GreyHair Alchemy Pty Ltd
Sims E-Recycling
Challenger Momentum
Neo Technology Ventures
Compunetix, Inc.
Channel Dynamics

GreyHair Alchemy Pty Ltd

GreyHair Alchemy was formed in early 2002 as a specialist employment service to focus on the huge pool of talent in the baby-boomer generation. GreyHair is a loose collaboration of mature, competent professionals - the ‘Compatriots’ - who market their skills on a task-based or project basis. It appeals to both the professional who doesn’t want to embrace permanent retirement and the lone consultant who would like to have an additional someone seeking out work opportunities.

An interim manager can provide a critically needed skill or resource when and for how long you need it. GreyHair can undertake a very wide range of interim management roles. Think of what you would like to achieve if only you had someone on staff with the requisite skills, or perhaps you do, but they don’t have the bandwidth to take on additional task responsibilities.

Some of the things GreyHair do include:

• Business mentoring,
• Gap management to cover for holidays or resignations,
• Financial management - in crisis or just overload,
• Manage new projects,
• Strategic sales planning and underperformance turnaround,
• New market development,
• Change management,
• Strategic alliance and relationship building,
• Corporate governance, and
• Manage interaction with the public sector.

Each compatriot is incorporated and acts as a business entity, thereby having zero impact on your payroll and headcount. The Compatriots now number over 200, with 140 in Queensland. They came to GreyHair Alchemy through networking and word-of-mouth. GreyHair Alchemy:

• Identifies the GreyHair consulting opportunity,
• Introduces the GreyHair Compatriot to the client,
• Assists the two parties to form an appropriate client/contractor agreement, and
• Invoices the client a low flat rate of $8,000, irrespective of the level of the position or the duration of the assignment.

You define the need, GreyHair will produce the expert.

Mal Walker, the CEO of GreyHair said “We get almost all of our business through networking or referral and so we joined AIIA because it is by far the most dynamic networking facilitator in the market.”

For more information, visit www.GreyHair-Alchemy.com.au

Sims E-Recycling

Sims E-Recycling is a joint venture between SimsGroup Limited, the world’s largest recycling company and Australian waste and logistics provider Collex Pty Ltd, of the worldwide Veolia Environnement group, itself a world leader in environmental services.

An ISO 14001 certified company, Sims E-Recycling specialises in the total recycling of redundant computer equipment, TVs, mobile phones and all other electronic material often referred to under the collective heading – “e-waste”. As part of a recycling company, Sims E-Recycling is firmly focused on true “end-of-life” recycling services as opposed to the re-sale, refurbishment and re-birthing of electronic equipment.

In 2004, SimsGroup acquired Europe’s largest e-waste recycler Mirec, (now Sims-Mirec), which together with existing E-Recycling activities in the UK and USA, made Sims the largest e-waste recycler in the world. Sims E-Recycling opened its first operation in Melbourne in May, 2005, now complemented by operations in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

The Company is backed by an extremely strong capital base and can draw on logistics support from more than 130 operations across all states and territories in Australia alone. Furthermore, the global scope of Sims Group operations provides unparalleled access to international markets in the secondary materials industry, providing customers with the highest possible returns and efficiencies.

Most importantly, Sims E-Recycling possesses the capacity to collect, dismantle and recycle all e-waste “in-house”. Plastics are recycled through SimsPlastics and all metals through Simsmetal. Uniquely, Sims E-Recycling recycles CRT glass for use in new monitor tubes. This provides CRT glass recycling in excess of 99 per cent as opposed to the much less environmentally efficient use of the glass as a slagging agent in lead smelters, where a significant part goes to landfill.

Sims E-Recycling includes among its customers the world’s leading electronics and electrical companies (many of which they service on a global scale) as well as councils, IT providers, lease companies, auction houses and many others who face the responsible disposal of the growing amount of electronic and electrical waste.

According to General Manager and Director, Peter Netchaef, “it was a logical step to join AIIA to assist present and future clients in addressing the end-of-life issues associated with e-waste and provide high level environmental outcomes which are fully sustainable, financially viable and completely secure.”

For further information, visit www.au.sims-group.com

Challenger Momentum

Challenger Momentum provides a comprehensive range of information technology services to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). Challenger Momentum’s innovative and cost effective services include outsourced IT support, application development and custom software, IT consulting and technical support.

The team at Challenger Momentum are experts at helping businesses to get the most out of IT systems and infrastructure. They provide strategic advice and plans that complement business strategy, and can undertake audits to assess where IT systems or infrastructure could be optimised to improve productivity or reduce expenditure.

The company’s custom built software applications can assist businesses to extract maximum value out of existing IT infrastructure, and optimise employee productivity and quality assurance through a reduction in manual and double handling.

Challenger Momentum’s talented developers have designed programs ranging from simple automation of routine tasks to highly complicated applications, and Access database ‘add-ons’. To ensure each client’s valuable investment and IP is retained, the majority of software developed by Challenger Momentum belongs to the customer who has commissioned it – meaning they receive full copyright to the software and source code.

Challenger Momentum also provides solutions for SMEs in outsourced IT and technical support. Their team is highly responsive and can ensure their clients’ network, servers, email, databases and other computer related areas run as they should, so the client can focus on building the business.

