Firestory, a leading cloud and AI bushfire intelligence platform, has appointed Rob James as Managing Director.
James, formerly Chief Digital and Information Officer at Vodafone, has been brought on board to drive the next phase of growth for the Australian software company.
Firestory was developed by Australian technology company, Kablamo, in the wake of the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires. The software platform builds on Kablamo’s experience of developing a global-award-winning AI and Machine Learning cloud platform for the Victoria Department of Environment Land Water and Planning. It has enabled Victorian fire agencies to perform advanced risk assessments and predictions for bushfire risk across the entire state, based on more than 40 years of bushfire data.
“After witnessing the devastating effects of the 2019 bushfire season, I am excited to be part of a technology company that is designing and building technology to prevent something like that from ever happening again,” said James.
Angus Dorney, Co-CEO of Kablamo, added: “Rob brings to the company a wealth of leadership and technology experience, including in aviation and communications – both of which are extremely relevant to the Firestory vision. That someone of Rob’s calibre has chosen this role is an exciting sign of the potential impact of the product and the future of the Australian Firetech industry.”