Michael Wishart

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Michael Wishart is CEO of Connect Source, a technology and manufacturing company and distributor of third-party products based in Perth, Australia. Founded in 1992, the family-owned company started primarily as a small wiring, harness, and electrical manufacturing business with only four employees. Twenty-five years later, under Michael’s leadership, Connect Source has now branched out into engineering, retail sales, and technology within the mining, agriculture, and transport sectors across Australia.

 

In addition to offering more services and strengthening customer relations, Connect Source has experienced astounding growth over the last four years. “We have grown 240% over the past four years while holding an EBITDA double-digit percentage,” says Michael. Four years ago, the company employed 15 people, which has increased to over 50 employees. “We are expecting to see a financial growth of 50% again this year, and by the end of 2022, we’re predicting to have a staff of 75 people,” Michael adds.

 

Most of Connect Source’s growth has been attributed to diversification. Michael also introduced a lifesaving, third-party technology called Guardian by Seeing Machines, which opened up the heavy transport and logistics market for their other products. “Within four years, our client base expanded from 150 to 650 as a result of adding Guardian to our suite of solutions. In addition to our local clients, we began to serve a variety of national and global clients,” Michael explains.

 

The company’s new strategic direction was devised by Michael after he was named CEO four and a half years ago. To strengthen Connect Source’s management structure, he built a nine-member leadership team consisting of a chief operating officer, production manager, retail sales manager, channel sales manager, director of support services, engineering manager, customer operations manager, business analyst and finance controller. Everyone works together to carry out strategy and to drive the company’s growth. To effectively oversee the leadership team, Michael implemented the tri-force decision-making process, which provided the management team with the autonomy to make rapid and considered decisions, supporting the company’s ability to diversify and grow. “This design removes the need for the team to seek my approval for every decision and eliminates the bureaucratic bottleneck that hinders growth in most companies,” Michael explains. “If it’s good for the company, good for the customer, and good for the individual making the decision, then it’s an automatic ‘yes.’ If only two out of the three are good, then team members seek the next level of approval. If none of the three are good, the answer is automatically ‘no.’”

 

In addition to his 24 years of experience in the telecommunications and telematics industries, Michael also holds a diploma of business and management. After starting his career with Hutchison Telecoms and Orange (French telecoms), he went on to own Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone dealerships for several years. Michael specializes in AI and data aggregation, solar power future capabilities, and the connectivity of data sets relating to mining, agriculture, and transport to improve safety, visibility, and quality. Throughout his career, Michael has upheld his reputation for getting things done and for being a methodical thinker who considers the practicality of the outcome, and he is once again proving this as he leads Connect Source into the future.

 

Contact:

Michael Wishart

Chief Executive Officer

Connect Source Pty Ltd.

Midvale, Western Australia

website: http://www.connectsource.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-wishart-50854827/