Commercial Portfolio Manager. Chartered Accountant. Father of one very energetic toddler. Based in Adelaide, where the wine is excellent and the excuses for drinking it are plentiful.
David Dymock didn't choose the Dymock life — the Dymock life chose him. A Chartered Accountant who cut his teeth at global giants like PepsiCo and Schneider Electric before keeping Australia's freight trains commercially viable at Aurizon, David has spent his career proving that spreadsheets are, in fact, a love language.
Currently based in Adelaide, South Australia — a city he'll passionately defend to anyone who suggests it's "just a big country town." It has culture. It has beaches. It has an alarming number of wine regions within driving distance, which is either a perk or a liability depending on the weekend.
When not wrangling variance analyses or deciphering SAP, David can be found chasing a 2-year-old son around the house, negotiating over which episode of Bluey to watch next, and pretending he still remembers what a full night's sleep feels like.
"I'm not saying I'm the most organised person in the world, but my spreadsheets have spreadsheets. And my spreadsheets' spreadsheets have pivot tables."— David, unironically, in a stakeholder meeting
From global energy giants to snack empires to running half of Australia's freight — a career built on spreadsheets, caffeine, and the occasional pivot (table).
Landed at Schneider Electric — a company so large it manages energy for half the planet. Learned that "global corporation" means your 9am meeting is someone else's midnight. Cut my teeth on real-world commercial operations and discovered that SAP is both a software platform and a lifestyle choice.
First time I realised a spreadsheet could have feelingsMoved to PepsiCo, where the snacks were free but the cost accounting was ruthless. Honed skills in variance analysis and managerial finance across one of the world's largest FMCG operations. Turns out making Doritos profitable involves a frankly unreasonable number of spreadsheets.
Yes, I got free chips. No, it never got old.Joined One Rail Australia after Genesee & Wyoming divested its Australian rail operations into a standalone entity. Took everything I'd learned about commercial analysis and applied it to keeping thousands of tonnes of freight moving across the country. Discovered I had strong opinions about rail logistics. My family discovered they didn't want to hear them.
Made at least one train pun per meeting. Minimum.When Aurizon acquired One Rail, I came with the deal — arguably the best asset in the portfolio. Now a Commercial Portfolio Manager at Australia's largest rail freight operator, I turn complexity into clarity and coffee into commercial insights. It's the perfect intersection of everything I've built — chartered accountancy, rail, and an unhealthy love of pivot tables.
My job title finally fits on a business card. Barely.An honest assessment of my abilities, rated with radical transparency and mild self-deprecation.
Can turn a mountain of raw data into a story that makes executives nod thoughtfully. Fluent in variance analysis, cost accounting, and the dark arts of managerial finance.
Can work with literally anyone. Even Dave from accounting. Especially Dave from accounting. We've been through things, Dave and I.
Fully qualified CA. Which means I spent years studying debits, credits, and tax law so I could eventually tell people at parties that I'm "in finance." The letters after my name were hard-earned and I will use them.
Have spent more hours in SAP than some people spend awake. Can navigate its labyrinthine menus blindfolded. My relationship with SAP is best described as "complicated but committed."
VLOOKUPs, INDEX-MATCH, nested IFs, dynamic arrays, Power Query, macros — you name it, I've built it at 11pm the night before a board pack is due. My spreadsheets don't just work, they perform.
Can deliver a presentation that doesn't make people check their phones. High bar, I know. My secret? Mild panic disguised as enthusiasm.
Can negotiate with a 2-year-old over bedtime with the same rigour I bring to stakeholder management. Success rate varies. The toddler is a tougher audience than most C-suites.
100% verified, definitely not fabricated testimonials from people in my life.
"David is the only person I know who gets genuinely excited about a clean variance report. He once described a well-formatted P&L as 'beautiful.' We're concerned but impressed."
A ColleagueWho has seen the spreadsheets"Da-da. Da-da. DA-DA. DADADADADA."
The 2-Year-OldPerformance review, 3:47am"He's been telling the same three stories at barbecues for five years now. But they're good stories. Well-structured. Clear narrative arc."
A FriendWho requested anonymityEvidence that I am, in fact, a multi-dimensional human being with hobbies and everything.
Proud father of a 2-year-old son who treats every room like a demolition site and every meal like a modern art installation. Wouldn't change a thing.
Sleep is a concept, not a guaranteeLiving in Adelaide means being legally required to have opinions about Shiraz. I have fulfilled this obligation with enthusiasm.
It's called "research"Will passionately argue about things that happened on a field/court/pitch. Has yelled at a television. No regrets.
My team is always rebuildingStarts ambitious home projects on Saturday morning. Quietly Googles "how to fix [thing I just broke]" by Saturday afternoon.
Bunnings is my second homeBuys more books than he reads. Current reading list has been "in progress" since 2023. Most-read book right now is actually "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" — 47 times and counting.
I know what happens next, but he doesn'tI take photos for myself — for the joy of seeing something and wanting to remember it. No client briefs, no briefs at all really. Just moments that caught my eye.
