Whilst deployed overseas with the Australian Army, Brendon learned how to be a leader in countries such as Israel, Lebanon and Afghanistan, before he became a leader in one what he says is one of the most diverse companies he has ever worked in.
Brendon joined Amazon Australia a little over two year ago and, says he’s been impressed with the state-of-the-art technology and data support at the company, but it’s the people that have made his job a dream.
I really like that Amazon is such a fast-growing company in Australia, and there are lots of opportunities, but that it still feels like a small family company in terms of the people I work with
“It’s a happy place to work.”
Brendon retired as an Australian Army Major after serving his country as a logistics officer in conflict hotspots around the world, which left him uniquely equipped to become a leader at Amazon.
“Army values align with Amazon in terms of respect, taking initiative and teamwork; both organisations share very similar leadership principles,” he says, adding that Amazon has an edge over the Army when it comes to logistics.
“I worked in warehousing and supply chain environments and in the Army you need to make fast decisions which are driven by intuition and prior experience where-as Amazon prides itself on always using data to make informed decisions.”
Brendon’s career at Amazon began in 2020 after he retired from the Australian Army, having achieved all he had set out to in his 12 years of service, including commanding a squadron of 130 soldiers.
He was offered a full-time role at one of Amazon’s robotics sites in Manchester, UK, after completing an MBA internship with the company in 2019.
He was offered an opportunity to return to Australia last year where he now is an Outbound Operations Manager at the new robotics site at Kemps Creek, Sydney. Brendon leads a team of more than 100 people.
I’ve been fortunate to have had experience across multiple sites at Amazon, which has helped me grow my technical skills within the company
Brendon says one of the best aspects of his role is the ability to engage with people across a wide spectrum of the company.
The Perth-born, Arabic-speaking veteran loves to travel and has already visited 38 countries and says he can’t wait to hop on a plane again and head overseas to see his many friends scattered around the globe.
