Nothing ventured, nothing gained

Brenton’s career path to becoming Aspeq’s Business Development Manager hasn’t been traditional.

“No one knows what they want to be when they’re 17, so I took the time to explore all of my interests before deciding on a career,” Brenton says.

Brenton’s methodological approach meant that he tried his hand at professional sport, being a pastry chef, serving in the military, and banking all before turning 25.

When Brenton’s sales role at a Fortune 100 financial technology company morphed into business development, he knew he found the right fit.

“Business development scratches my brain in a way that I love. The role is all about relationship building, problem solving, and strategic thinking. No day is the same and it’s never boring. In fact, sometimes I wish it was a bit more boring.”

Despite enjoying huge success in his previous role, even landing in the top 1% of global sales, Brenton felt there wasn’t enough opportunity for career progression and began looking around for a new challenge.

“It was immediately clear in my interactions with Aspeq that it’s a place where I would be trusted to lead and encouraged to grow.”

He joined Aspeq in 2023, bringing nearly ten years’ experience doing business development in highly regulated sectors. Brenton is now based in Aspeq’s Australian headquarters in Canberra, where he is responsible for winning new business and shaping Aspeq’s technology to meet client’s current and future requirements.

He’s excited about the possibilities on the horizon for Aspeq - especially in sectors like education and government, where the company is uniquely positioned to thrive.

“Aspeq deservedly has a great reputation among government clients and other heavily regulated sectors, like healthcare and education.” 

Aspeq’s 30 years of experience delivering high stakes exams means it intimately understands the regulatory environment its clients operate in, so it’s not only able to provide expert assessment services nowl, but it can also read the tea leaves in terms of future hurdles for its clients. This enables it to future-proof its products and help clients seamlessly navigate changes.

Further advantages include Aspeq’s unparalleled network of high-security exam centers across the Asia Pacific, which is always expanding.

“Our mantra is assessment services, anywhere, anytime , and we really do believe that.”

Brenton’s personal approach to client relationships strikes the right note with government clients, too. With nearly a decade of business development experience under his belt, Brenton is fluent in the language and an expert at navigating the maze of government processes and procedures.

“Compared to the private sector, government clients have a wide range of stakeholders to satisfy and keep in the loop. My approach involves a lot of face-face time, open communication, and a real willingness to engage with everyone with a stake in the project.”

Aspeq has a perfect track record amongst its government clients: “Once we have a government contract, we never lose it. There’s really no one like us.”

The biggest challenge Brenton sees for Aspeq is brand recognition, which he acknowledges will take time.

“We’re not always the biggest players, but that can be a feature rather than a bug because it means we can quickly pivot to suit our client’s needs. We have the means and scale to expand rapidly, and we’re in the right place, right time for future growth.”

Although Brenton’s days of career hopping are behind him, he hasn’t stopped venturing.

In fact, Australian readers may catch Brenton’s byline in their local paper soon, where he’ll shortly launch a new food column reviewing craft beers. Brenton is characteristically understated about the opportunity though, explaining “I’m mostly doing it to improve my writing.” 

He’s also known among his friends for his experimental cooking. Since the days of COVID travel restrictions, Brenton has started a tradition of picking a new country’s cuisine to explore through cooking every other week.

And when he’s not cooking, writing, or playing cricket, Brenton is studying for his MBA.

Brenton’s willingness to take calculated risks reflects his belief that nothing venture is nothing gained. This approach - alongside years of experience in the sector - makes Brenton the perfect person to accelerate Aspeq’s expansion into new industries and technologies.

“All the pieces are in place for Aspeq to grow really rapidly in the next five years. I’m excited to help drive that journey.”