Not many people can say a newspaper ad changed the entire course of their life. But, for Paul Queeney, that’s exactly how his extraordinary journey began. Born on a council estate in Northern England, Paul’s curiosity and passion for technology took him far beyond his beginnings – to Moscow, Hong Kong, Jamaica, and finally, Australia, where he’s now reshaping education as Head of ICT at prestigious Trinity Grammar. Gemma Acton sat down with Paul to unpack his global adventures, goals and game-changing work in tech.
Technology as a ticket to the world
From the start, technology was the common thread weaving through Paul’s career. Reflecting on the many countries he’s worked in, Paul says, “Oh my goodness, a lot! The main ones: I lived in Ireland for seven years. I worked in Hong Kong for a stint, was in Moscow for a while, worked in most Western European countries, and also spent some time in the Czech Republic. And of course, I ended up in Australia.”
It all started with a simple but powerful decision during his school days. “Back in my northern town in England, we got the chance to do Computer Studies at O-level. It was a brand new subject at the time, in the late ’70s and early ’80s. I took it, learned to code at 18, and it just grew from there.”
That initial spark soon evolved into a career after a chance opportunity during a traineeship. “I was in a course, and a bunch of people came in from different companies to interview students. I just happened to get picked for what was probably the best role on offer. So lucky. The guy who chose me just took a chance on a 17-year-old kid. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Later, while living in Ireland, Paul took another major step by pursuing further education. “When I was living in Dublin, I had the opportunity to do an undergraduate degree at Trinity College. That was an amazing experience. I studied part-time, outside of work, with support from my employer.”
Front row seats to history
Paul’s international work experience reads like a world history book. His time in Russia during the early ’90s placed him right at the heart of enormous geopolitical change. “It was crazy. There was a lot going on. We were living near the airport but working in the city, so we were bussed in every day. When everything kicked off in August or September, there were tanks on the streets, protests, shelling at the White House. It was wild. And, honestly, a bit scary.”
And yes – he even played a part in Russia’s evolving retail landscape. “We did. I was with an Irish company that ran duty-free shops across Russia, Finland and elsewhere. They formed a joint venture company in Russia – because that’s how things worked there – and we got involved in launching those supermarkets. It really was the Wild West.”
From Russia, Paul’s journey carried him to other vibrant parts of the world – including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Jamaica. “I spent just under 12 months in Hong Kong while working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. We had a retail practice for Asia-Pacific clients, so I moved up there and worked with clients in Hong Kong, Singapore and even southern China. It was a fascinating time.”
And, amidst all the career hustle, life’s more personal moments unfolded, too. “A fun side note – being there led to something very special: I proposed to my now-wife from the top of Victoria Peak!”
Embracing new challenges Down Under
Australia became the next exciting chapter thanks to another fortuitous connection. “After seven years in Ireland, a colleague who had travelled to Australia got in touch and said he’d met a recruiter looking for retail people. That led to a role with what was then Coopers and Lybrand. I packed up and moved to Melbourne. Sight unseen! I’d never even been there before. But I got off the plane and started working, and shortly after, it became PwC.”
And, once again, an unexpected opportunity came knocking. “Up to that point, my career had been focused on tech, retail, consulting. But in 2010, a friend called me out of the blue – he had to go overseas and asked me to run a project for him.
“It turned out to be in education, which I knew nothing about! But he said, ‘It’s about the tech. You’ll be fine.’ So I took the freelance contract. It was with the Association of Independent Schools of NSW, the peak body for independent schools here. After a while, they asked me to stay on. So I did. And, ended up staying for eight or nine years.
“It was an amazing experience. I visited schools of every kind – different faiths, cultures, setups, education styles, and sizes – from tiny schools with 50 students to big ones with 3,500. It was a privilege to work with them and figure out how tech could support their goals.”
Bringing cloud innovation to Trinity Grammar
Today, Paul’s pioneering spirit continues at Trinity Grammar. As Head of ICT, he’s helped usher in a bold new era of cloud-based learning. “I’m now the Head of ICT at Trinity Grammar, since 2018. Like many schools, we used to have all our computing infrastructure – servers, storage, everything – on-site. Those systems usually get replaced every four to five years.
“We reached that point and had to decide: do we buy more boxes and stick them in a cupboard again, or do we leap into a cloud-based model? We considered moving everything into Microsoft Azure.”
His partnership with Logicalis played a critical role. “Back in 2021, we did a smaller project with Logicalis around our budgeting system. It was niche but critical. And, they were brilliant. Great consultant, great account management, it all ran really smoothly.
“So in 2022, when we were considering the cloud migration, we brought Logicalis in again. They helped us work through all the options: do we go with more physical infrastructure, a public cloud, a hybrid model, a managed service? They laid out all the costs, risks, and benefits.
“We decided to go ahead with the cloud move. 2023 was spent preparing – it’s not easy! But by 2024, we had migrated everything from the cupboard to the cloud.”
The move to the cloud had tangible impacts on the Trinity community. “During the pandemic, we had to invent a lot of things on the fly, especially around remote learning. How do you engage students online? How do you know they’re doing the work, or even attending?
“We leaned into Microsoft’s toolset and used Teams for remote learning. It turned out to be absolutely the right choice for us.
“Off the back of that, we started using those same tools in our Field Studies Program. Our Year 9 students go to the South Coast of NSW for a term – away from home. We don’t allow personal phones or devices, so we provide them with our own tech. Using Teams, they can call home at scheduled times and access learning resources. It’s a curated digital experience – built using the cloud.”
Watch Paul Queeney share more about his journey as a Game Changer, here.
