Russ Porteous

I started my career in the fire protection industry on January 1, 1998 and currently hold the role of Chief Executive Officer of Maintenance Essentials, an Australian fire safety maintenance company. I began my working career in 1987 with Wormald International where I completed my apprenticeship as an electrician and also studied engineering at Swinburne University.

Over the last 19 years, I have carried out a variety of roles including technical support, installation, account management, fire system design, marketing and sales.

Today I am a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an Alumni of The Executive Connection. I continue to develop my business skills, working with our team, meeting new people, attending seminars, functions and reading 1-2 business books per month.

People have told me that I am adynamic speaker and as a result I am regularly sought after to present on a range of business subjects including fire safety, sales, Internet and new business technology. I have written a number of industry white papers and am a regular contributor on fire safety to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.