On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .
. . . GET TO KNOW . . .
Terry Smagh , Senior Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific / Japan , BlackLine
wWhat would you describe as your most
memorable achievement ?
I ’ ve known some of the people on my team for a long time and seeing them succeed is enormously satisfying . For example , one of our senior guys at BlackLine started working for me as a junior rep at Qlik , back in 2010 . Eleven years and two companies later , he ’ s leading a large Asia Pacific sales team . I take a lot of pride in how well he ’ s doing and the accolades he ’ s garnered .
What first made you think of a career in technology ?
Nothing in the home environment ! I come from a family of lawyers and doctors and in my young years was often compared unfavorably with my brother , who is a barrister at Middle Temple in London . I knew I didn ’ t want to spend my life in a wig or at university for seven years studying medicine – I love fixing things but not people ! – so when I came to Melbourne as an exchange student in 1992 it was to do a marketing degree .
It was interesting enough but connectivity and information systems seemed even more interesting , so I veered down that path and haven ’ t looked back . To this day though , if anyone asks my mother
what her younger son does for a living , she says : ‘ Terry fixes computers ’!
What style of management philosophy do you employ in your current position ?
I don ’ t think anyone ’ s ever accused me of being a micro-manager . I like to give people very clear goals and a lot of autonomy in terms of how they achieve them . Continuous learning is also something I ’ m passionate about – for myself and my team . You don ’ t know what you don ’ t know and that ’ s why I love it when people are curious and ask questions .
What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?
There ’ s nothing positive about the pandemic but one of its side effects has been the way it ’ s pushed organizations to embrace automation . Cloud and
I like to give people very clear goals and a lot of autonomy in terms of how they achieve them .
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