Who we are
Dr Mike Ryan (Director and Senior Consultant)
Dr Mike Ryan holds BE, MEngSc and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust), a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) in systems engineering, electrical and ITEE colleges, a Senior Member of IEEE (SMIEEE), a Fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (FINCOSE), a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders (FIML) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW (FRSN). Since 1981, he has held a number of positions in communications and systems engineering and in management and project management. From 1998 to 2020, he was with the University of New South Wales, at the Australian Defence Force Academy where he was most recently the Director of the Capability Systems Centre. He is currently the Director of Capability Associates Pty Ltd. His research and teaching interests are in communications and information systems, requirements engineering, systems engineering, project management, and technology management. He is the Co-Chair of the Requirements Working Group INCOSE. He is the author or co-author of thirteen books, three book chapters, and over 400 technical papers and reports.
Dr Shari Soutberg (Senior Consultant)
Dr Shari Soutberg holds a BE (Electrical), BEc, MMgtEc (Project Management), and a PhD addressing requirements development of military systems. She is a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust) and a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng). Shari has worked for over 30 years in the Department of Defence in roles ranging from engineering and project management for maritime systems through to senior policy positions in engineering, materiel acquisition and sustainment, industry, and technical and engineering workforce learning and development. She was also a member of the First Principles Review (FPR) Capability Lifecycle (CLC) reform team. From 2016 to 2020, as an Industry Fellow at the UNSW Capability Systems Centre, Shari supported Defence on a range of CLC-related topics including Project, Product, and Program Management with a particular focus on joint force integration using Mission Engineering and System of Systems (SoS) Engineering approaches.
Diana Ryan (Business Manager)
Diana Ryan is the Business Manager at Capability Associates & edVirtus Professional Education. Diana is a senior communication consultant with over forty years of experience working in the television & film industry, retail, community sector, publishing, business administration & professional education. She brings to any project strategic vision, creativity, enthusiasm, organisation, and excellent verbal and written communication skills. Diana holds a Bachelor degree (with distinction) in communication, public relations and personnel management.