Executive Team » Geoff Illing
Technical Director
Geoff Illing co-founded Unico with Mike Palmer in 1984 and provides technical vision and leadership for the company. Geoff’s ability to grasp highly complex technical challenges and translate them into detailed solutions has been at the core of Unico’s success.
On leaving Cambridge University, Geoff was fortunate to become involved in the development of several cutting edge computer systems. In England he was part of the development of one of the first computerised command-and-control systems for police dispatch. The reputation he developed on this project took him to Hong Kong, where he was the technical lead on the first computerised telephone betting system for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. That system was so successful that it grew from the original 400 terminals to 1600 in two months.
Geoff moved to Australia in 1980 to develop the highly-successful Victorian On-course Totalisator System (VOTS), and then continued his travels to develop a similar system for Autotote in the US. All of these pre-Unico projects had the basic requirements of high throughput, high reliability, and high availability.
Realising that Australia was where he wanted to live, and in the belief that it should not be necessary to change employers every two years if one wanted to work on exciting projects, Geoff returned to Australia to found Unico with Mike Palmer in 1984. At Unico, Geoff has continued to work on exciting projects, with the emphasis still on high throughput, high reliability, and high availability.
The work has attracted a like minded group of individuals, so now new projects can be started with a team of talented individuals already assembled and ready for the job. Though some of the work has been a direct flow on form pre-Unico days (Unico enhanced the VOTS tote for TABCorp, and now, renamed BRAVO, it handles their Melbourne and Sydney operations), the majority has been in new areas. Geoff’s hope is that the lessons learned on each project have been used to make the next project better.
In his private life Geoff is also driven: he is an active scuba diver, is interested in reef preservation and has worked as a volunteer for the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation in the Philippines. He is also an enthusiastic amateur musician playing the clarinet, saxophone and bassoon, and is a member of too many ensembles.
Geoff holds a Masters in Mathematics from Cambridge University, and is a member of the Australian Computer Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.