Diederik joined the Titan DMS team in Australia at the end of 2023 having spent a number of years working in dealerships, with BMW and Porsche, and with the Titan DMS team in South Africa.
To find out a little more about him we asked our "Get to know..." questions and here’s what he said!
Who are you?
I'm Diederik, born and raised in Johannesburg but moved to Brisbane in December 2023. I came over with my wife, daughter (15) and son (10) and we love living here. I think it's a similar story to a lot of South Africans that emigrate, we left a country where you had to spend so much attention and energy on safety that it's wonderful to be in a country where these things are just normal. We're still missing our Sausage/Yorkie cross dog, Lily, but she'll be coming over to join us soon.
What do you do?
I’m a Service Desk Consultant. The first point of contact to help our customers get the most out of Titan. The role is partly about combining an understanding of dealership operations and how they can be supported by the DMS system and extension products, but it's also so much about building relationships and giving our users confidence that there's people in the business who can support them in their roles.
What do you love most about your profession?
I've been in the Automotive industry in either the dealership side or the software side for almost my entire career and fully understand why they say that once you join it you never leave. Automotive is just an endlessly interesting industry to be involved in, and as the software side is always developing, there's never an opportunity to get bored.
I need a challenge to keep myself interested and I get that every day being able to both support and learn, so I really enjoy my role.
What do you most like about working for Titan?
Titan is large enough to be a big company but it feels small in terms of really knowing the people and feeling like a meritocracy. The MD sits just a few desks away for example, and it's a very open feeling with access to anyone you need. I also enjoy the different backgrounds and personalities of the people I work with.
What’s the best piece of advice you have for anyone in your profession?
Perspective. Always try and see an issue from the other person's perspective. If your customer has an issue then consider their context and how it might be affecting their role - often that leads to quite small solutions having quite big impacts.
I'd also say, don't underestimate the power of longevity - you really learn over time. The more you stay in the game the more things make sense and the wider your understanding becomes. I think that really makes a difference.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
As a child I was always building rigs (pulleys, cranes, and hoists) with string and motors from remote controlled cars so I think I always wanted to be an engineer. Not sure how I then studied banking and ended up in automotive software but there you go!
What is your superpower?
I think it would be empathy. Understanding other people's perspectives and feelings. You've put me on the spot a bit there, but I think that would be about right.
What are we likely to find you doing outside work?
I love spending time with my family and with two kids there's always something going on that I can get involved with. Beyond family I really enjoy long hikes and, if I can ever find the time, I'm a keen fly fisherman.
Can you share a recent success story that really made your day?
I prefer to focus on the small wins every day - and there's lots of them if you look hard enough!
To not entirely break your format though, I did have a customer the other day who wanted to set up a rental system and we had to use part of the software developed for the Middle East that hadn't been used in Australia before. It's installed and working now so that felt like a win.
Tell us a book we should read, a film we should watch, and a podcast we should listen to.
Book: I'm half way through "To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Struggling a little to find the time (motivation?) to get it finished so maybe I should just say anything by Dean Koontz.
Film: I'm going to interpret this as "on TV" rather than just film, and recommend "Clarkson's Farm". I was a big fan of Top Gear and thought this would be a similar pattern of fun stunts and daftness, just on a farm rather than a racetrack but it's so much more than that, its a great way to understand a really significant industry and lifestyle without losing any of the enjoyment of watching his regular brand of buffoonery.
Podcast: I don't really listen to podcasts but I did have "Off Menu" recommended to me the other day which sounded good fun, so maybe I'll start there.
In three words, sum up what makes a great team.
Resilient, Adaptable, Caring
Thanks Diederik!
Published:
May 25, 2026
Updated:
May 25, 2026
