Born near Cairns in North Queensland in Australia and originally qualified as a chemist, Ted has more than 30 years of experience in the mining, manufacturing and construction industries. After working in operations up to the positions of Production Manager and Technical Manager for about half that time, he has since moved into supplying expert support for the conceptualisation, planning, documenting and implementing of technical management systems (OH&S, environment, quality & general risk) as well as their monitoring, ongoing support and improvement.

He is a fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and the Australian Organisation for Quality as well as being a member of the Environment Institute of Australia and certified as an auditor through RAB-QSA.