In March, Jason celebrated his 21st anniversary with the firm (though technically 2025 marks 30 years since Jason first started working here—but more on that later). We sat down with Jason to get the stories behind those numbers, from his upbringing in Bundy to the origin of his work ethic, and the experiences that brought him full circle back to the firm.
Taking it all the way back to the start, where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born and started my life in Toowoomba—my dad’s family are from that Lockyer Valley region. He grew up in Grantham on the farm. We moved to Bundaberg because of the work opportunities for Dad. He was a fitter and turner and got a job working at the cane harvesting manufacturing facility. The way he describes it, back then, you could smell the money in Bundaberg. The sugar cane industry was huge. Dad actually ended up working there for most of his life.
And what were you like as a kid?
I was pretty relaxed and chilled, I guess. Back in my earliest years, cricket was the thing that really made me tick. Every free moment I’d have, I’d have a cricket bat in-hand and be out in the backyard with my two brothers. As I got older, music started to take over. Then golf. I found that I could do fine at school without putting in too much effort. I really just wanted to be outside—playing golf, playing cricket—that was really why I got up in the morning.
As an outdoorsy and creative kid, looking back, where did your affinity for tech and problem-solving come into the picture?
It’s an interesting question. I think the creative part of me is where my interest in problem-solving and technology came from. I’ve always had an interest in technology because it’s an enabler for creativity. It’s one thing to understand the technology and use it to transform data, but taking that data and telling a story with it requires the creative side of your brain. And that’s one of the most rewarding parts of what I do now.
Taking it back to your Dad—you mentioned that he dedicated himself to the one company for the better part of a lifetime. What were some of the lessons and learnings he passed down to you?
From a very early age, Dad taught all of us boys that we need to be out there and be capable on our own. We were all very aware that the secret to getting anywhere in life is putting in the hard yakka. As soon as we hit the age where we could get a job, we were pushed out the door to get one.
And what was that first job?
It was with Coles. First, as a “checkout chap” and later, in the apparel department. Dad’s discipline, combined with the fact that I really wanted to earn money to buy my first car, meant that I was always putting my hand up to do overtime work for the produce department too. For me, this usually looked like stripping down the fresh produce cases—packing up all the produce and taking it to the cold room, cleaning down all the rotten stuff that had fallen behind the stands, and then the following day taking everything out and setting it back up again before the store opened for trading.
And how did you get started at Ulton?
I started in 1995 as a Junior Accountant at Hancock, Sawyer & Partners. Back then, clients would bring in their chequebooks and my job was to code them before passing them to the IT department. IT processed everything and provided a report, which we'd use to prepare financial statements. I was in that role for three years.
Around the mid-90s, we began preparing for the introduction of GST in 2000. I had always been interested in technology—my minor at uni was in end-user computing—so my role shifted towards helping our clients digitise their systems. Without digitisation, our clients wouldn’t have been able to manage GST effectively. At this point, I built a small team of two people to assist me and was moved into a bit of a manager position.
Bundaberg is a small town. We must ask, have you met staff here who you knew in a past life?
Well, it’s interesting. I actually went to school with Kylie—she was the year ahead of me. We both went to Kepnock High School and met through the concert band. She played the baritone sax and I played the alto sax. We actually had a really good concert band back in those days. We even won Yamaha, which is one of the biggest school competitions. I’m sure there’s photographic evidence somewhere, but I don’t happen to hold any.
For those that don’t know, you’re a part of Ulton’s ‘Boomerang Gang’—staff who worked at the firm for a period, left, and later returned. What was the story there?
Well, I’d been with the firm for five years when I decided it was time to stretch my wings and try something new. I headed off to London where I ended up living and working for close to three years.
Do you think your experience abroad has influenced the path you’ve taken in life, or the person you are today?
I think finding the courage to go overseas without any fixed plan was a really groundbreaking moment for me. I’d never worked in a capital city and I had become very comfortable in a regional environment, so choosing to go and do something completely different was a real milestone.
From a personal growth perspective, seeing the world through a different lens was huge for me. It makes you realise just how privileged we are and really makes you take a step back and understand what’s important in life. When you’re young, you might think it’s having the fastest car or the biggest house that matters, but take a step back and see the world from the different perspective that comes from travelling, you see that it’s really nothing to do with that. It’s about connections. It’s about people. It’s about family. Those are the things that really matter.
Having been with the firm since the 90s, what makes you feel proud about our journey so far?
If I take a step back and think about where we started to where we are now, I feel very proud about the fact that we’ve moved into a space where we have great people working in specialised and technical areas, but we still haven’t lost that personal connection with our clients—the country feel. And that comes back to the fact that everyone here shares and believes in our values.
I’m also really proud of the fact that, as a firm—and Mark and the partner group have played a big role in supporting this—we have been courageous in the face of change. We have evolved with the industry, been brave enough to embrace new directions, and empowered our people to do the same.
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