I had hinted on Twitter and Facebook that it was time for the next chapter in my career. After almost 18 years with Suncorp and a myriad of roles in that time from software development, technical leadership and Agile coaching, it was time for a change.

Dave Thomas has always been a leader in the software development arena that I have always respected. We met in 2008 through a presentation and he gave at QUT and Suncorp and then through the international Agile conferences and the Brisbane JAOO / YOW! conferences.

When the opportunity came to work with Dave on YOW! Australia, it was an opportunity too good to pass up. So now I have put my contractor shoes on and will be working with YOW! Australia as their Director of Conferences and Workshops.

As for Agile Coaching, it is still very much my passion to help teams deliver great products, so I will be continuing to work in the Agile community as well.

Here is the post from the YOW! blog on my appointment.

We are very pleased to announce Craig Smith has joined the YOW! Team as its Director of Conferences and Workshops. Craig’s experience as a speaker, instructor, developer, workshop and conference organizer makes him the ideal person to work with the YOW! community, user groups and the technical community. Craig will be working closely with Dave, the YOW! Planning Committee and the global speaker network to ensure YOW! brings the right speakers to Australia. Craig will be at our final YOW! Night of 2012 with Greg Young, so please say hello. See you at YOW! 2012!

Dave Thomas

(This post was designed to come out in mid-November, but the workload in pulling off a conference like YOW! delayed it a little!)