TESS Search Partners was engaged by Silentium Defence to lead the executive search for a Chief Financial Officer, a critical appointment for a business entering a significant new phase of growth.
Silentium Defence is an Adelaide-based Australian technology company at the forefront of passive radar and sensing innovation, delivering sovereign defence capability across air, land, sea, and space domains. With expanding operations into the United States and allied global markets, the business required a CFO capable of operating well beyond a traditional finance remit.
The role demanded an executive with the financial leadership, commercial acumen, and governance maturity to support a scaling, defence-aligned technology business. Critically, the CFO would carry responsibility not only for financial strategy, planning, and compliance, but also for the People and Culture function, ICT strategy, and digital transformation, a genuinely broad executive mandate requiring both technical depth and cross-functional leadership capability.
The search required identifying a candidate with demonstrated experience in defence or government contracting environments, the ability to work closely with the Board and CEO on long-term strategic direction, and the leadership presence to build and guide high-performing teams across multiple disciplines.
Following a targeted search process, Sam MacMillan was successfully appointed into the role, bringing the financial leadership capability, commercial acumen, and cross-functional experience that Silentium Defence required at this stage of its growth.
Sam reflected on the experience:
“The process remained professional throughout but was far more relaxed and casual than standard recruitment processes. Donna knows what she is looking for and knows when she finds it, meaning there aren’t hours of endless, time-filling questions. To the point, recommendation to the business or not.”
This assignment reflected the broader challenge of sourcing senior financial executives with genuine defence and government contracting experience a relatively tight talent pool in Australia, particularly for candidates who combine strategic financial leadership with the cross-functional scope this role required. A targeted, discreet search approach was essential to reaching the right individuals.
