At Avec, our strength comes from the expertise and passion of our people. In our new ‘Spotlight On’ series, we’re putting the focus on the leaders driving change in their fields.
This month, we sat down with one of our longest-standing leaders, Nicki Wood, Avec’s General Manager for Queensland, WA & Northern Territory.
From recruitment roots to delivery leadership
For Nicki, it’s always been about people, understanding what they need, solving problems, and getting results that matter.
With over 20 years in IT recruitment, spanning across the UK and Australia, she’s spent her career not just matching skills, but people, to opportunity, building long-term partnerships grounded in trust.
That foundation of relationship-driven delivery is exactly what she’s brought to Avec.
“In recruitment, I was always consultative — understanding the client’s challenge first, then building the right team around it. That’s what I still do today, just at a bigger scale.”
As Avec’s longest-serving General Manager, Nicki works across both public and private sectors, from local councils and state government to enterprise — helping clients solve complex delivery challenges and build high-performing teams that deliver real outcomes.
What is Nicki seeing in the market?
TodaNicki has a front-row seat to the shifts reshaping the technology landscape, and right now, three trends stand out:
- Delivery over headcount: “Clients don’t just want resources anymore, they want a true delivery partner.”
- A resource-rich market: “After years of scarcity, skilled talent is now more accessible, and that’s changing how organisations plan and scale projects.”
- Economic caution: “We’re not seeing new large programs of work kicking off. It’s not about appetite, it’s the economy, inflation, interest rates. Everyone’s feeling it.”
Despite the caution, Nicki notes there’s still strong momentum and no shortage of opportunity.
“A lot of clients are in delivery mode, trying to get projects across the line. At the same time, AI is on everyone’s radar. Interestingly, I met my first client last week who actually has an approved AI strategy. That’s rare right now.”
Navigating the AI shift
Nicki’s advice on AI is simple: start small, stay strategic, and learn from those already experimenting.
“Big organisations are still figuring out who owns AI. But smaller businesses are ahead – they’re using it to do more with less, and they’re seeing the productivity gains firsthand.”
The key isn’t rushing to adopt every shiny new tool, it’s building the right strategy, people, and guardrails to make sure AI adds real value.
So, what sets Avec apart?
After three years with Avec, Nicki doesn’t hesitate when asked what makes us different.
“It’s our people, no question. We’ve got an incredibly experienced team who bring deep knowledge to the table. That’s what clients feel when they work with us, confidence in delivery.”
Our people bring a mix of expertise, collaboration and delivery discipline that has seen Avec continue to earn trust with clients across Australia and New Zealand, helping them move from ideas to outcomes with certainty and speed.
Here at Avec, we help organisations move beyond the hype to real delivery, ensuring that strategy, people, and technology come together to create lasting impact.
Ready to lay the foundations for your organisation’s future? Get in touch with our experts today.