Challenger Momentum has recently joined AIIA. “We are excited to become a part of AIIA, and look forward developing our relationship with the ICT’s peak body,” says Managing Director, Peter Boudville.

For more information on Challenger Momentum please visit www.challengermomentum.com.au

Neo Technology Ventures

Neo Technology Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm specialising in start-up and expansion stage investments in the information, media and telecommunications technology sectors.

With a total of $74 million under management across two funds, a team of seasoned venture executives, and global investors that include the Australian Commonwealth Government's Innovation Investment Fund (IIF), Hewlett Packard, Shamrock Capital, the Warman Group and UBS Capital, Neo is well positioned and connected to help nurture ideas and develop businesses that want to grow globally.

Neo's team and investors bring international connections, distribution and partnering channels, OEM opportunities, management leverage, and a global network. Focused on partnering with entrepreneurs, Neo Technology Ventures works to bring ideas, technologies and start-up ventures to life. Neo’s collaborative approach protects the interests of innovative ideas and the entrepreneurs who generate them, assisting with business growth and the creation of enterprise value.

Neo is currently investing Neo 2, a $36.9 million early stage Australian technology venture capital fund with selective investment criteria. Neo’s philosophy is to provide more than money. “We bring experience, expertise, effort, mentoring and guidance to their portfolio companies to ensure the best chance of success,” says Chief Executive, Brett Morris.

“Neo’s charter is strongly aligned with the aims of AIIA and we would welcome direct contact from members who would like to discuss any aspect of financing their business growth. Alternatively, we encourage applicable members of AIIA to send us an executive summary of their growth plan,” Mr Morris says.

To find out more about how Neo Technology Ventures can accelerate your global growth plans, please call (02) 9409 6700 or visit www.ntfund.com

Compunetix, Inc.

Compunetix is a world-leading supplier of audio and video teleconferencing bridges (MCUs) for telecommunications carriers (telcos), conference service providers, enterprises, mission critical applications and defence.

Teleconferencing bridges allow many users located in different places to talk to each other simultaneously on the phone. This may facilitate “remote meetings” between five people located in different cities, or allow five hundred employees to take part in a company announcement from the CEO, or hundreds of financial analysts to participate in the end of year “investor relations” briefing from a large publicly listed company.

Compunetix products include software for reserving, scheduling and billing conferences; and collaboration between computers so many conferees can simultaneously view PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets and other documents while holding meetings by phone.

With more than 300,000 ports installed in more than 25 countries, Compunetix has the largest worldwide deployment of teleconferencing systems in the industry. Customers include most of the world’s leading telcos, such as Verizon Business, British Telecom, Telstra, NTT, Deutsche Telecom, and Conference Service Providers such as Intercall, ACT Teleconferencing, Express Teleconferencing and Chorus Call. Enterprise customers include Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. Compunetix bridges are used by NASA for all space shuttle launches and are extensively used in various US Depart of Defence “mission critical” applications.

Computenix is based in Pittsburgh, USA, with Asia Pacific headquarters in Melbourne. Don Kordick, Director of Asia Pacific, said that Compunetix joined AIIA to network with decision-makers and to stay abreast of developments in the fast moving ICT industry. “AIIA’s membership has the ideal profile to meet this objective for us,” he says.

Don is also interested to network with Australian companies exporting to Asia, to “compare notes on doing business in Asia”.

“We built our Asia Pacific business from nothing to a presence in ten countries with five offices in eight years, so we are keen to exchange experiences with other AIIA members exporting to Asia,” Don adds.

Channel Dynamics

Channel Dynamics is a boutique sales consulting firm, which specialises in assisting ICT companies to sell more effectively through the channel. They provide channel sales training and consulting services that focus on improving:

1. Vendor to channel engagement (helping the vendor engage more effectively with the channel)
2. Channel to end-user sell through (improving the channel's ability to sell the vendor's products)

There are typically two types of companies that utilise Channel Dynamics' services. The first is the organisation that doesn't know how to engage a channel. They may be a relatively young company, or a company that has traditionally sold direct and is now looking to create a channel. In that instance, Channel Dynamics can coach them on where to start and how to grow the channel.

The second type of organisation is one that is already channel-savvy, but needs additional short-term resources. For example, they may have a new product that requires a new channel, but their sales people are too busy selling current products to spend time uncovering new markets. In that case, Channel Dynamics can profile and identify the ideal resellers to recruit, and thereby shorten the time to market.

In either case, Channel Dynamics will help vendors and distributors achieve their objectives quicker, easier and cheaper than if they tried to do it themselves.

One key area of focus for Channel Dynamics is to provide sales training to resellers on behalf of the vendor. The challenge for most resellers is that they receive an enormous amount of product information from the vendor, but they may not have the skills or time to convert that information into a sales message. Channel Dynamics can create develop a tailor-made training programs that help develop the resellers' skills while improving their ability to sell the vendor's product.

“Our clients are ICT companies that sell through a channel,” says Moheb Moses, Director at Channel Dynamics. “That's pretty much every vendor and distributor in this country. It just made sense for us to be part of AIIA, if only for the opportunity to network with other members.”

For more information, visit www.channeldynamics.com.au

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