Management Team

View Peter Paddon

Founder and Director

Peter is the Founder and Director of First Focus. An experienced technical consultant and business analyst, Peter has a proven record of designing systems that increase efficiency and the bottom line for customers.

View Ross Sardi

Chief Executive Officer

Ross has over 20 years experience in managed IT services and consulting to mid-size business, Government and Education. He ran his own business for 10 years and was a consultant for Dell and other organisations.

View Philip Barton

Chief Customer Officer

Phil has over 20 years of experience in internal and service provider based positions in the IT industry. He has a strong consulting, technical and project background, complemented by Cisco and Microsoft certifications.

View Karl Richardson

Chief Technology Officer

Karl is in charge of our technical solutions and has over 10 years of experience with First Focus. Karl is a Senior Server and Systems consultant with technical certifications in Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix and VMWare.

View Alex Gahona

Head of Support

Since joining our Service Desk in 2011, Alex has risen through our ranks to become Head of Support. He oversees our large team of Service Desk and Field Service Technicians to ensure our quality of service standards.

View Merryl Macleod

Head of Operations

Merryl brings a wealth of client-facing experience in the IT industry. Since joining First Focus in 2016, Merryl directs our operations to ensure our managed services systems and client procurement are world-class.

View Neil Smith

Chief People Officer

Neil has spent 20 years in the IT industry, initially in South Africa before moving to Australia in 2011. Neil joined First Focus in 2018 as Head of Service Delivery, before moving to the new Head of People and Strategy role.

View Edgard Nasr

Head of Service Delivery

Edgard has over 15 years of experience in project management, service management and senior leadership roles, and has a passion for continuously improving the end-to-end customer experience.

View Jason Neville

Head of Enterprise Accounts

Jason has worked in technology services including managed IT and consulting for over 20 years. With previous management and executive roles, Jason delivers value to clients on larger and bespoke engagements – often working with organisations with their own internal it teams.

View Paul Whiteoak

Head of Sales

Paul’s 20 years in the IT industry began in technical roles with Microsoft and Dell, before joining us in 2012. Paul brings a strong service delivery and consultative approach to developing lasting partnerships with new clients.

View Mae Sabio

Branch Manager Manila

Mae joined First Focus in 2020 initially as a Project Manager, and has since moved into the Branch Manager role in Manila. Mae’s combination of people and management skills helps guide our expanding Manila team.

View Nicole Holmes

Head of Digital Experience

Nicole is in charge of the digital experience that First Focus provides to both clients and staff. Nicole’s wealth of experience giver her the edge in the internal system integrations and software roadmap projects that make up this role.

View Leon de Bruin

Head of Technical Accounts

Leon started working in IT in the mid-2000s, but it wasn’t until he started working in client services that he truly found his passion. As the head of technical account management, Leon gets to work with people to make a difference every day.

View Robert Chau

Head of Consulting

Robert has been in the IT industry for over 20 years, holding various consulting and senior leadership roles. He and his team use their expertise and broad industry knowledge to help customers  leverage technology and solve problems.

View Brendan Ritchie

Chief Growth Officer

Brendan’s extensive background in Information and Communication Technology, spanning 15 years in both the consumer and business sectors, brings a wealth of customer-facing expertise to our team.