Our Executives

John Goddard
Managing Director
C-COR Broadband Australia Pty Ltd

Whether it was his 13 years in the Australian Airforce or his extensive experience with multinational companies, John has always set his sights on the world market.

Now, as the head of his own company, John is using his management skills to grow the business that he and his Chief Financial Officer, Keith Siu, acquired through a management buyout in April 2006.

In a matter of months since the MBO, C-COR Broadband has developed an Asian expansion strategy that is set to deliver promising results in 2006 and beyond.

John is assembling a senior team of innovators and thinkers to work with him in taking the company to the next stage of its growth. It certainly achieved success in the past when the company was owned by Philips Electronics and C-COR Inc. and ably led by John. Now, John is providing the vision and structure for the company to make the transition to become a major player in the Asia Pacific region.

John's military background provided him with engineering and teaching qualifications that steered him into roles at Wandel & Golterman and Dataplex where he handled major accounts including Telstra; education and training; and operating his own management consultancy.

In 1996, John joined Philips Public Telecommunication Network (later called Philips Broadband Networks), starting as a Senior Account Manager for Telstra. A year later he was promoted to Business Unit Manager, responsible for both the radio systems and the cable TV parts of the business.

During this time, John was instrumental in winning a number of large contracts with Telstra, including the high capacity radio concentrator (HCRC wireless) system for regional and rural Australia, and the digital video network, both projects valued at more than $90 million each.

When Philips sold the cable TV part of the business to C-COR Inc in 2002, John accepted the CEO role offered. For the next three years, the business has performed well capturing 70 per cent of its market. But John knew that in order for the business to grow it had to expand: both geographically and by way of its product offering.

Following the MBO in 2006, both these areas have since improved: India has emerged
as the first country where C-COR Broadband will expand; and four new distributorships
have been introduced that cover complementary products, with more to follow
for emerging technologies such as WiMAX and FTTx.

2007 looks like being an exciting year for John, his management team, twenty employees (and counting) and the company as a whole.

John holds a Diploma of Engineering (Telecommunications); a Diploma Tech. Teach; a Bachelor of Education Studies; a Diploma in Business Administration; and is a Member of Institute of Company Directors, Australia.

Keith Siu
Chief Financial Officer
C-COR Broadband Australia

Owning a multi-million-dollar company just 13 years after your first career job as an assistant accountant, was not on Keith Siu’s radar a few years ago. But the potential he could see with C-COR Broadband encouraged him to remain with the company and work towards taking it to the next stage of growth.

Keith grew up in Hong Kong and studied at Monash University before returning to North East Asia and taking his first position with Philips Electronics’ domestic appliance division in Hong Kong in 1993. Still with Philips, Keith moved to Singapore and China before transferring to Philips Electronics in Australia in 2001.

Whilst in Singapore, Keith took on a senior management role in Philips Regional Digital Networks Division and undertook a number of strategic financial programs including revising the costing system, streamlining internal controls, undertaking contract reviews, and reviewing each project and analysing the project’s cost, deliverables and customer expectations.

In China as Financial Controller, Keith helped Philips establish a joint venture in Suzhou which involved setting up a complete accounting department including staff recruitment, training and operations. As part of the management team, he also introduced an ERP solution to the business.

Following Keith’s arrival in Melbourne in 2001, he was appointed Financial Controller of Philips Broadband Division. It was only a year later that Philips divested itself of the company because its business model in Australia did not fit with the rest of its world operations. Keith was closely involved in the process and ensured a smooth transition to C-COR Inc’s financial systems.

When C-COR Inc bought the business in 2002 they were quick to restructure the company and Keith was instrumental in managing this transition. With sales not meeting C-COR’s expectations, Keith and John Goddard suggested a management buyout knowing that an injection of entrepreneurship was required in order to grow the business. This MBO took place in April 2006 with Keith performing extensive risk analysis and sourcing the funding.

“I measure risk carefully and realised it wasn’t that high a risk as we had intimately been managing the company for four years. We know the business well and understand what is required to ensure its continued growth,” says Keith.

Keith believes the most important part of the company’s success is the customer interface, especially with customers such as Telstra who appreciate a local supplier that has a full sales, support and engineering presence in the same time zone.

In only six months since the MBO, turnover has almost doubled and Keith has expectations of achieving $50 million in sales within three years.

Keith holds a Bachelor of Business degree (Management), a Master degree in Professional Accounting and is a Member of CPA Australia.