Purpose
The Executive Steering Committee (ESC) is DMGE's strategic governance body, responsible for overseeing and aligning the organisation's portfolio of products and initiatives with its strategic objectives. The ESC ensures that all products and initiatives contribute effectively to the organisation's goals, deliver maximum value, and utilise resources efficiently. Members of the Executive Steering Committee play a critical role in strategic decision-making, prioritisation, and resource allocation, ensuring that the organisation remains agile and responsive to changing market conditions and internal priorities.
Responsibilities
- Make informed decisions on product initiation, continuation, or termination based on strategic priorities and performance metrics.
- Approve and prioritise new products and initiatives submitted for inclusion in the strategic roadmap.
- Review output from Product Discovery and Business Model Canvas submissions (minimum: cost and ROI) before approving initiatives.
- Provide prioritisation guidance where there are conflicting delivery priorities across platforms.
- Conduct regular portfolio reviews to assess product alignment, performance, and resource utilisation across all platforms.
- Adjust the portfolio as needed to respond to changes in strategy, market conditions, or organisational priorities.
- Review the Strategic Roadmap monthly to ensure it remains aligned with business direction and reflects approved initiatives.
- Ensure the portfolio balances short-term delivery commitments with long-term strategic investment.
- Engage with key stakeholders, including senior leadership, Product Owners, and Technology Directors, to ensure strategic alignment and buy-in.
- Communicate portfolio decisions, status updates, and performance metrics effectively to the wider organisation.
- Act as a visible champion for approved strategic initiatives, ensuring organisational alignment and commitment.
- Provide guidance to the Technology and Product functions on strategic priorities and direction.
- Review and address resource constraints within teams that impact delivery of strategic initiatives.
- Resolve conflicts over resource allocation across platforms or initiatives to ensure optimal utilisation.
- Approve significant investment decisions or resource commitments required for strategic programme delivery.
- Establish and enforce governance frameworks, policies, and procedures for portfolio management.
- Ensure compliance with organisational standards, regulations, and best practices across the portfolio.
- Maintain oversight of risk management across the strategic portfolio, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated.
- Ensure continuous improvement practices are embedded in portfolio management, incorporating feedback and lessons learned.
Decisions
In this role I take decisions on:
- Approval and prioritisation of new products, features, and strategic initiatives
- Continuation or termination of in-flight products and programmes
- Resource allocation and resolution of cross-platform conflicts
- Portfolio-level risk appetite and governance standards
- CTO — on technology strategy, delivery capacity, and architectural direction
- CFO — on financial investment, cost management, and ROI expectations
- Presidents — on business strategy, market priorities, and stakeholder expectations
- Product Directors and Owners — on portfolio content, readiness, and delivery commitments
Recurring tasks
In this role I take care of:
- Monthly Executive Steering Committee meeting attendance and participation
- Review of Product Discovery submissions and Business Model Canvas proposals ahead of each meeting
- Strategic Roadmap review and sign-off
- Portfolio performance monitoring and delivery progress review
- Escalation resolution for cross-platform resource conflicts or priority disputes
Key Relationships
- CTO (strategic partner and technology lead)
- CFO (financial governance and investment approval)
- Presidents Energy / MEAA (business strategy and market direction)
- Product Directors (portfolio management and initiative readiness)
- Director of Delivery (delivery governance and programme progress)
- Technology Leadership Team (execution and delivery)
- DMGT Board (reporting and governance upwards)
- Major clients and partners (where strategic initiatives have external impact)
Meeting inputs & outputs
- Output from the Product Discovery process (white papers, discovery outcomes)
- Business Model Canvas (minimum: cost, ROI) for any new initiative seeking approval
- Delivery progress updates on previously approved initiatives
- Escalated prioritisation conflicts or resource constraints requiring executive resolution
- Approval or rejection of new products and features
- Prioritisation decisions where delivery priorities conflict
- New projects or features added to the Strategic Roadmap
- Delivery progress acknowledgement and direction on ongoing initiatives
Approach to decision-making
My approach to decision-making is centred on strategic alignment, value maximisation and organisational risk management. When reviewing new initiative proposals, I evaluate them against strategic objectives, financial viability, and delivery capacity before approving.
For prioritisation conflicts, I make decisions that protect the highest-value strategic outcomes whilst being transparent about the trade-offs involved. I expect clear, evidence-based submissions (cost, ROI, risk) before approving significant investment.
When engaging with the Technology and Product functions, I provide clear strategic direction and hold the organisation accountable to agreed commitments, whilst remaining responsive to evidence-based requests to adjust course.