Leadership
at Squad HQ

He founded Zib Digital more than 15 years ago while still playing AFL for the Adelaide Crows. What started during a major shift in the way businesses marketed themselves grew into one of Australia’s leading full-service digital agencies, with a 100-plus team and campaigns developed for more than 1,000 businesses. Building Zib gave him deep experience in leadership, sales, partnerships, team development and navigating growth and change.

More recently he co-founded ReadyDC, a data centre development platform delivering next-generation digital infrastructure and AI-ready capacity across Australia. His property background, from site acquisition and feasibility through to planning and delivery, sits at the centre of that work.

Prior to business, Chris spent a decade in the AFL with the Adelaide Crows and Richmond Football Club, followed by two seasons on the AFL Match Review Panel. He continues to work with professional athletes as an off-field mentor, helping them build careers and opportunities beyond sport.

Mark is co-founder of ReadyDC, where he leads technology and power: substation-level power screening, hardware and software modelling, and the AI-native tooling that lets a small team operate like a large one. Through markjames.au he works with leaders on where value actually lives, redesigning process for AI-augmented operations.

Before Squad HQ he was Chief Executive Officer of My Business Excellence, lifting SME profitability through a structured business improvement framework, and Business Excellence Manager at Joval Group, leading strategy, process and technology transformation across a vertically integrated wine business.

Earlier, Mark spent thirteen years as CEO and then CTO of Smarta Systems, a business intelligence and analytics software company, following engineering and enterprise systems roles at UBS, T-Mobile UK and Powercor across banking, telco and utilities. He is a recognised voice on practical AI implementation across Australia.

Through the Zib Digital years before Builder Agent, Matt worked with more than 450 trade and builder clients, generating over 250,000 leads and more than $200 million in digital revenue for those businesses. As a Zib Media franchise owner since 2017 he has grown Australian businesses on one principle: help businesses grow.

In 2022 he founded Up Your Game, a business coaching and growth program built specifically for trade and builder companies. Before that he spent four years as Managing Director of Melbourne Decks and Pergolas, on the tools and in the office.

Matt began his career as a professional footballer, with a decade at Richmond and Port Melbourne, before moving straight into building and business. He is the person who owns the relationship from first meeting through to ongoing support.