Chris Winfield-BlumMade by a dad in Adelaide
About

Father, partner, operations leader, and part-time coder.

As a father, partner, and tech enthusiast, I’m driven to make a positive impact on the world. By leveraging my skills in software, operations and project management, and with a passion for leadership, I strive to create innovative solutions and inspire others.

I’ve worked in software my whole career, picked up an MBA along the way, and lived in Malaysia, the USA and the Philippines before settling back in Adelaide.

Chris Winfield-Blum

Where I work

The businesses I lead or advise, alongside the apps.

Chris Winfield-Blum standing arms crossed in a black LevelUp T-shirt against a tiled wall
Digital DirectionsProduct AdvisorHelping businesses in Australia and New Zealand choose, implement and integrate HR softwareLevelUp PhilippinesOperations DirectorLevelUp is a boutique BPO provider based in the Philippines but with staff from more than 8 countriesMentorPlaceChief Operating OfficerA platform to connect professionals with mentors and manage internal mentorshipsKaapiSoftAdvisorKaapiSoft is a development house based in MaltaEverything I've worked on →

My journey

A snapshot of my life so far: big milestones, work and of course a few travel firsts.

  1. 0–10 years old

    1. 1981

      Born in Adelaide, South Australia in October 1981 to parents Lin and Dave

    2. Expelled from private pre-school

    3. Attended Direk School (pre-school to year 7), where I met Ryan

  2. 11–20 years old

    1. Attended Paralowie High School from years 8 to 10

    2. 1996

      Started volunteering at The Riff Cafe

    3. 1997

      Started playing bass guitar in a couple of bands

    4. 1998

      Awarded a Commonwealth Youth Service Award for my involvement in The Riff Cafe

    5. 1999

      Attended Thomas More College for years 11 and 12, graduating

    6. Achieved a perfect 20/20 for SACE music and was invited to Government House

    7. Shared an 18th birthday party with Ryan in October 1999

    8. 2000

      Completed my Diploma of Information Technology

    9. 2001

      Started working at Paralowie R-12 as a Technical Support Agent

  3. 21–30 years old

    1. 2002

      Started writing my own music

    2. Started performing around Adelaide as Chris Live

    3. 2003

      Moved abroad to Malaysia in July 2003

    4. Joined LeadingSide in 2003, my first job in the software industry

    5. Visited Thailand and Singapore for the first time

    6. 2005

      Moved home to Adelaide

    7. Joined TridentGLOBAL as an Application Service Consultant

    8. 2007

      My nephew Jensen was born

    9. Visited New Zealand for the first time

    10. 2008

      Promoted at TridentGLOBAL to Professional Services Manager

    11. 2010

      My niece Ava was born

    12. 2011

      Visited Vietnam and the USA for the first time

    13. Moved to the USA for a project

  4. 31–40 years old

    1. 2012

      Moved home to Adelaide

    2. 2013

      Completed my Diploma of Project Management

    3. Visited the Maldives for the first time

    4. Joined Acumen Data as Product Manager

    5. 2014

      Visited the Philippines for the first time

    6. Finally made it to Europe for the first time in 2014, visiting Malta

    7. Visited Japan for the first time

    8. Promoted at Acumen Data to Chief Operating Officer

    9. 2015

      Commenced my Master of Business Administration

    10. 2016

      Started consulting as Change Fox with organisations looking to offshore software roles

    11. Joined Graycorp as Strategy Support Manager

    12. Visited Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom for the first time

    13. Completed my Graduate Certificate in Management

    14. Moved to the Philippines

    15. Started my relationship with Ericka

    16. 2017

      Visited Hong Kong for the first time

    17. Completed my Graduate Diploma in Management and my Master of Business Administration

    18. 2018

      Started volunteering at Pasay Pups

    19. Joined InspireTek as Chief Operating Officer

    20. 2019

      Ericka visited Australia for the first time

    21. Visited Taiwan for the first time

    22. 2020

      Jaxon Alan was born

    23. Joined Thrive Themes as Solutions & Business Analyst

    24. Developed and managed the My Reflections app

    25. 2021

      Started MentorPlace as a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer

    26. Developed and managed the Medication Timer app

    27. Moved home to Adelaide with Ericka and Jaxon

  5. 41+ years old

    1. 2022

      Visited Scotland, Romania and France for the first time

    2. Developed and managed Jaxon's Universe

    3. 2023

      Thrive Themes was acquired by Awesome Motive, and I was promoted to Operations Manager

    4. Visited Mexico for the first time in 2023 for the Awesome Motive retreat

    5. Our first big family holiday to Europe in 2023: Austria, Hungary, Romania, Scotland, England, Italy and Switzerland

    6. 2024

      Visited Mexico for the second time in 2024 for the Awesome Motive retreat

    7. Visited Ecuador for the first time

    8. Wrote my first book, Jaxon the Astronaut: A mission to count all the Moons

    9. Wrote my second book, Jaxon the Astronaut: A tour tonight of Dwarf planet delights

    10. Ethan Leslie was born

    11. Jaxon's first day of preschool

    12. 2025

      Visited Turkey and Greece

    13. Open-heart surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for a faulty aortic valve, which inspired Si Forte and big improvements to Medication Timer

    14. Founded Si Forte

    15. Joined LevelUp as Operations Director

    16. 2026

      Earned the Google AI Professional Certificate from Google

    17. Earned Claude Code: Software Engineering with Generative AI Agents from Vanderbilt University

    18. Joined Digital Directions as Product Advisor

Things we could talk about

Just between us, I'm probably a coffee addict, and talking about business, leadership and operations is a great excuse to meet people online or in person.

Strategy
I enjoy talking with business owners about strategy; what is working, what is not and what could be done better.
Leadership
I am passionate about leadership, development of leadership attributes and helping leaders achieve more.
Operations
I have experience with everything from strategy planning to finance to customer support to software development.
Software
I have worked in software my entire career and have a passion for solving problems with good software.

Qualifications & training

  • 2026Claude Code: Software Engineering with Generative AI AgentsVanderbilt University
  • 2026Google AI Professional CertificateGoogle
  • 2015–2017Master of Business Administration (MBA)Australian Institute of Business
  • 2016–2017Graduate Diploma in ManagementAustralian Institute of Business
  • 2015–2016Graduate Certificate in ManagementAustralian Institute of Business
  • 2014Small Team Leadership (short course)Software Education
  • 2012–2013Diploma of Project ManagementAccredited Online Training
  • 2000–2001Diploma of Information TechnologySalisbury Enterprise Learning Centre

Awards & volunteering

  • 2018–2021Kids program volunteer, and still a supporterPasay Pups, Manila, Philippines
  • 2015iTrack mentorThe Smith Family
  • 1998Commonwealth Youth Service AwardRoyal Commonwealth Society, for The Riff
  • 1996–2002VolunteerThe Riff Youth Development Café
More roles and experience on LinkedIn ↗
“(Chris) fosters a productive environment where challenges are addressed efficiently, and teams are empowered to deliver their best work”
Aleksandar KrstićSenior Developer at Awesome Motive
“I strongly recommend engaging with Chris if you are looking to build momentum in your business and kick strategic goals!”
Richard BatesFounder & CEO Acumen Data
“Chris has a determined focus on developing teams through personal mentoring, structured training and strong project management skills...”
Karl MitmannsgruberCIO at Outsourced.ph