On Anzac centenary, channel's military vets share lessons in leadership

Special ops (SAS): Will Beaumont

Sales director, Avoka Technologies

Will Beaumont attained a bachelor of science at the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1994, completed officer training at Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1995, then went back to ADFA to do a class 1 honours degree in mathematics.

After graduation Beaumont joined the newly created Commando Battalion, but his most memorable assignments came after his entry into the Special Air Services Regiment – the elite unit more commonly known as the SAS.

"I did a couple of overseas posts – East Timor in 1999 then Afghanistan in 2001, within the SAS," Beaumont told CRN.

"SAS wasn't necessarily an ambition – I just applied for it in 1999 and got in. I was doing counter-terrorism for the first couple of years, then after September 11 broke I was taken to Afghanistan."

Beaumont left the armed forces in 2005 after reaching the rank of major.

"The move into IT wasn't planned. I just tried to find a job that taught me how to run a business and ended up as a project manager in a very technical environment. After a while I really wanted to move away from hardware into software and that's what eventually led me to Avoka," he said.

Beaumont said that he has noticed one major difference between the military world and the civilian world.

"A military team unifies behind a common understanding of what to do, and everyone is motivated for that goal – whether it'd be mission, peacekeeping, whatever," he said. "I always want to take this attitude across to the business world – unify everyone behind a common goal."

Beaumont said the army taught him accountability and leadership.

"People want to be led and people want leadership. They also want leaders to be accountable, for both good and bad. I know that the buck stops with me."

Did you serve in the military and now work in the IT channel? Share your story. Contact tyoo@techpartner.news