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When Ted Pretty took over the reigns at Hills  he set in motion a massive transformation project aimed at returning the 70-year Aussie icon to profitability and kick starting a phase of aggressive growth. One of his first actions was to halt a ERP & CRM system deployment already $18 million dollars in.

Looking to the future, he opted for the Salesforce1 Customer Platform instead. Ted tells how he picked up the phone on a Wednesday and the Salesforce implementation partner, Cloud Sherpas, was there to start the technology transformation on the following Monday. It’s a strategy that paid off, and after just six months of implementing Salesforce Hills reported a shift from a position of debt to 19 percent profitability.

At the Salesforce1 World Tour in Melbourne, where Ted was keynote guest speaker and member of an executive panel debating the current digital economy, it was clear that his kind of bold decision-making is not only his typical M.O., but also what he believes is required from any company that wants to succeed in a digital world. 

The fact is, a highly-competitive, innovate or die culture prevails today, where for the first time the customers call the shots, empowered by an ever-connected status afforded to them by the devices they carry in their hands.

Hills is claiming the driving seat in the journey to the future off the back of bold-decision making and innovation. So, when Ted envisages a future where 60 and 70 year-olds reinvent themselves, creating start-ups instead of retiring, I have no problem believing - have a look at the Hills video and see what you think.