Problem-solving, people powers tech leader

28 February 2024
Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann stands smiling on a stage.
ATech founder and CQU alumnus Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann

By Mary Bolling

Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann took an unusual pathway to become a rare woman in tech - then as a business leader, put people before profits in her multi-million dollar cloud hosting company.

Now CQUniversity is recognising the determined innovator with its annual Alumni Awards, naming her 2024 Alumnus of the Year for Industry Excellence.  

Ms Peterschlingmann moved from her hometown of Cairns to Rockhampton at 18, to follow her passion for computers.

“I didn’t have a grade 10 or 12 certificate, so it was quite a challenge to get into uni in the first place, but I was lucky that CQU had a great advocate for women in tech, Judith Wooller,” she explained.

“She believed in my potential when all of the traditional pathways were closed to me, and I am so grateful to her for that. 

“She stood up to fight for what she believed in for the good of other women and the economy at large, at a time when advocacy for women in STEM was not the norm.”

Through the Women in Science and Technology pathway, Ms Peterschlingmann thrived in CQU’s Bachelor of Information Technology, and started her company ATech just two years after graduating in 2005.  

“That training and knowledge that I got at CQUniversity was really quite a few steps ahead of industry, so I really learned to rely on my own skills,” she said.

“When I started (my business), I didn’t think I was going to make a multi-million dollar cloud hosting company, I was just solving problems for people and doing what I loved!”

Now based in Brisbane, building ATech allowed Ms Peterschlingmann to design work demands around life outside work. 

“I had a lot of challenges I was managing, young children and one of my kids is neurodiverse.. so I needed flexibility, and of course I also gave that to people who worked for me,” she explained.

“People thought I was crazy - ten years ago, people didn’t work remotely, and at the time it felt like I was doing things in an unusual way.

“But it felt right to me – we really should be fitting jobs around people.” 

She says the shift to remote working opportunities is also a boon for people in regional areas. 

“We can skill up people in a lot of roles, to work remotely – for example, having grown up in Cairns, it’s risky when an economy is dominated by tourism, but there’s zero reason why tech professionals and knowledge workers couldn’t be a big part of that economy,” she said.

“Similarly with entrepreneurs, so many of my customers I’ve never met face to face, so many of my employees I’ve never met face to face – the world is different and it’s exciting for people who want to live and work in our regions.” 

Last year, Ms Peterschlingmann co-authored a best seller on wholehearted leadership, and she’s been recognised across many entrepreneur and business awards. 

ATech clients have included Virgin Australia, Seqwater, the South Australian Government, Airservices Australia and Brisbane City Council, and more than 600 local and international customers.

In 2022 she was a joint recipient of the prestigious 2022 Queensland Pearcey ICT Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 

The Alumni Award recognises Ms Peterschlingmann for significant contributions to technology services, through initiative and innovation; and for leadership in providing mentoring and support to others in the industry.

Learn more about CQUniversity's 2024 Alumni Award recipients here