David Stocks

Background

About David Stocks

I have 38 years of business experience, starting my first electronics businesses upon leaving school in 1979. During the 1980s I developed numerous telecomms devices for Access Communications and in 1990 I established Austest Laboratories as a NATA accredited test house. In 1993 I established Advantech Electronics Pty Ltd, a Sydney based designer and manufacturer of bespoke electronic equipment and International Compliance Testing (ICT), a NATA accredited test house for electrical safety and telecomms conformity assessment. In I opened a contract manufacturing service (CMS) and test house in Dongguan China (these were sold in 2011).From 2004 I assisted Hunter Pacific International develop products, firstly through Advantech and then as consulting manager for R&D. This became full-time employment as General Manager - Corporate Strategy with a focus on growing the business through innovation.In August 2017 I resigned from Hunter Pacific to join Carinda International Pty Ltd as General Manager. Carinda is a premier, ISO9001, B2B supplier of electronic components and technology solutions.In April 2018 Carinda entered a joint venture, ThreeSixty Innovations Pty Ltd to deliver high quality consumer products via a national B2B network, focusing on excellent design and customer satisfaction.I participate in Standards Australia committees and assist NATA as a technical assessor. I have training in Quality Systems (ISO9001, ISO 17065 and ISO17025). I am an active member of Marine Rescue NSW, acting as Trainer/Assessor and active duty member.Since 2020 I moved to the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, combining my quality systems, compliance testing, certification and Standards experience with 10 years as a casual trainer and assessor in the marine and aviation fields. Evolution of the heavily regulated VET field toward self-assurance is presenting interesting challenges for RTOs and I am driving development of new strategies and methods of managing 'compliance' in this context.Overall, my strengths lie in a holistic, comprehensive, understanding of product and system design meshed with many years of experience in market development, conformity assessment and manufacturing (for global markets). I am a negotiator who seeks compromise when required while ensuring a fair, quality, outcome for all involved, adopting a 'big picture' approach and strategies for long term profitability and success.