Dr. Tom Gao is a senior digital and technology leader known for delivering practical, high impact transformation across complex organisations. As Chief Technology and Digital Services Officer at the City of Sydney, he leads enterprise platforms, cyber security, digital services, infrastructure, and innovation. In 2025, Tom was ranked among the Top 10 CIOs in Australia and recognised nationally as CIO of the Year by IDG, as well as CIO of Local Government of the Year. He is respected for his strong engineering foundations, business acumen, and relentless focus on measurable outcomes for organisations and communities.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Tom shared insights into his journey in technology, sparked by early exposure to programming and a scholarship at 16. He also shared his personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Tom. What sparked your interest in technology, and how did you get started at 16 with the Unisys Sydney University scholarship?
My interest in technology started early and it was never abstract. Growing up as the child of immigrant parents, resources were limited. My father worked five jobs a week to support our family, yet he made a deliberate decision to invest what little spare money he had into my education. Instead of gadgets, he hired a computer tutor.
In primary school, I was introduced to programming through languages like Turbo Basic and Turbo Pascal. Writing code taught me that technology was not magic, it was something you could understand, shape, and use to solve problems. That sense of agency stayed with me.
Like many teenagers, I also spent plenty of time gaming, but I was always more curious about how things worked under the hood. That combination of disciplined early exposure and genuine curiosity ultimately led me to pursue opportunities like the Unisys Sydney University scholarship at 16, which became the formal starting point of my career in technology.
What do you love the most about your current role?
What I enjoy most about my current role is the constant challenge of solving complex problems, whether they sit in technology, people, or organisational design. No two days are the same, and the problems that matter most are rarely purely technical.
A core part of my role is ensuring the organisation remains resilient and dependable from a technology perspective, while at the same time using digital capability to help business areas improve the services they deliver to the community. That balance between stability and progress is where I do my best work. When technology quietly enables better outcomes for citizens, staff, and the city as a whole, that is what I find most rewarding.
How do you see digital transformation evolving in the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, I expect digital transformation to mature and become far more pragmatic. There is currently an overwhelming amount of hype around AI, and while it has real potential, it is not a substitute for getting the basics right.
Sustainable transformation will continue to centre on people and processes. The organisations that succeed will be those that focus on digitising and redesigning core processes to remove friction, improve efficiency, and deliver better outcomes. Technology should simplify work, not add complexity.
Much of the most important effort will remain largely invisible. Investment in data quality, enterprise platforms, system integration, and a continually strengthening cyber security posture will be critical. These foundations determine whether advanced capabilities, including AI, can be deployed safely, responsibly, and at scale. Without them, digital transformation risks becoming little more than experimentation rather than lasting change.
What’s the biggest opportunity for tech leaders to drive business value today?
The biggest opportunity for technology leaders today is to genuinely bridge the gap between technology and business value. Too often, technology leadership is still framed around delivery rather than outcomes, and that limits impact.
What is missing across much of the industry is deep business and financial acumen. Without a clear understanding of commercial drivers, risk, and return on investment, it becomes easy to chase trends rather than results. The current hype cycle around AI is a good example. In many cases, investment is being made without a credible business case or a clear path to measurable value, yet spending continues to accelerate.
Tech leaders who can translate technology capability into tangible business outcomes, who can challenge weak investment logic, and who are comfortable holding the line on ROI, will be the ones who truly drive value over the next decade.
Can you share a book or resource that inspires you and why?
I began my career at 18 as a commercial Perl developer, and one idea from that community has stayed with me ever since. Larry Wall, the creator of Perl, popularised the principle TIMTOWTDI, which stands for There Is More Than One Way To Do It.
While it originated in a programming context, I have found it to be a powerful mindset well beyond code. It reinforces the importance of open thinking, curiosity, and avoiding rigid solutions to complex problems. In leadership, technology, and organisational change, there is rarely a single correct path. What matters is choosing the approach that best fits the context, constraints, and desired outcomes.
That principle has shaped how I lead teams, evaluate solutions, and approach transformation. It encourages healthy debate, respects diverse perspectives, and keeps the focus on outcomes rather than dogma.
How do you mentor and develop future tech leaders?
My view is that the strongest technology leaders are those who have done the hard work early in their careers. Leaders who have been engineers understand the reality of building products, the trade offs, and the inevitable constraints that exist between ambition and delivery. Those experiences, combined with real business and financial acumen, create judgment, and judgment is what leadership ultimately comes down to.
A significant part of a senior tech leader’s role is capital allocation and prioritisation. Without a deep understanding of opportunity, risk, and execution reality, it is very difficult to make good decisions consistently.
When I mentor future leaders, I focus less on giving answers and more on building thinking capability. I use real problems, explore possible solutions together, and challenge them to articulate trade offs, risks, and consequences. The goal is to help them develop independent judgment, because that is what separates good technologists from great leaders.
What’s the most important skill for a young professional to develop in tech?
Resilience is the most important skill a young professional can develop in technology. Everyone works similar hours. What separates people over time is the effort they put in beyond what is expected and the consistency of that effort.
Earlier in my life, I competed in bodybuilding, and that experience reinforced a simple truth. There is no substitute for effort. Progress comes from showing up repeatedly, doing the hard work, and staying disciplined when results are not immediate.
The same principle applies in technology and leadership. Careers are shaped less by what people say and more by what they do. It is the challenges you take on, the setbacks you work through, and the problems you are willing to own that ultimately set you apart.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
Outside of work, my world largely revolves around my two young boys, Harrison aged four and Oscar aged seven. They have an incredible ability to test your patience and completely reset your priorities in the same breath. They are the love my life yet exhausting and humbling.
My wife and I also make a conscious effort to stay active. Like many parents, time has become the scarcest resource, so our gym sessions have migrated from a commercial gym to our garage, which we have converted into a home gym. It is not glamorous, but it is consistent, and consistency matters.
That balance between family, health, and work is something I value deeply. It keeps me grounded and reminds me that performance, whether at home or at work, is built on discipline, routine, and showing up even when it is inconvenient.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
My biggest goal is to continue creating meaningful value through the work I do. That means taking on new and increasingly complex challenges, solving problems that matter, and building environments where talented people can do their best work.
Over the next five years, I see myself leading at a broader scale, working with exceptional teams to tackle complex organisational and societal challenges, and continuing to push for practical, outcome driven use of technology. Just as importantly, I want to enjoy the journey. Doing meaningful work with smart, curious people, and having fun along the way, is what sustains long term impact.
What’s your advice for someone looking to transition into a leadership role in tech?
My advice is simple. Stop talking and start doing. Leadership in technology is not about selling ideas or sounding impressive, it is about taking responsibility and delivering outcomes.
There are plenty of people who can talk convincingly about technology, but far fewer who are willing to step into difficult problems and see them through. Over time, that difference becomes obvious. When nothing changes, credibility erodes. When results show up, people notice.
For anyone looking to move into a leadership role, focus on what genuinely matters to the organisation. Work hard, prioritise the right problems, and be deliberate about where you invest capability and capacity. Consistent execution, aligned to organisational goals, is what ultimately earns trust and creates leadership opportunities.