Tesla chair Robyn Denholm drives SafetyCulture into next phase as board appointee

Technology sector power broker Robyn Denholm and operating partner of Blackbird Ventures has joined workplace software solutions provider SafetyCulture as its latest board director.

Denholm takes the directorship in addition to her roles as chair of the board of directors of Tesla Inc and chair of the Technology Council of Australia. Denholm also formerly served as COO and CFO of Telstra.

As an advisor to the company since late 2021, Denholm will fill the board position recently vacated by Rick Baker, Blackbird’s co-founder and partner.

Baker has been a strategic advisor, investor and SafetyCulture board member for the past 10 years. Denholm joins Luke Anear, Jan Hammer and Craig Tiley on the SafetyCulture board,

SafetyCulture’s CEO and founder, Luke Anear said the company was thrilled to have someone of Robyn’s calibre on the board.

“Her expertise and guidance will help ensure we continue making sound strategic decisions and stay focused on achieving our mission. Robyn is also an incredible role model and the opportunity for our team to work closely with her is invaluable," Anear said. 

Her appointment comes at a time of significant shifts for the company as they move into a global phase of wider opportunities.

The company said it has been diversifying with the launch of an insurance offering called SafetyCulture Care and has rolled out the SafetyCulture Marketplace e-commerce site in Australia, with plans to launch both in the US next month.

In response to new hybrid and work-from-home demands, the company acquired training platform EdApp in 2020 and lone worker monitoring software SHEQSY in 2022.

It also made a strategic investment in IoT player, Inauro. The company said that the acquisitions would be parlayed into new capabilities for SafetyCulture’s future platform offering.

Denholm said, “SafetyCulture’s mission is something that aligns with my personal values. I’m a firm believer that technology is the key to unlocking a more sustainable and safer future and from what I’ve seen, if SafetyCulture continues to evolve its platform and products at the same rate, then it has the potential to change the way that people go about their work.”

Anear said that despite operating against challenging conditions, “We’ve made great progress on our strategy and continue to see significant increases in our key growth metrics.

"I’m proud that we were able to make a number of investments that will accelerate us towards our vision and I believe it will be the year that defines us.”

Anear, a former workplace investigator, started the company to redress safety and compliance issues for frontline workers using mobile and digital tools.

The global platform now includes sensors, issue reports, data capture, analytics, risk mitigation and mobile training. Launched in Townsville and headquartered in Sydney, the company has expanded with offices in Kansas City, Manchester, Amsterdam and Manila.