On behalf of Experience Co, we’d like to extend a huge congratulations to James Woods, who will be celebrating an amazing 11 years of service with Experience Co this month.
James’ first impression of the company was being interviewed over ice-cream for a job as a casual bus driver at the Melbourne drop zone while he was backpacking through Australia. He recalls being told, “this probably won’t be anything like any job you have ever had,” and looking back, he knows this to be true!
James helped grow the Melbourne drop zone from weekend operations to opening seven days a week, cementing the location as one of Skydive Australia’s most popular. He was also involved in the rise of the Great Ocean Road drop zone, where he completed the AFF course, over 300 solo jumps, and ran several courses to build the next generation of Skydive Australia tandem instructors.
A proud moment for James during his time with Skydive Australia & EXP was contributing to the organisation of one of Australia’s biggest ever skydiving events, Sundowner, in Western Australia, as well as the Australian National Championships.
His biggest achievement over the past 11 years, however, has been the opportunity to tread a path within the company for others to follow. It was when his time as a Drop Zone Coordinator was coming to an end when he realised that seven of the managers in the business were people he’d personally brought on board and mentored into their positions.
Of this, James says, “it’s easy to overlook your sphere of influence sometimes – it may be bigger than you realise”.
Today, James is Skydive Australia’s first ever Systems Manager, a role in which he thrives due to his enjoyment of all things technical and figuring out how things work. “Mixing that drive with my knowledge of operations, I really am excited to see what solutions we can implement to allow Skydive Australia to continue pushing the industry forwards,” he says.
What is in store for the future? James says he plans to “keep waging my personal war against unnecessary mouse clicks in all of our systems!”
Thank you so much for your service, James!
