Experience

Management Roles

Deslea’s professional experience includes the following management roles:

  • IT Governance Consultant, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2015)
    • Facilitated and delivered a suite of risk management plans for over 30 divisions and projects in less than four months.
    • Delivered board-readiness mentoring and capacity-building of a new risk governance committee.
  • Director, ComSuper (2013-2015)
    • Executive carriage of a superannuation scheme ($4B FUM, 130,000 members) through a hybrid insourced-outsourced delivery model.
    • Increased the scheme’s annualised service level performance from 62% to 98% and halved service delivery complaints in 18 months.
    • Stakeholder management and contract governance of a complex multi-party outsourcing arrangement, involving multiple levels of government and State-Owned Entities (SOEs).
  • Business Recovery Project Manager, ComSuper (2010-2011)
    • Increased business continuity benchmarking performance from 2.8 to 8.2 (audited) and resolved a Category B audit finding under parliamentary scrutiny.
    • Awarded an Australia Day Achievement Medallion. This project was the subject of a Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management case study.
  • Assistant Director, ComSuper (2009-2013)
    • Carriage of risk, insurance, and Audit & Risk Committee secretariat functions.
    • Increased risk management benchmarking performance from 4.7 to 7.1 over several years (some audited).
    • Led additional bodies of work, including fraud control planning, strategic and business planning, audit coordination and management, “mentor-the-mentors” training, and workforce planning.
  • IT Steering Committee Secretariat, Workplace Authority (2007-2009)
    • Substantially revised and refreshed steering committee reporting structures.
    • Delivered a Diploma of Project Management inhouse program for staff.
    • Initiated and developed a knowledge bank to support a team of ICT project managers and business analysts.
  • IT and Infrastructure Manager, JCS School (2005-2007)
    • Project management and strategic procurement, including a key electrical infrastructure upgrade.

Board and Management Committee Roles

Deslea’s experience also includes the following boards and management committees:

  • Strategic Planning Committee, Organization for Transformative Works (2017-)
  • Organisational Subcommittee, Moresby Arts Theatre PRIDE School Arts Program (2016)
  • Deputy Chair/Non-Executive Director and AGM Chair, Women’s Centre for Health Matters (2014-15)
  • Secretariat, DFAT ICT Risk Management Committee (2015)
  • Member, Women in Super ACT Committee (2013-14)
  • Various ComSuper committees (2011-15). Includes Audit & Risk Committee (Secretariat), Change Advisory Board, Mental Health Advisory Committee, Social Media Working Group, and Incident Management Team.

Early Career

In her earlier career, Deslea worked in technology and communications roles in Australia, and headed up several US-led community and open-source project teams. She has kept in touch with technology, having recently undertaken certificates in front-end web development, mobile app development, and game development. Deslea had a break from the formal workforce while childrearing during the dot-com boom, and had several home-based technology businesses during this time. Her first degree was a Bachelor’s degree in humanities.

Personal Life

Deslea lives in Cairns, Australia and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea with her husband, Grant, a legislative drafter working in international development. Deslea and Grant came to the Pacific as empty nesters after raising their two children in Canberra, Australia. Deslea enjoys computer programming, pistol shooting, gaming, and crafts.