We’re thrilled to announce the appointment of Oliver Ciano as Geodetica’s newest Director.
Oliver comes to us after forging a successful 20-year career with the Department of Defence, comprising a decade in engineering and a decade within program and project management.
“I joined Defence right out of university and have been privileged to work on many exciting projects,” says Oliver. “I enjoy operating in the strategic space and being able to drive a project to achieve a defined outcome. Seeing the complete picture is what attracted me to project management – you can have a technically brilliant solution but the people and contract side need to come together effectively for success.”
Over the years Oliver has led several key Defence projects. Early on this included the navigation display system project where he established his understanding of project and engineering management as well as Defence, maritime and ships. More recently, he was the Program Director for the offshore patrol vessel project which involved fostering relationships with industry partners and has since resulted in the production of 5 ships interstate.
“What impresses me most about Defence is the size and complexity of the projects that the department has to offer. The capabilities that need to be delivered aren’t off the shelf and if they are then they are still complex.
“Incorporating people and industry is the most exciting; embracing contractors and public servants as one team and having everyone collaborate to achieve the best outcome. Industry provides specialist skillsets and can’t always attract all of those to the public service, so there’s a need to be agile and work together and learn together.”
When he decided it was time to support Defence in a different way, Oliver chose Geodetica due to its clear focus on collaborative working relationships within Defence projects.
“I felt there was a limit to how much I could do within the department, especially around mentoring and developing project teams. In moving into a consulting role, I feel I can better help close the gap between Defence staff and industry so the department gets the most out of its people.
“The team at Geodetica are very likeminded; there’s a real passion to do great work. In the future, we’re excited to grow beyond Project Management to offer a complete project delivery capability.”
Moving forward, Oliver (who has lived in Canberra since he was a child) is looking forward to supporting Defence in its need for industry capability to build sovereignty, and helping to forge strong relationships for above the line and below the line projects.
When he’s not putting his valuable Program Management skills to work, you’ll find Oliver spending time with his family, playing soccer, watching Formula 1, or getting stuck into DIY projects at home.