Edward (Ted) Pretty (born 1957, Darwin, NT, Australia), is an Australian businessman and lawyer.[1][2][3]

He is the current chairman of Sustainable Metal Cloud (SMC) and Firmus, two companies leading the transformation in AI infrastructure and sustainable GPU solutions.

Education

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Pretty obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Arts (Economics) and First Class Honors Degree in Law.[1]

Career

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Early career

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Pretty was a Partner at the Media and Telecommunications Law Firm, Gilbert & Tobin. From there, he moved to Optus, serving as an adviser and director of Optus Communications and Optus Vision.[1]

Telstra

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In October 1997 Pretty was appointed managing director of Australia's public and largest telecommunications company Telstra.[4][5]

During his time at Telstra, Pretty served in a number of roles, including head of Telstra's Convergent Business Group, and the head of Telstra Retail.[6] In 2003 he became group managing director of the Telstra Technology, Innovation and Products Group.[7][8]

During his tenure at Telstra, Pretty oversaw the entry and early steps of the company in its internet and online business,[9][10] before resigning from Telstra in 2005.[11]

Macquarie group

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In 2006, Pretty became a consultant at the Macquarie Group and continued on with the company, becoming executive director of Macquarie Capital. He was instrumental in Macquarie's bid to build the National Broadband Network.[12]

Gulf finance house

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Pretty joined Gulf Finance House as CEO of Investment Capital. In December 2009, was appointed group chief executive officer.[13][14]

Hills Limited

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On 3 September 2012, Pretty was confirmed as the group managing director of Hills Limited.[15][16] In association with a major restructure of the company[17][18] Pretty oversaw its transformation.[19][20]

With a number of South Australian universities, the SA Government and Premier Jay Weatherill, Pretty established two centres in Adelaide to foster innovation and support start-up companies.[21]

On 27 May 2015, Pretty resigned from his position as group managing director and chief executive officer.[22]

Covata and Cipherpoint Limited

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On 23 December 2016, Pretty was confirmed as managing director and CEO of Covata Limited.[23] Later on, Covata was renamed to Cipherpoint Limited and altered its governance structure. Pretty then moved to part-time executive chair.[24][25]

Directorships

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Pretty was a director of ASX listed NextDC Limited[26][27][1] and was advisory chairman, Australia and New Zealand, of Indian IT company Tech Mahindra Group.[28][29][1]

He was chairman and on the Board of ASX listed RP Data Limited for 8 years.[30][1] He was chairman of Fujitsu Australia and NZ.[31]

Investments

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Pretty is a co-investor, shareholder and director of Bevan Slattery's undersea cable company, SubPartners.[32]

Australian Governmental Advisory Roles

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Pretty is on The Ministerial Advisory Council on Communications[33] for the Honorable Malcolm Turnbull MP, then Minister for Communications.[34]

He advised on the "E-commerce expert group"[35] set up by the then Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, the Honorable Joe Hockey[36] and served as one of the "Members of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Cultural Councils"[37]

Firmus and Sustainable Metal Cloud (SMC)

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In February 2022, Pretty was appointed Chairman of Firmus, the world's first scaled immersion-cooling platform.[38] In May 2023, he was appointed chairman of Sustainable Metal Cloud (SMC), the world's most energy efficient GPU cloud.[39]

As chairman, Pretty oversees two cutting-edge companies that provide AI infrastructure and super-compute solutions using liquid immersion and advanced technologies.[40]

References

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  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "HIL.AX - Hills Ltd Profile | Reuters". Reuters.
  2. ^ "Stocks". Bloomberg News.
  3. ^ "Stocks". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Ted Pretty appointed Chairman, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand". Sydney. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Sitting Pretty". 21 November 2003. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Four Corners - 15/10/2001: Called to Account: Chronology". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  7. ^ "TEL0057 Proof Final" (PDF). Telstra. 2004. p. 8. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Telstra selects Ericsson for 3G network". 25 December 2004.
  9. ^ "Farewell my Pretty, and thanks a million". The Age. 12 August 2005.
  10. ^ "Ted Pretty takes over at Hills". The Australian. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Ziggy gets $10m as Ted Pretty also departs". Crikey. 11 August 2005.
  12. ^ "Telstra reacts to fibre pressure". The Australian. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.
  13. ^ "GFH: Annual report 2010" (PDF). www.gfh.com. p. 14. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Gulf Finance House forms new investment banking division (GFH Capital) and appoints Group Deputy CEO". 15 December 2009.
  15. ^ "Hills Australia".
  16. ^ "iTWire - Ted Pretty to head Hills Holdings". itwire.com.
  17. ^ "=A Pretty tale of Ted 20 transformation". The Australian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Can Ted Pretty save an Australian manufacturing icon".
  19. ^ "About Us".
  20. ^ "Dotcom Veteran Ted Pretty Gives Hills Bottom Line A Hoist". The Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.
  21. ^ "Hills Innovation Centres to nurture the next great Australian invention - Department of State Development". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  22. ^ "Appointment of new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)" (PDF). ASX.com.au. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  23. ^ "Appointment of new MD/CEO | Covata Limited". Archived from the original on 27 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Covata changes name to Cipherpoint and alters governance structure". 20 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Investor Relations | Cipherpoint".
  26. ^ "NEXTDC Board Succession Update" (PDF). NEXT DC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  27. ^ "Ted Pretty | NEXTDC". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  28. ^ Pretty appointed Mahindra Satyam chair The Australian [dead link]
  29. ^ "Pretty returns to telco land with Mahindra Satyam". The Register.
  30. ^ "RP Data Ltd ASX announcement: 29th October 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2 September 2014.[permanent dead link]
  31. ^ "Ted Pretty appointed Chairman, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand – Fujitsu Australia".
  32. ^ "SubPartners".
  33. ^ "Advisory Council Meets to Discuss Reform Agenda | Minister for Communications". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014.
  34. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull | Minister for Communications". Archived from the original on 25 October 2013.
  35. ^ "Press Release - Hockey Announces Expert Group for Electronic Commerce [23/09/99]". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  36. ^ "Former Minister for Financial Services and Regulation the Hon Joe Hockey MP - Biography". Archived from the original on 2 February 2008.
  37. ^ "DFAT - Annual Report 1999-2000". Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  38. ^ "Firmus - Sustainably enabling AI". Firmus.
  39. ^ "The GPU cloud built with sustainable technology - SMC". Sustainable Metal Cloud (SMC).
  40. ^ "Firmus and STT partner for "sustainable AI factory"". CRN Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2024.

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