On The Leaders' Lounge with Mark Randall

Choose the right company over the right role, a growing business with a good culture and strong leadership will always present better opportunities over time.

Mark Randall is Country Manager, ANZ for WP Engine.

A highly accomplished leader in the technology industry, Mark has lead WP Engine to exceptional growth. Mark often presents at digital industry summits, and shares some fantastic advice with us on the blend of skills needed for those intent on working in technology services.

Tell us about WP Engine. What products and services is it known for?
WP Engine is a platform that allows businesses and agencies of all sizes to build and manage their WordPress websites more effectively.

As the Country Manager for WP Engine, what's an average day like for you?
My days start early, scanning my inbox for urgent emails from our Austin HQ, followed by a number of calls with our colleagues over there. After that I’m typically attending calls or meetings with the team, or working on presentations or reports and so on. At times I travel a lot to visit customers, partners and prospects, mostly domestically but a couple of times a year to Austin as well.

What excites you most about your current role?
Giving people the opportunity to develop and progress their careers is a huge personal driver for me. It is also incredibly rewarding to watch the team in ANZ grow and achieve fantastic local success. Since we opened in October 2017, here in Australia, we have more than quadrupled. On a wider scale, it is great to see the continued growth of WordPress especially within enterprise brands like Volvo and Nova here in Australia who depend on it for its agility and the opportunities it offers creatively.

You’ve launched and nurtured the growth of a number of technology service provider businesses over the years. What’s your secret to success?
It goes without saying that you have to have a great team: hard-working, committed, smart and driven. At the same time, you have to be in the right place at the right time. I have been fortunate enough to join a couple of businesses (including WP Engine) that were already on a strong growth curve. In other cases, I’ve been able to join businesses that are in transition (in a positive way).

During periods of business growth, sometimes it’s not all smooth sailing - particularly for staff. How do you get the most out of your team during these times?
I think people either have intrinsic motivation; that drive to progress and succeed - or they don’t. If they do they’ll get through the tough times. You just have to support them.

One specific initiative we started recently is getting the team to share their personal goals with Vision Boards. It’s only natural that people are more motivated to achieve their personal goals than the company's goals, so you must tie the two together in a credible way.

Define ‘media’:
Information channels.

On a personal level, what’s helped you as an individual succeed?
Personal stability is really important, so I owe a lot to my wife for putting up with me for 15 years. When I look back to the toughest times in my life they’ve coincided with the toughest times in my career, so I’m sure that’s not a coincidence. I’ve always had the drive to succeed and fortunately, I’ve enjoyed most of my career as well which is hugely important.

And, looking back, what advice would you now give a younger you?
There are three things I would say:

1. Choose the right company over the right role, a growing business with a good culture and strong leadership will always present better opportunities over time

2. Work hard and focus on the short term - the long term will take care of itself

3. Try to learn from the mistakes others have made, so you don’t have to make them again.

What knowledge and skills are going to be most in demand, particularly for those in technology service business management, over the next 10 years?
Obviously understanding technology in general, and specifically how to effectively capture and use data. That’s been the biggest differentiator between successful vs less successful companies for a while now. It will only get more pronounced as Digital Transformation continues. Our CMO talks about Art+Science, and I think those who are able to blend in creative skills will enjoy outsized success. We’re going to need to deliver great user experience, entertain our audiences and deliver clear value outside of transactional moments because we live in an age where you can no longer buy people’s attention, you have to earn it!

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