OVAtions

Bridging the Gap

Shane Cracknell (SVC 1989-94) is returning to SVC from Melbourne for the College’s 2024 Speech Night as a guest speaker. Shane was the 1994 Year 12 Head Prefect – the night represents the end of the next Year 12 Head Prefect Thomas Marr’s stewardship– thirty years apart.

 

Shane’s bio as per request:

 

St Virgil's Days

From 1994 Year Book 

St Virgil's College – Hobart 

  • College Captain
  • First XIII
  • Rowing Eight
  • Peer Support

Ambition:       Never to walk in anyone’s shadow

Quote            No other school can cherish a spirit so strong, a sense of belonging so great, a heritage so proud and a student body so full of life. SVC, thank you for your magic. May you rest in peace.

In true St Virgil’s spirit, I will not wallow in the despair of loss but celebrate the tremendous memories I have of the school. If Guilford Young College is to become a school with half the spirit that St Virgil’s has known for the past 83 years, it will be a very successful and popular learning institution

From 1994 valedictory at Graduation Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral

I know I represent the view of the majority of the student body when I express my deep disappointment and anguish at the loss of my dearly beloved College.

 

Background

  • Grew up in Granton where his parents Nick and Sue had established a wholesale tomato growing business. 
  • Father Nick - Former mayor of the Derwent Valley 
    • the president of New Norfolk football club and then 
    • the Chief Commissioner of TFL (Tasmanian Football League)
    • coached SVC under-age football teams. 
  • Brother Matt – also attended SVC (graduated 1991) – now manages the family business – been an active member of the St Virgil’s Old Scholars Football team for many years

Education

1989-1994: St Virgil's College – Hobart 

 

1995-98: LaTrobe University Melbourne (Bachelor of Applied Science - Occupational Therapy)

2004-2008: Melbourne Business School - MBA (Master of Business Administration), Business Strategy, Marketing

            

Professional

  • First job out of LaTraobe University was with Ramsay Healthcare, as an Occupational Therapist. Worked in adolescent mental health services
  • Moved to the UK and had several locum roles with the NHS – always within mental health services
  • On return to Australia (2003), took a role with Pfizer as a pharmaceutical sales rep. Was at Pfizer for 3.5 years, during which time I completed an MBA at Melbourne  Business School
  • Took a role with Dell – which was looking for someone to sell computer hardware and services into hospitals. Stayed at Dell in various sales roles for six years
  • Moved to ‘Thomas Duryea Consulting’ – a small, Melbourne-based IT consultancy as a sales manager and joined its leadership team
  • In 2016 joined Amazon Web Services as an account manager, at a time when cloud computing was just beginning to become a mainstream technology platform for large corporations and was experiencing exponential growth. Have been fortunate to work with hundreds of Australian companies (AWS customers) on large-scale technology projects and digital transformation programs. Held several leadership roles at AWS and have been a member of the Aust/NZ leadership team for the past four years. 
  • Will be finishing up at AWS in November to join Databricks – a data, analytics and AI software company (www.databricks.com) – where he will lead the Enterprise and Government business for Australia.

Family

Shane is married to Penny and they have three children – two sons and a daughter. The family has lived in Yarraville for the past twenty years – in the shadows of Whitten Oval which lines up nicely with his passion for the Bulldogs.

 

Volunteer    

  • Grassroots Sports Club, Co-founder. Raises money to assist disadvantaged kids to play sport (pay for club regos, boots, equipment etc). Have raised about $1.3M. We also started a Hobart chapter, which runs a lunch event once a year to raise money for Eddie Rice camps. This is organised by my great mate Gerard (Squirrel) Pullen - www.grassrootssc.com.au.
  • The Mirabel Foundation, volunteer  The Foundation seeks to assist children of drug users and seeks to break the cycle of disadvantage that repeats itself through generations if action is not taken.

Other Involvements

  • Shane played more than 200 senior games with the University High School Old Boys (UHSOB) in the lower divisions of the VAFA. (Victorian Amateur Football Association), where he captained 2 senior premierships (’03 and ‘07). 2003 broke a 35-year drought.
  • Now an active member of the Yarraville / Seddon Eagles footy club, where his two older children play. He has coached his daughter’s U12 team for the past 4 years and won the flag this season.