According to Managing Director Kimberley Lathe, the appointment is intended to add rigour to Axe Group’s hiring and performance policies, providing a strong framework for talent management to support the company’s growth.

“We’ve always been very clear that our people are our greatest asset. As we grow, we want to remain clear as to what’s required to support our people to take them to next level—from career planning to longer term resourcing for projects, while maintaining the strength of our culture for a mostly remote workforce.”

Having worked in tech companies for much of her career, Shaw brings a deep understanding of their specific needs, along with considerable human resource experience.

“There are certainly a lot of parallels between my last position and this one,” explains Shaw, “dealing with all the different roles you find at a software company and the fact that we were growing quickly, which brings its own challenges.”

Shaw also notes that her experience working in overseas markets will be useful with Axe Group’s plans to further increase their US presence. “Although Axe has been around for a long time, this is a defining moment in our history. We’re introducing new tools, new processes, new reporting structures, new career progression plans, establishing an office in Melbourne, and so on. As a business grows, the way things work has to change, but it’s important that this evolution isn’t allowed to damage the culture that led to success in the first place.”

What’s particularly impressive about Axe is how long our staff have worked here. We’ve got people who’ve been with the company for over 20 years, and our average tenure is about four times longer than you find in the rest of the industry. We’re going to make sure that we keep all the elements of what people like about working here as we expand.”

It’s fair to say Shaw is also impressed by Axe Group’s achievements in diversity. “For instance, having a 50/50 male/female balance at a tech company is just unheard of. And that’s across all areas of the business; software developers, business analysts, and product, not just in HR or administrative roles. It’s heartening to see a company that’s already ‘walking the walk’ when it comes to diversity and inclusion in all sorts of ways.”

While furthering opportunities for women in tech is important to her, Shaw is quick to point out that it’s essential to ensure all genders greater working flexibility. “Whether it’s parental leave or doing school pickups or childcare, we need to give every parent the support they need to do well at family life as well as their working life.”

Shaw has a daughter at university and, outside of work, enjoys reading, movies, and speaking to groups of students interested in tech as a career.