Lloyd Bunting is the founder of TechInvestment: an investor in NASDAQ, NYSE and ASX listed tech companies.
Lloyd has spent most of his working life in defence, government, technology, project management and investment.
Lloyd and his business partner Anita Eglitis are co-founders of eGrants.com: a SaaS company supporting management of Federal government grant programs (totalling almost $1 billion).
They are also investors in the Sydney Angels Sidecar Fund, an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP).
Lloyd H Bunting III was born at Yale University to which his father had returned with his ex-RAAF wife after his service with the USAAF in the Pacific War. With extensive air travel since he was 6 months old (often as an unaccompanied pre-teen "alien") it was natural that Lloyd's first job would be pilot training in the RAAF. But he enjoyed flying more than officer training, and he spent the rest of his National Service at the back of RAAF C-130 and DHC-4 aircraft as an air dispatcher and parachutist (not completely risk free). So Lloyd had flown planes in the RAAF, jumped out of planes for the Army, and been to sea in an aircraft carrier before getting started in the early days of electronic computing and information technology in Australia.
🔺 Basic Flying Training School (1BFTS) Point Cook (age 19) 1966-1967. One of 62 Winjeels (12 crashed) 🔺
My flying instructor Flt Lt Bill Clarke and Army trainee pilot 2Lt James Mayhew were killed at Port Arlington in 1968 when low flying in strong wind conditions. The starboard wing failed under an estimated 10G loading, either due to the severe turbulence from strong winds at low level or the result of a low level rolling pullup that exceeded the aircraft's structural G limits. The aircraft was 12 years old.
🔺 CDC 3200 computer operator panel (all octal-binary)
🤔 Lloyd has been in information technology since 1970 (54 years ago) - the early days of electronic computing in Australia (CDC3200: 8-bit CPU with 4-wire iron core memory array - machine, assembler (COMPASS) and compiler languages: FORTRAN and COBOL).
The CDC 3200 was used by the US government (eg IRS), defense (eg Vandenberg ICBM launch control) and universities. It was also used by Canada's Defence Research Communications Establishment, Ottawa.
At that time Lloyd was also programming IBM System/360, a (hexadecimal) commercial mainframe.
🤔 Lloyd's machine language experience was applied to the first microcomputers (Zilog Z80 in the Cromemco Z-1, Intel 8080, and Motorola 6502 in the Apple II). In addition to maths and administrative applications, Lloyd built some interactive computer games for technology demonstration purposes to RAAF and Navy officers (eg at the RAN Staff College).
🤔 As more languages became available, Lloyd was programming in BASIC and FORTRAN in Hewlett Packard and Prime minicomputers, service bureaus, NSWIT/UTS ICL 1904 mainframe to statistical and modeling products and the internet. At that time BASIC had no apparent limit on the number of dimensions in an array, which was great for his development of Mathematrix (academic use only: eg transport model optimization).
In the private sector Lloyd has worked on major high technology projects for Defence, government, aviation and the banking sector.
🤔 While in the Office of the Public Service Board, Lloyd was asked by the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (RADM Neil Ralph) to participate in a study led by an external consultant and CDRE Mal Savage with other senior naval officers, of Navy Office's capability to support the simultaneous introduction into service of new destroyers and Oberon Class submarines. DCNS' concern is relevant to the proposed acquisition of different types of submarine under the AUKUS Alliance.
🤔 Other projects conducted while in the PSB included:
🤔 While working in Defence, Lloyd developed the application of Monte Carlo simulation for risk identification, assessment and management of multiple potential critical paths in major defence acquisition project networks (with CMDR John P. Jenner [Seahawk pilot, and the Navy's first Director of Naval Integrated Logistic Systems Management] and WGCDR Terry O'Brien). Prime Computer provided their Canberra laboratory and Execucom provided their IFPS software. The MCPM demonstration project was the construction of a fleet of mine hunters.
✅ Lloyd, John and Terry presented MCPM to RADM Barrie West (Chief of Naval Materiel) and his project managers, and also to a large MTE public seminar in Sydney.
Simulation and artificial intelligence require a lot of processor power. Future analytical projects in these areas will require fast computers, one of the key drivers of Techinvestment.com's interest and investment in quantum computing (incl Amazon Braket, Google and IonQ).
✅ MCPM simulation was supported in a 1986 report: Joint Committee of Public Accounts (JCPA) Review of Defence Project Management (243) - Recommendations 15 and 16 (paragraphs 4.21-4.23). Simulation is now incorporated into some advanced project management systems. [DSTO Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory Paper, Jul 2000]
🤔 Monte Carlo simulation also has application in Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods for example evaluation of alternate theories in astrophysics, such as the nature of gravity: space-time or quantum? [UCL 4 Dec 2023], [Wiki] [Graviton]
🤔 In the Australian Federal government's Office of the Public Service Board Lloyd worked in areas of performance improvement for government departments and programs, strategy development and implementation (machinery of government), and service-wide implementation of IT strategic planning and program performance improvement.
🤔 In the Federal Department of Finance Lloyd worked on service-wide implementation of program budgeting (recommended in the 1976 Report of the Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration).
🔺 Work Study and Systems Design: Garden Island Dockyard, Sydney. The ship is HMAS Sydney (former aircraft carrier)
TechInvestment.com invests in NASDAQ, NYSE and ASX technology stocks.
Lloyd also trades in ASX stocks with his personal portfolio, generally tactical 1-7 day holdings, high volume - low differential, when the opportunity presents itself (ie buy at weekly low price, sell at weekly high price).
eGov was a consultancy and technology company that supported major government grant programs with total funding of about AUD 1 billion.
eGov's technology product, eGrants.com, increased the productivity of program staff by more than 10x, minimising program costs, shortening time from application to approval, and maximising process integrity and grantee compliance in reporting and acquittal.
