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Sarah Russell, the newly appointed chief executive of Technology Queenstown, has come on board to help establish a vibrant tech ecosystem in Queenstown.
It’s still early days for the not-for-profit startup, founded a year ago, and operates with a fast-moving approach, advocating for the region’s tech sector.
On stepping into the role and the lure of the region, Sarah says the role caught her interest and appetite along with a real love for Queenstown and the environment.
“I think what has sort of blown me away since I was announced in this role is just anyone who has been here, whether they’ve visited or lived here, seems to form a really deep like love and connection for the Queenstown region.”
“People just love it here. And I think it’s got so much to offer for so many different people, whether you’re into your action sports or snow sports or love your food and wine. There’s just something for everybody here.”
With a background that spans economics, banking, and entrepreneurship, Sarah brings a wealth of experience to her role. After co-founding Elula, an AI software startup in Sydney and working in various corporate strategy and technology positions, she is now focused on nurturing Queenstown’s tech landscape.
She emphasises the collaborative spirit within the community and says “It’s such a vibrant town and place to be. There’s a lot of collaboration between businesses and that’s part of a very key strength of Queenstown’s tech ecosystem.”
Acknowledging the long-term nature of the development initiative, she said, “This is a long-term development initiative and it’s going to take time to get all the right building blocks in place to really build up the sector.”
Part of her mission involves developing a skilled workforce. Sarah says “A key part of building a tech sector is around developing the workforce and a tech skilled capability in the region. There has been a lot of progress in that education field as well, and QRC (School of Tourism, Business and Technology) is a really interesting example of that.”
She says the advancements in education at QRC such as their recently added technology courses is a big win for the region. “Data analytics, machine learning, cloud computing, just building out the tech skills of people in the region is really important, catalyst for forming a sector.”
