSIRAC, with Maston Beard, the first such digital device in Australia.