At The Missing Link, our people are the driving force behind our success. We take great pride in their knowledge and expertise, which enable our clients to achieve remarkable IT transformations. But they’re so much more than their job titles! In this series, we take the time to explore the unique, quirky, and amazing aspects of their lives that truly define who they are.
Jeremy Keast has been at The Missing Link since 2020, working as a Sales Executive on our security team. He's fascinated by gaming and various apps, but also passionate about standup comedy, basketball, and playing guitar. So, let’s take 5 minutes to get to know Jeremy better.
Tell us about yourself, Jeremy. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Bowral, but only because my parents drove 13 hours to get there from our home in Goodooga. I lived in many country towns and broke my first window in Orange playing with my friend Matthew. Then we lived in Koorawatha and Cooma before I went to boarding school in South-West Sydney. My Mum and Dad were teachers and liked traveling – we weren't on the run from the law or anything!
Wow, so you’ve lived in quite a few places! What were your interests as a kid?
Soccer, GI Joes, Transformers, cricket, and computer games (Skate or Die, and then Prince of Persia on the PC in the 80s were delicious). I was also a massive fan of putting sticks in rivers and racing them down Cooma Creek, doing jumps on my bike, and climbing up the water tank near my house, though that's probably not entirely legal. I fell in love with basketball around year 7, and it's been my greatest passion ever since.
That sounds like a fun childhood! What was your dream job while growing up?
I wanted to be a lawyer, but purely for the chance to say, "Objection your honour". When I did work experience in a lawyer’s office, I found it much more boring than expected. (No offense to our in-house General Counsel!)
That must have been a bit of a letdown! What was your first paid job?
Direct marketing (door-to-door sales). I went through the interview process and only realised after a day of observing that I'd become what I disliked.
Quite the learning curve! How has your career progressed since then?
I have told a lot of jokes and MC'd a lot of comedy and trivia gigs, washed a lot of dishes, cleaned a lot of ashtrays, poured a lot of beers, dug a lot of holes, and put up a lot of fences, made a lot of phone calls... Then I met a bloke at a party who offered me a job in Cyber Security. I started as a sales guy, then became Regional Manager, and National General Manager of Sales. Now I’m looking to grow The Missing Link in Qld.
Impressive journey! Any big personal or work achievements?
I was U18 Defensive Player of the Year on my Campbelltown Ghosts basketball team in 1995, despite coming off the bench. I loved that recognition because defense is about effort; it's not pretty, it's often not noticed, but it's super important. I have 2 amazing kids, which seems like a good personal achievement. Performing standup in front of a few hundred people at various times is always a buzz and makes you feel pretty good about things.
That's certainly something to be proud of! What led you to join The Missing Link?
I had finished up at a previous job and was going through an odd time in my personal life. Keen to find something new, I spoke with Aaron Bailey, our CISO, whom I'd met a few years earlier. He mentioned that he would see if there was a role for me. I guess I convinced my now-manager, Zo, to take a chance on me and Qld, and here we are.
And what is your role at The Missing Link? What do you love most about it?
Security Sales Executive. I love the fact that I'm responsible for my success. External factors can make small differences, and there are curveballs, but if I do the work and follow the process, I'll be successful over time. While there are people I can't do my job without, I'm ultimately responsible. I guess it's kind of why I liked being a goalkeeper in soccer.
As a Security Sales Executive who values personal responsibility and success, do you have any professional inspirations or role models? And where do you see yourself professionally in a few years?
Heaps of comedians: Bill Burr, Mark Normand, Jeselnik, Tony Hinchcliffe. In sports, a lot of basketball players. Also, plenty of people I work with, alongside, or under at The Missing Link. Generally, people who take accountability for their actions and have a high level of self-awareness, whether they're ‘successful’ or not. I try to focus on people who I admire as opposed to things they've achieved. Not sure if that was an answer... As for the future, I'd like to be responsible for a team in Qld, while maintaining my NSW passport.
Are you into tech gadgets and games? If so, what’s your favorite gadget?
Yeah maybe, but I’m more into gaming than digging into the creative side of things or real tech gadgets like hacking tools. I don't have a drone either, which I think means I'm not that into tech. My favorite gadget would be either my PS5, one of my many guitars, or one of my many fidget toys.
With your interest in games, which apps do you use the most and why? Do you keep up with the latest tech trends?
My Crypto app to see if I've become a bazillionaire by some weird roll of the dice. The NBA app to watch NBA matches anywhere, anytime. Spotify and Chat GPT to help me get some ideas for chord progressions when I'm making songs (among other things). Ultimate Guitar to learn other people's songs. My Fitness Pal to track when I'm eating too much chocolate and drinking too much beer. Strava so people can tell me how good I am when I ride around the block. As for tech trends, kind of, but not religiously at all. I have smart people around who keep me updated with most things.
If money wasn’t an issue, describe your dream day.
Wake up to review how the Golden State Warriors are doing today, since I'm the majority owner. Then probably get a helicopter to go and have a quick ski, play a little bit of pickup basketball, and then get home to sit courtside at the NBA finals (I'm assuming the team is good again in this scenario) to watch the team bring home the trophy while I drink a heavy, delicious stout or IPA boilermaker.
That dream day sounds like a lot of fun! What can you generally be found doing on weekends?
Watching kids play soccer. My kids, not some random kids. Maybe going for a bike ride, a stroll on the beach, shooting hoops, or shooting baddies on the PS5.
When you’re not busy, what hobbies or passions do you enjoy in your free time?
Standup comedy, which is something I'm getting back into after a long hiatus. Making people laugh is something I'm generally good at and love doing. If I can make someone laugh, then for just that instant in time, they're not thinking about anything else except that they're enjoying themselves, and that's pretty cool.
Since you're getting back into standup comedy and love making people laugh, do you have any fun or interesting stories from your passions?
There are so many train crash stories from standup comedy that are hilarious, embarrassing, and teaching moments. I have also gigged with a few big names. A huge number of amazing jams with friends playing guitars and drums until all hours of the morning.
And lastly, after all the comedy stories, jams with friends, and gigs with big names, what’s the best thing about living in your city?
If the day is challenging, I can escape to a relatively quiet beach within about 5 minutes and swim on my lunch break to reset – that's a pretty awesome outcome.
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