ITWire

Newly appointed SAS managing director and triathlete David Bowie has been a member of the business networking group Australian Cycling Executives for a number of years, and had planned to lead a crew of five SAS executives, clad in white, blue and orange lycra around Centennial Park from 6.30 am on Friday morning.  'We look great in lycra,' he quipped, adding his wife might not agree.

The plan was to then dismount and over breakfast explain to the 50-odd other lycra-clad execs who have registered for the ride why high performance analytics are a little like cycling.

According to Mr Bowie just talking about establishing a collection of big data, without proper analysis of the problem at hand; 'Is like buying the best bike in the world, but it's no good if you don't know how to ride it and you don't know where you're going.'

ACE was established as a cycling and business networking group in Sydney, and currently has around 500 members with 350 on the waiting list. If Friday's event is interrupted by rain it will be rescheduled a week hence.

Mr Bowie, who joined SAS in 2002 and was latterly its marketing and services director, was announced as managing director earlier this month. Asked whether it was career limiting if SAS executives declined the opportunity to join the dawn networking ride, Mr Bowie laughed and said it was only career limiting if SAS executives were better than him.