Phillip Williamson and Michelle Melbourne
ANU absolutely opened our minds to the opportunities of thinking globally and taking the global perspective to everything we do. We could run this business from any city in the world, but we choose to do it in Canberra.
As a dynamic team taking technology ideas from the drawing board to the business boardroom, Phillip Williamson and Michelle Melbourne have used knowledge gained at ANU to realise their career dreams.
Trained as a biochemist, Phillip is an entrepreneur with a keen eye for innovative technologies, utilising the experimental skills he gained at ANU during the 1980s to pounce on gaps in the software marketplace. In the early 2000s, along with completing a Graduate Certificate of Management, he recognised a need for smart forms and automated document generation software. He led the invention of Infiniti, a software platform that enables companies to digitalise and streamline their processes.
Michelle's people and business skills ensure that Intelledox has a high performing team and collaborative partners who can keep up with Phillip's vision. She is a recipient of the Telstra and ACT Government's Small Business and Businesswoman of the Year awards. Well integrated into the Canberra business community, Michelle is Deputy Chair of the Canberra Business Chamber, a foundation member of the ACT division of the Australian Information Industry Association, and led the establishment of CollabIT in the ACT.
The duo, who met while Michelle was completing her degree, combined Phillip's software entrepreneurship and Michelle's business nous to build software development company Intelledox into an international software company. The company has grown from humble origins in a Star Wars-themed bedroom in 1991 into a highly successful software company that has global partnerships with the likes of Microsoft, Accenture and Fuji Xerox.
The pair have overseen the substantial growth of Intelledox that has expanded to 150 customer sites across four continents and grew its North American business by 80 per cent. Notably, the company has recently acquired Fortune 500, government and financial services clients from Singapore and the US.
In 2014, after years of hard work, Phillip and Michelle gave back to ANU, with a $1 million donation of Intelledox's flagship software. It is being used to improve travel bookings for staff and students and will be used across other areas of the University to improve administrative processes.
Phillip and Michelle credit ANU with the inspiration to build the company and have used the University's community for business knowledge and support during the past decade.
