Objective: A major Australian airport operator had recently refreshed its corporate strategy to align with its evolving operating environment. In response, its Technology team, comprising Cyber Risk, Business Technology, and Technology Enablement, sought to develop a unified, forward-focused functional strategy that clearly aligned to enterprise goals, addressed stakeholder expectations, and reflected the team’s evolving identity as thought-leaders in digital and operational enablement.

Approach: Catalyst Strategy facilitated a structured, highly collaborative strategy development process, beginning with a full-day offsite workshop that brought together the broader Technology leadership team for the first time in its new form.

Rather than prescribing the answer, we guided the team through our “strategy funnel” - a structured exploration of relevant inputs including stakeholder needs and expectations, external drivers (via PESTLE analysis), organisational strategy, current and planned initiatives, and internal capability. Using this as a foundation, we worked together to synthesise insights and co-create a clear Technology Strategy, aligning on purpose, vision, behavioural commitments (linked to organisational values), strategic objectives, and priority initiatives.

Following the workshop, Catalyst Strategy supported the development of sub-functional roadmaps, providing frameworks, feedback, and coaching to ensure consistency and alignment across the portfolio.

Positive Impact: The result was a concise, fit-for-purpose Technology Strategy, visually captured in a one-page strategic framework with clear upward alignment to the organisational strategy and downward relevance to team planning and delivery. This was supported by a more detailed presentation deck that recorded the detail of the workshop outputs and analysis.

The structured, inclusive approach brought the team together, strengthened strategic thinking capabilities, and clarified how Technology contributes to the enterprise. It also laid the foundation for stronger business partnering by aligning Technology’s efforts with the needs, language, and expectations of its stakeholders. Our client relevantly said:

“Philip’s ability to guide our team through complex discussions, bringing together diverse perspectives to form cohesive strategies, was impressive… He approached the workshop with a thorough understanding of our industry landscape, injecting valuable insights that enriched our strategic conversations.”

By combining expert strategy facilitation with a collaborative, practical approach, Catalyst Strategy helped turn the team’s deep technical knowledge into a clear, aligned, and actionable strategic plan.

If you’re looking to align your team, sharpen your strategic focus, or turn your deep expertise into clear direction, let’s explore how we can help.