Sam Randell graduates from Defence Industry Leadership Program

Shoal Group is proud to celebrate the graduation of Sam Randell, our Program Director for Decision Support Analytics, from the Defence Industry Leadership Program (DILP), delivered by the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC) in collaboration with Skills Lab. DILP is widely recognised as one of Australia’s top leadership development programs in the Defence sector.

With more than a decade at Shoal, and over two years in his current leadership role, Sam entered the program with a strong foundation of practical leadership experience. Across in-person workshops, immersive simulations, site visits and sessions with senior Defence and industry specialists, participants built on their strategic thinking and applied leadership capability. The program also fostered a deeper understanding of the Defence landscape and a long lasting, professional network that will continue to support collaboration well beyond graduation.

As part of the program, Sam and his project team completed a research project on ‘Demonstrating value on par with our AUKUS partners: Rethinking innovation for SMEs’. The report examines the urgent need to strengthen Australia’s defence innovation ecosystem through the identification of specific challenges faced by Australian SMEs. The report offers recommendations to address these challenges to unlock Australian SME driven innovation, and keep pace with AUKUS partners.

Shoal CEO, Shaun Wilson, and Head of Engineering, Matthew Wylie, attended the graduation to celebrate Sam’s achievement, along with Senior Systems Engineer, Shena Howell, winner of the 2024 DILP Achievement Award

“Leadership in Defence is shaped by people who can think critically, collaborate effectively, and work confidently in uncertainty, which is a strength we have here at Shoal” said Shaun Wilson, CEO of Shoal Group. “Sam has demonstrated these qualities throughout his ten years at Shoal, and programs like DILP build on that established capability, enhancing the impact leaders like Sam can have across Defence. We’re incredibly proud of his achievement and excited to learn from the insights and relationships he brings back into Shoal.”

Sam joins an alumnus of over 370 defence industry leaders, since the inception of the program in 2010.

About Shoal

Shoal is complex systems design company. We use Systems Engineering combined with Modelling, Simulation and Analysis to help our clients define, analyse, decide, optimise, and deliver technology-intensive projects in complex environments across Defence, Space, Transport, Energy and Infrastructure.

More: shoalgroup.com

Media Contact

Shaun Wilson
CEO and Founder, Shoal Group
+61 438 394 288
[email protected]

Adelaide, 8 December 2025