Tom is a seasoned international customer operations executive with a wealth of experience in building and managing multi-geographic operations. He is highly regarded as an authentic and inspirational people leader able to successfully deliver transformational changes.
Current work
Tom is a longstanding Board member of ANZCHAM-Philippines - the Australian & New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines. As ANZCHAM President from 2015-18, Tom grew the Chamber including through establishing new initiatives focused on Infrastructure, Women in Business and Gender Diversity. Prior to his election as President, Tom served as a Board Director since 2012 chairing the committee comprised of firms with off-shored work including contact-centres, IT and shared services functions.
Tom also serves on the Board of Cardinal Health Philippines.
Previous experience
Consulting: Tom established his management consultancy practice – Grealy Consulting – in 2014, focussed on improving client's contact centre performance, customer experience & back office performance. Grealy Consulting is highly regarded for its applied operational experience having undertaken engagements for clients in/from the Philippines, USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, & South Africa. Work types include:
• Offshoring including outsource tenders and building offshore in-house centres
• Operational improvement reviews/audits – including account' reviews
• Capability road-map development.
Telstra: Tom worked with Telstra as a senior executive from 1998 to 2014. He was the first executive to locate customer service work in the Philippines in 2007. He subsequently established Telstra's country office in 2009. Over the next five years, he was instrumental in delivering performance eclipsing service levels in Australia during a period in which the operation grew to 14k FTE. Tom was the architect of transformational changes that vastly improved customer service, shifting the business to world-class operational standards. to 14k agents across all functions and work types (voice, digital, care, tech, sales, collections, etc).
Diplomat : Prior to Telstra, Tom worked with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade from 1985-1998 where he served as a diplomat in Papua New Guinea and the USA (Washington DC and Los Angeles). Tom also served on Australia's delegation to the United Nations New York (twice) and as a delegate for Australia to the World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting (Singapore) securing significant trade concessions for Australian industry.
Talking Points
Delivering Great Customer Experience
Tom believes that improving customer service starts with the custom, not the business. But it also requires operational excellence, and a culture anchored in customers, people, processes and continuous improvements.
Delivering Great Customer Experience
Leading a Customer Service Transformation
The starting point for consistently delivering great customer experience rests on understanding customers' end-to-end journey across the entire service organisation. That's the easy part. But how do you get an organisation to align and act on what's best for the customer?
Leading a Customer Service Transformation
Leadership: You're the Limit of What's Possible
In this session, Tom shows you how to lift the ambition and sense of purpose in your team, and create more ambitious leadership to drive performance.
Leadership: You're the Limit of What's Possible
Talent: Employee Retention and Engagement
Tom shows attendees how to lift performance and reduce variable costs by improving employee engagement and reducing attrition.
Talent: Employee Retention and Engagement
Partnering Effectively: Beyond Vendor Management
A recent client conversation went like this: Partnering Effectively: Beyond Vendor Management
Client: 'My supplier is asleep at the wheel!'
Us: 'I agree. But just remember, they're driving the car that you designed.'
Off-shoring Successfully
How can off-shoring help you grow and improve your business? Who should do it? And how do you do it well?
Off-shoring Successfully
