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
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
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
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
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
01.2006 - 01.2008
Systems Analyst
healthAlliance
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
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