Who got that job?

Stu Keast, Principal e-business consultant, Asparona

What were you doing before accepting your new position?

I was IT director at Peace Software, responsible for the company's IT operations. Why did you apply for this job?

I have known the directors of Asparona for some years and have been well aware of the culture and direction of this dynamic group of people and their vision for the future.

The consulting role is different from what I have been doing but it still requires technical competency along with the ability to view systems from the customer perspective.

What does your new job entail?

The role is broad. As Asparona is an Oracle Certified implementer, my role is to bring expertise in the e-business suite of software applications and how business can use them. This means consulting on new implementations, upgrades and other projects such as business process design/analysis/improvement.

What major challenges are ahead?

Keeping up with changing technology and functionality in the applications is a discipline that you have to have if you are going to be an effective consultant.

What does being an e-business consultant mean to you?

It's a culmination of many years of working with these systems as a user and knowing what does and does not make a successful system. I enjoy helping our customers solve problems and get a kick out of meeting new people and getting exposure to different businesses.

What else might you have done?

I spent more than 10 years as an artillery territorial force senior NCO. During this time I was asked to consider becoming a regular force officer. I think this would have been a great career but already having a stable job and a young family at the time meant that I didn't pursue it.

What do you do in your spare time?

Being a Canterbury boy, I enjoy the outdoors. Tramping and snow caving on Ruapehu is a regular trip when the snow is right. Keeping up with my two teenage daughters' antics and entertaining friends are high on the list. My partner Joetta and I enjoy backpacking to remote places.

Of course, mucking about on the PC at home is a mixture of work and pleasure. As my partner says, I am just another geek at heart.