Meet TEC Chairs
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Biography:
John accepted an invitation to join TEC as a Chair in 1996, having previously been a member of the second TEC Group formed in Australia. He served as a TEC Regional Chairman for 5 years.
Career & Achievements: He began his working life in 1968 with the Ford Motor Company. He worked with Ford Australia before spending a year in Detroit. On his return, he moved to the newly formed Ford Asia Pacific division as Parts and Service Manager for the Ford Products Company, responsible for all countries in the Asia Pacific region with no local Ford affiliate company. John returned briefly to Ford Australia before resigning to move to Sydney in pursuit of an opportunity in the Music Industry.
The first joint venture of the fledgling Roland Corporation was formed in 1976 to market Roland's electronic music products in Australia. Roland Corporation Australia formed a successful model for subsequent distribution companies in the United States and Europe. John became its Managing Director and a partner in the Australian company with Brashs and Roland and in turn formed a similar entity in New Zealand. Both companies grew strongly through the eighties and currently maintain positions of leadership in their markets.
Roland diversified into the computer industry manufacturing a range of CAD/CAM hardware initially aimed at the design and drafting markets. Its current products focus more on the Signage and Graphics industries and Roland DG Australia was added to the Group to distribute these products locally.
In 1996 John appointed a successor and changed his role within the Roland Group to that of non-Executive Director.
In 1997, he was part of a syndicate that purchased the
business of the Music Products Division from the Administrator of
the beleaguered Brashs. This comprised a number of retail stores
around Australia and a publishing company and was renamed the
Allans Music Group, John is the Chairman. The retail business was
sold in 2005.
John is also a board member of Vision CRC, a Cooperative Research
Centre based at the University of NSW.
Education: John is a Melbourne University graduate in Applied Science, and he completed an MBA in 1975 at the Melbourne Business School.
Personal: Married with five children, John played an active role in his children's schools filling positions including Chairman of the School Council, President of the Parents and Friends Association and Foundation Director. John is a keen golfer and follows Australian Rules avidly. He is a former President of the North Shore Australian Rules Football Club in the Sydney Football League.