Mike French

Mike began his career as a software developer when he was just sixteen. Even at such a young age he had a gift for programming and a unique talent for mastering new programming languages and technical concepts.

By the time he was twenty, Mike had been called in to consult on projects as complex and diverse as DNA cloning, fault location detection systems for Queensland Railways, communications, lottery management, hardware control and supermarket management.

By his early twenties he had developed project management techniques and quality assurance skills that enabled him to found Direct Marketing Software (DMS) aand to develop large-scale database applications for organisations all over the world.

Mike's exceptional project management and troubleshooting abilities soon became widely recognised. He was often invited to speak at conferences, consult on North American projects and regularly won tenders against world players such as Ernst & Young, Control Data and Fujitsu.

By the early 1990s Mike was focussed on developing products for database marketing and CRM. Some of DMS' bigger North American clients were world leaders in these fields and many of the projects DMS completed were large-scale and extremely involved - especially as they were implemented on PC platforms. Mike applied his talents to help develop these organisations’ marketing plans and techniques.

DMS' main focus throughout the 1990s was to support large North American organisations in their marketing efforts. This required Mike and his staff to gain an expert understanding of CRM and marketing – skills which were unique in Australia's IT industry. During this time DMS took on several high-profile business partners, including Pacific MicroMarketing, Pitney Bowes and GBC-Fordigraph.

Mike's expertise in direct, database and relationship marketing has been well recognised in Australia. He is a regular contributor to Australia's leading marketing industry magazines and a popular speaker at marketing conferences such as Pan-Pac (now ADMA Forum). He has also been involved in ADMA's Direct Marketing Certificate courses and in 1999 was elected to serve on the board of ADMA's Queensland chapter.

In more recent years, DMS has used these acquired skills to develop a range of products that address all aspects of Australian marketing. Mike’s ability to incorporate marketing approaches and techniques between various industries, along with his ability to work with organisations to help refine their industry process is one of the secrets of DMS’ success.

Mike’s personal interest in philanthropy has led to the creation of several DMS products specifically for the Not For Profit sector. DMS currently supplies products for some of Australia’s leading fundraisers, including The Salvation Army, Mission Australia, RSL and Christian Blind Mission International.

DMS has supported these organisations in developing some of the best fundraising and CRM systems in the world. Mike has been instrumental in bringing marketing techniques such as sales pipelining from the commercial world into the fundraising sector, as well as introducing proven fundraising CRM techniques to the commercial world.

Mike’s own personal success has been seen in the commercial, non profit and government sectors and as CEO of DMS he is ultimately responsible for the development, support and marketing of over a dozen individual packaged products and a number of national and international customers.

DMS employs nearly twenty staff, most of whom are part of DMS' talented software development team. As well as the general day-to-day running of the business, Mike directly involves himself in areas as diverse as product design, project management, customer support processes, packaging development, sales and marketing, partnership development, intellectual property management and manufacturing.

Key areas of Mike's management strategy for DMS include a strong focus on technical innovation, business partnerships, industry research and customer support.

To contact Mike call or email:

Phone: (07) 3510 9555 (Australia)
Phone: +61 7 3510 9555 (International)
E-mail: mike@dmsw.com.au