Robyn Denholm encourages us to question the status quo

Sitting in a room filled with 500 astute businesspeople at the QUT Business Leaders Forum was a surreal experience. We were all there to glean from a global technology expert - a world leader in her field - who has influenced some of the most remarkable entrepreneurs and founders throughout her stellar career, and Robyn Denholm didn’t disappoint.

What immediately struck me about our incredible guest speaker, Robyn Denholm, the Chair of both Tesla and Australia’s Tech Council, was her unwavering optimism, her genuine passion for making a positive difference and her limitless mindset. Nothing seemed impossible to Robyn, and it was clear that her life has always demanded that level of free thinking-ness.

Robyn started by sharing her story. “It’s boring to me,” she prewarned “but you may find it interesting.” I certainly did. Humble beginnings in Sydney... her parents were migrants... worked in the family’s gas station... attended a state school. Robyn was right, she’d lived an average Australian childhood but it’s the journey between her early years and where she is now, that really piqued my interest.

How does someone like Robyn Denholm turn an ordinary upbringing into an extra-ordinary career? Interviewer and renowned journalist, Ellen Fanning, was quick to ask Robyn that question and the room was hanging off every word.

“Mentor and be Mentored”

At only 33 years young, Robyn became the CFO of Sun Microsystems. How? Well just prior to that, she’d worked at Toyota and attributes her career trajectory to the support she received there.

“Our CEO was an incredible mentor to me,” Robyn reflected, as she spoke fondly of her ‘chain-smoking boss.’ We heard about how he always took time to sit with staff to share strategy, to work through problems together and to encourage all employees to gain multi-function experience across the company.

“It’s that kind of big-picture thinking and investment in people that we need more of in business.” Robyn implored her audience. “At any point in time we should have a ready-made successor... doing so makes the company and its employees better off.” Find someone who inspires you and heed their advice. But don't stop there. “Become a mentor and spend time with those coming up the ranks.” Our future leaders depend on it.

Technology, Technology and more Technology

I lost count of the number of times that word was used her keynote. And for good reason. Robyn’s passion for technology is the fluorescent thread woven throughout her life and one of the determining factors of her career success. At Toyota, Robyn would marvel at the cars as they came off the production line.

She loved the way technology had the potential to improve business systems, and back in 1995, in the sceptical era of the early internet (when the fax machine reigned supreme), Robyn plunged headfirst into the world wide web as CFO of Sun Microsystems.

“Many people were happy to give me free advice that it was a bad move,” she recalls, but she followed her shrewd intuition and the voice of her entrepreneurial father. ‘“Robyn, what’s the worst that can happen if you take a risk?” he asked me “not taking a risk is much worse that taking it and it not paying off.”’

Robyn’s courageous leap of faith clearly did pay off. She launched even further into the technological stratosphere and now leads the largest electric car company in the world.

So why should young Australians follow in the footsteps of careers like mine? For me the answer is simple…

“Technology is here to stay and is set to expand at a blistering pace,” Robyn affirmed (while quoting some stats about the exponential rise in number and salary level of tech jobs in Australia). A STEM career is not a one-way door as it was once perceived; technology is part of every industry and every business, so the opportunities are endless. “It is an amazing time for us to put Australia on the map from a technology perspective. The South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales corridor is particularly full of skilled people who moved here during the pandemic and who are starting businesses - It’s a great time to be starting a business.” You’ve convinced me.

Curiosity Never Killed the Cat

“My mother would tell me that she named me Robyn with a ‘y’ because I always asked questions – I was curious about everything.”

An intrinsic thirst for knowledge and desire to understand how things work does not come naturally to everyone, but it is clearly a hallmark of innovators. While few are born with the level of curiosity that Robyn has, we can all be responsible for fostering a culture of learning, of challenging the status quo and of championing risk takers.

When Ellen asked her “Do you ever have doubt – or is that part of your superpower?” Robyn assured us she’s human. “There will always be doubt. It’s only natural but you have to believe in what you’re doing. It doesn’t mean that everything is going to work out the way you think it should, but you have to try.”

Education is one of the key catalysts for innovation and Robyn was studying her Masters in Commerce when she discovered the importance of industry and education coming together to help people think outside the box. And she also confessed it was one of the reasons she was so keen to speak at the QUT Business Leaders’ Forum. She wanted to share her story and come alongside education providers, like QUT, and the business community.

“Together we can equip the next generation to make the most of the possibilities being enabled by technology. By doing so, I hope we can encourage the next wave of bright young minds not to simply take the safe career route, but to reach for the stars, and in the process, create an even better Australia.” We hope so too.

Words to live by. Thank you, Robyn Denholm - you have filled us with much optimism as we embrace a future filled with endless possibility and the continual pursuit of learning.

For more, visit the website: qut.edu.au/events/blf