Tourism Australia names ex-Microsoft exec as new CIO

Tourism Australia has hired Microsoft’s former local mobility and security lead Jason Flynn to become its new chief information officer, filling a vacancy created by the departure of former IT boss David Rumsey.

Jason Flynn

The appointment, first reported by Computerworld and confirmed by a Tourism Australia spokesperson, will see Flynn step into his new role on January 23.

Flynn previoulsy spent two years leading Microsoft’s Australian Azure enterprise mobility and security services business, with a remit covering identity management, mobility and digital rights management, as well as the advanced threat analytics practice.

Flynn also spent eight-and-a-half years at the global tech giant as its lead technology strategist for Australia, during which time he consulted the Reserve Bank, the ASX, Macquarie Bank, IAG, AMP and NAB.

The industry veteran technology has also held senior tech-related roles at Ticketmaster and Promina.

In his new role at Tourism Australia, Flynn will focus on developing and implementing a new IT strategy and a program of change at the agency.

Flynn replaces Rumsey, who left Tourism Australia in late October after more than five years as CIO, to pursue other opportunities. He stayed on until the end of December to wrap up a number of ongoing projects.

Flynn told iTnews that he is "very excited by the opportunity to join such a fantastic organisation as Tourism Australia".

"I’ve been really impressed with the work David Rumsey has done to set the platform for [Tourism Australia] to take some significant steps forward in their digital transformation journey, and I am really looking forward to helping them on the next phase," he said.

During his time at Tourism Australia, Rumsey oversaw an IT transformation that included the shift of its core IT systems from Oracle to Microsoft. The migration was prompted by some of the agency’s legacy systems passing out of vendor support.

According to LinkedIn, Rumsey has since moved into tech consultancy through a firm called Customer Reach.