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About Us: Defence in Business

Defence in Business (DiB) is a social enterprise aimed at enabling people and organisations to leverage Defence expertise for mutual reward through tailored networking, education and career opportunities. To this extent, DiB is positioned to liaise between Defence, Business and the individual active/former serving members to enable

  • The individual to successfully transition between Defence and civilian careers
  • Businesses and organisations to network with, meet, secure and develop high quality talent
  • The ADF to keep in touch with their personnel for ongoing career opportunities


DiB Vision
Our vision is to be the leading organisation connecting business and those who have served their nation.

DiB Mission

“Our mission is to enable people and organisations

to leverage Defence expertise for mutual reward

through tailored networking, education and career opportunities.”

Why is this relevant

Servicemen and women put their lives on the line for their country and for every one of us. On deployments worldwide and under adversity, hardship and personal sacrifice, they develop distinctive attitudes and qualities which enable them to:

  • Diligently prepare and execute vital plans in complex and global environments.
  • Show focus, adaptability and initiative to ensure success during rapid change.
  • Consistently deliver top team results in mission critical situations.

Acquiring and leveraging these highly valuable qualities is beneficial for any organisation aiming to exploit competitive advantage.

It is also vital for any ex Defence member in business to be able to fully capitalise on their skills.

That’s where DiB helps - through tailored networking and professional development services.

Our Objectives

  • Provide a highly established international business network based on shared values.
  • Advocate the enormous benefits of integrating Defence experience into organisations.
  • Enable organisations to easily find, integrate and leverage people with Defence experience.
  • Facilitate transition, mentoring and professional development for people with Defence experience.
  • Promote in business the strong morals and ethics emphasised by Defence.

Our Services

DiB currently provides the following core services:

Our History

Thomas started the organisation in 2009 in Brisbane (then named Defence Officers in Business) after he arrived in Australia, just having discharged from the German Army and looking for work. While doing so, he met many ex-servicemen in business who were in senior / hiring positions and often felt an instant rapport. Thinking back to his time in Afghanistan and Kosovo, where he served with officers from up to 25 nations, he realised that the bonding that is developed (across borders) during the time in the military never really gets lost. So, he started bouncing the idea of organising an informal catch up for drinks. The group had a turn-out of 30 at the first gathering in Brisbane which demonstrated interest so they kept going.
Over time the team realised that there was a big gap in Australia to fill by connecting the business world with active, transitioning and former service members for the purpose of enabling business and other opportunities. Thomas then set up an Advisory Panel to define the scope for DiB and come up with the vision/mission.
DiB’s community has since grown to more than 2,000 following our national launch in November 2011.

Our Individual Members

First and foremost we provide a destination for our individual members to network and share experiences. What makes us unique is our

  • Shared Defence and business background.
  • Strong bonding & collegiate attitude.
  • Shared values and high ethical standards.

DiB's Unique Strategic Position

We build bridges between Defence, the ex Defence community and the business community to the benefit of our members. Unlike Ex Service Organisations (ESO) that mainly deal with health and lifestyle issues, DiB deals with business and career issues. We believe in the tremendous value ESO's provide and therefore proactively support their efforts.

Why Join

Individuals

Are you active, transitioning or ex Defence? Do you share our values and desire to “serve more” by leveraging your Defence experience in your career outside Defence? We help you:

  • Meet like-minded business people in a trusted, collegiate environment.
  • Open doors to your next client, business partner or employer.

Organisations

Do you employ ex Defence people, contract to Defence or seek team members with superior qualities? Would you like to connect with the Defence community? We help you:

  • Find people with distinctive leadership, resilience, discipline or specialised skills.
  • Offer tailored products and services to the ex Defence community.

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