Our People In Australia
First Rate is made up of a dedicated team of people from a range of backgrounds. Our skills and experience guarantee you a thorough, informed and helpful approach.
Our core team members are as follows:
| Jon Ostler - Founder and Managing Director | |
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Jon is the founder of First Rate and one of New Zealand's leading authorities on contemporary Internet marketing. Working with many leading websites, he is a regular writer for international publications and a speaker at conferences in New Zealand and Australia. After advising many of the UK's top defence companies and agencies on classified projects, Jon retired from military intelligence to put his skills to work on the worldwide web. Since arriving in New Zealand in 1998, he has helped many businesses succeed online, acting as an independent Internet consultant. Jon founded First Rate in 1999, in response to the emerging demand among businesses for a measurable return on their website investment. T: +64 (9) 920 1310 |
| Kevin Francis - Chief Operating Officer | |
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Kevin was educated at Bristol University, UK, where he gained an honours degree in chemistry, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He spent eight years as a telecommunications officer in the British Army, reaching the rank of Captain and was decorated for operational service in the Gulf War. Kevin has held a variety of senior management positions in the Internet and IT industry over the last 20 years and brings extensive experience in change management, business excellence and business growth. T: +64 (9) 920 1432 |
Sydney Office
| Tom Skotidas - Sales and Marketing Director | |
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Tom serves as Sales & Marketing Director for the Australian division of First Rate. Tom started his career as a direct response copywriter, then progressed to holding senior sales and marketing roles in the United States and New Zealand. He has specialised in online marketing since 1996, with emphasis on search engine marketing, permission email and loyalty marketing. T: +61 1300 553 996 |
| Samuel Stadler - Consulting Director | |
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Samuel manages the delivery of client projects. He works closely with the BDM's to deliver on the strategic objectives for each project. After completing a BCom and a BSc in Marketing, Information Systems and Physiology from the University of Auckland, Samuel worked in Paris for a software solutions company. As Product Manager he implemented online marketing initiatives including affiliate, referral and search engine marketing. Prior to this Samuel worked as a freelance marketing consultant for a number of companies including Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (Auckland) and Networking Technologies (San Diego). T: +61 2 9339 6730 |
Melbourne office
| Michael Barnett - Senior Business Development Manager | |
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Michael went to Swinburne University of Technology having gained a diploma in Business Marketing and a Certificate in Business marketing. he began his professional career with APN in advertising sales in their newspaper division called Melbourne Independent Newspapers from 1997-1999. he left to embark on my overseas adventure for one year to the UK and the US.
Michael then entered the family business when he got back for 2 years and then left to join Pinpoint Marketing who are one of the world's largest loyalty reward companies. Michael was Senior Business Development Manager of Victoria where he was involved with many of the banks loyalty programs, namely Westpac and also involved with the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program from March 2003 - November 2007. T: +61 3 8517 1495 M: +61 438 428 628 |
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