Development of a business model for border management of Australia's imports. This project was completed for 30% of the budget (by leveraging Customs Service resources).
Reporting directly to the Group Chief Financial Officer/Board Secretary: Lloyd provided independent advice to the Executive Committee and Board on approval and performance of about 500 major (>$1m) capital expenditure (strategic implementation) projects in Australia and globally.
Australian Army: 1 Army Air Supply Organisation (1AASO): Air Dispatcher, 🪂 Parachutist (36 AD PL: now 176 AD PL, a sub unit of 9th Force Support Battalion).
Department of the Navy and Defence: Finance Division, Garden Island Dockyard (Sydney Harbor): 1967 - 1978.
Department of Administrative Services: May 1978 - Oct 1980: State Branch Accountant, Transport and Storage Division. I realised that my work to this point had no front-line experience in operational management. So this job filled that gap, with operational experience in "corporate" management, with secondments as manager of government passenger transport and manager of heavy transport (including dispute negotiation with unions).
Department of Defence: May 1980 - Dec 1982: Projects.
Office of the Public Service Board: Jan 1983 - Jul 1987: Service-wide, departmental, program and strategic projects and assignments. The PSB was closed around 1987. I had already gone to Finance.
Australian Parliamentary Service: Presiding Officers' Coordination and Planning Advisory Group [page 3]: Advisor to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Parliamentary Departments.
Department of Finance: Jun 1987 - Jul 1989: Principal Finance Officer.
Department of Defence: Inspector-General's Office: Projects.
I wanted to leave the public service and accepted a job with a major consultancy, but changed my mind the night I was scheduled to be welcomed into the firm: I needed a break from being an employee, so I became a project management contractor.
🔺 Radar Sensor Procurement Project management team. The model is of a PSR+SSR radar station
Civil Aviation Authority (now AirServices Australia) Cost/schedule control for radar sensor procurement project (RASPP: 26 enroute and major airport sites around Australia).
Telstra/Marconi tender for the $1 billion Jindalee Over the Horizon Radar Network project. Lloyd's contribution to the Telstra/Marconi bid was project risk management (using Lockheed Missiles and Space methodology) - earning top score in this area of the tender evaluation.
Defence Supply Systems Redevelopment [SDSS] project: Business case specialist in the prime systems integration team. Lloyd's work included building a capacity planning model to determine sizing and costs of all viable alternative network design configurations for Defence supply management and all ADF supply depots. Lloyd was ranked in the top 10 of 160 members of the project team and was offered the position of Prime Systems Integrator (head of the contract team) which he declined. Response: "there has been too much change in the management of this project team".
I decided it was time to gain experience as an executive in a major company, so I joined ANZ Bank as a Senior Manager, promoted Chief Manager, in capital expenditure. But after 5 years in the Bank I went back to project work with a major US technology company. At executive level in large companies, the environment is about politics rather than performance. I had found that long ago when I did organisational performance reviews from the Public Service Board.
The technology company I joined was EDS, and it failed during the "Dot Com" crash.
There comes a time in one's life for building a business rather than continuing employment in someone else's business. In Lloyd's case this came later in his working life.
🔺 eGrants.com design, development, maintenance and operation
🤔 In 2005 Lloyd co-founded a successful SaaS company (eGrants.com/eGov.com.au). eGrants supported programs distributing about $1 billion in funds to state and local governments and other entities, with "clean" assessments from the ANAO. At the time there were no government security standards for SaaS, so our system was certified against PCI/DSS and audited for exposures and new threats daily by Symantec. Symantec's MSSP team would daily search for weaknesses in eGrants security, and would require any weakness to be fixed within 72 hours.
✅ eGrants achieved a 99.5% user compliance rate and a 95% satisfied or very satisfied rating by users, and the grant program (our client) received a Minister's achievement award. eGrants was also used to accelerate the investment of grant funding into local government infrastructure projects at the depth of the Global Financial Crisis. Every schedule target was met: "if it's not impossible we're not being ambitious enough". This contract was a first for us (as eGov: our first $1 million contract) and the government (its first SaaS contract).
"Lloyd, you built this system - but you're now 60. What happens when you die?" This charming question was asked by a consultant while we were describing our SaaS system to the Queensland government - at their invitation. I realised I was no longer an asset to my own company, and decided to build a business that had no customers. We also declined a contract with a Victorian Government Department and shelved this very successful, innovative product.
🤔 In 2010 I founded TechInvestment.com as an investor in technology and collaborated in the foundation of Techseeder.com. TechInvestment.com is my current focus. It invests its own capital on its own behalf.
🔺 The first Defence Systems Management Course: Run by DSTO for Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel equivalent officers
The course was about development of defence strategy and capability requirements amongst other issues.
I guess I was there for Defence Force information technology strategy.
RAAF: 1 Basic Flying Training School (1BFTS): 64 Pilots Course (age 19) 1966-1967.
Australian Army: Air Dispatch, Parachute Training (DHC-4 Caribou, C-130 Hercules) 1969: Great fun, especially a mass drop, when the sky is full of parachutes - above, below, and in between.
Control Data Institute: Computer Programming Diploma 1970-1971
University of Technology Sydney (NSWIT): Bachelor of Business 1981: Economics, Accountancy, Business Law
Defence Science and Technology Organisation [DSTO/DSTG] (Residential): Defence Systems Management Course 1/82, 1-27 Aug 1982
University of Technology Sydney (NSWIT): Master of Business Administration 1984: Investment
University of New England (Residential): Company Directors Diploma 1989
Professional updates, incl:
Current Memberships
Former/Retired Memberships
Former Professional Activities: CPA Australia
