Philip McCrea

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
ac3

At work ... I manage an interesting company called ac3. Our business is quite simple: organisations entrust us with their computers, which we place in our data centres and look after with tender loving care, round the clock. In IT parlance, we are in the ‘managed services’ business. For most customers, we look after the ‘housekeeping’ software that runs on their computers: the operating systems, networks and databases. One of our data centres is at the ATP.

My first job ... was working at Plessey, at Meadowbank, while I went to university part-time. Plessey was an English company, now long gone. I spent countless days wiring telephone exchanges. I wired up most of the Castle Hill exchange (9634 prefix) over several months, while going to uni in the evenings.

My favourite part of the park ... has to be the bridge over the nonexistent creek, down by the oval. It’s a pity there is not an artificial creek running there. I have spent quite a few lunchtimes imagining that I am gazing into water.

An influence that shaped my life ... was my parents, I guess. Both have passed away. They were simple Irish country folk who followed a dream of bringing up their children in a better environment, away from the ‘hate’ that permeated many aspects of Northern Ireland life. They also instilled my Christian faith, for which I am indeed appreciative.

The place where I grew up ... was Northern Ireland. My parents were ‘10 pound’ migrants, in 1962. I was 12 at the time. We settled in Blacktown, where I attended Blacktown Boys High School.

My best choice ... was marrying Genevieve and subsequently having twin boys, who are the delight of our lives. We are lucky to have a supportive and loving family environment.

My worst choice ... To be honest, I really can’t think of anything to say here!

If I could wave a magic wand ... I would like to see Australia become more competitive, through the use of IT innovation. For some reason, our politicians are unable to see this. Why can’t we learn from countries like Finland? The national broadband network is a step in the right direction and corrects the great wrong that occurred when Telstra was sold off, effectively removing a major lever for economic development from the reach of government.

The highlight of my week ... is refereeing junior rugby games on Saturday mornings. I am the secretary of Wests Junior Rugby Union and believe passionately that rugby is by far the best sport to develop young men. It is the ultimate team game. The lessons that are learned from a gritty close win or heartbreaking close loss, when both teams are unrecognisable because of mud, help to develop character in boys that nothing else can.

My burning ambition ... is to instil a deep concern for the environment in everyone. I would like to ban plastic bags, improve public transport, reduce the cost of public transport to near zero, remove four-wheel drives from cities and encourage power generation at home.

ac3.com.au