FUAD BALOCH, PhD
Auckland, New Zealand
Summary
"Senior IT Executive | Strategic Technology Leader | Digital Transformation Expert"
With 20+ years of leadership in enterprise-scale IT strategy, I've led digital transformations impacting $600M+ businesses, orchestrated rapid crisis recoveries saving millions in daily revenue, and implemented AI-driven innovations resulting in significant operational efficiencies.
My track record includes successful engagements across New Zealand and Australia, partnering closely with C-level stakeholders to deliver measurable strategic outcomes. Deep expertise in IT governance, cybersecurity, and global enterprise systems, underpinned by a PhD focused on strategic technology decision-making. Proven in leading high-performing global teams and aligning technology initiatives directly to business goals.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Technology Director (KFC, Pizza Hut, CJ, TB)
Restaurant Brands
Auckland, New Zealand
01.2022 - Current
- Restored $2M daily revenue by orchestrating a crisis-management war room, bringing 250+ sites online within 96 hours after a global outage.
- Automated IT service desk using AI, reducing MTTR by 80% and reallocating 15 FTEs to proactive problem resolution, significantly improving business continuity.
- Spearheaded digital transformation initiatives in Supply Chain, Finance, HR, and Operations, achieving measurable efficiency gains and substantial cost savings.
- Established enterprise-wide cybersecurity governance framework, reducing risk exposure and ensuring regulatory compliance.
- Negotiated strategic vendor partnerships, optimizing technology infrastructure capabilities and delivering significant cost savings.
- Transformed Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities, empowering senior leaders with real-time analytics, enhancing data-driven decision making.
- Provided strategic oversight of IT budgeting, financial planning, and resource allocation, directly supporting growth and operational excellence
Executive Technology Consultant
Activate Technologies
Auckland, New Zealand
01.2015 - 01.2022
- Led strategic technology engagements across APAC (New Zealand, Australia), partnering closely with C-level executives to align IT strategy with business goals and drive tangible operational results.
- Managed key relationships with top-tier organizations including Fonterra, Datacom (NZ/AU), Southern Cross Health, Dimension Data, Genesis Energy, Sky TV, Hawkins Construction, Fletcher Building, Waikato District Health, and government departments, significantly strengthening stakeholder trust and expanding account revenues.
- Directed multi-million-dollar technology projects, overseeing cross-functional teams delivering innovative, high-impact solutions on-time and within budget.
- Streamlined and optimized project delivery frameworks, leveraging Agile and ITIL methodologies to achieve measurable improvements in customer satisfaction, project efficiency, and resource utilization.
- Developed strategic pre-sales approaches, significantly increasing sales conversions and contract values through enhanced consultative selling practices.
- Facilitated technology architecture decisions, providing high-level consulting and guidance on enterprise-level IT systems, infrastructure, and cybersecurity, resulting in significantly improved business continuity and risk reduction.
Senior IT & Enterprise Solutions Consultant
Activate Technologies
Auckland, New Zealand
01.2011 - 01.2015
- Provided strategic account leadership at Activate Technologies, engaging senior executives and stakeholders to deliver high-value technology solutions.
- Managed critical technical projects and architectural consultations, utilizing Agile methodologies and ITIL frameworks, directly improving operational resilience, compliance, and efficiency for enterprise clients.
- Designed and led the delivery of Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning based projects at a major healthcare provider to automate identity and access management processes.
- Successfully implemented core technology integrations involving Active Directory, ServiceNow, Exchange, Remedy, Assyst, and SCCM, delivering demonstrable improvements in productivity and process standardization.
- Drove pre-sales initiatives, substantially increasing new business and revenue by articulating clear, strategic technology roadmaps aligned with client business objectives.
Enterprise Systems Administrator
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Auckland, New Zealand
01.2008 - 01.2011
- Led strategic infrastructure projects enabling international business expansion; delivered 50% cost reduction through process automation.
Senior IT Operations Administrator
Bravura Technologies
Auckland, New Zealand
01.2006 - 01.2008
Systems Analyst
healthAlliance
Auckland, New Zealand
01.2005 - 01.2006
Education
Ph.D. - Information Systems
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland, New ZealandMasters of Computing -
Unitec
Auckland, New ZealandSkills
- Technology Vision & Strategy
- Strategic IT Governance
- Digital Transformation
- Enterprise Risk & Cybersecurity
- Global IT Service Delivery
- Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
- AI & Advanced Analytics
- Enterprise Architecture
- Strategic Vendor Negotiation
- Cross-functional Team Leadership
- Financial & Budget Management
- Cloud & Infrastructure Strategy
- Program & Change Management
- Executive Stakeholder Engagement
- Process Re-engineering & Optimization
Timeline
Technology Director (KFC, Pizza Hut, CJ, TB)
Restaurant Brands
01.2022 - Current
Executive Technology Consultant
Activate Technologies
01.2015 - 01.2022
Senior IT & Enterprise Solutions Consultant
Activate Technologies
01.2011 - 01.2015
Enterprise Systems Administrator
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
01.2008 - 01.2011
Senior IT Operations Administrator
Bravura Technologies
01.2006 - 01.2008
Systems Analyst
healthAlliance
01.2005 - 01.2006
Ph.D. - Information Systems
Auckland University of Technology
Masters of Computing -
Unitec