Rizal Farok

Digital Advisor

Riz is meticulous, highly organised and systematic in his approach to work, where his experience as a Platoon Sargent in the Singapore Armed Forces has shaped him into someone who leads by example, values order and ensures his team is well taken care off.

Graduating in 2003 from Curtin University of Technology with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Riz worked as a programmer for three years. However, in this role, his talent for visual design was untapped; but soon took on a job as a front-end creative at Platform Interactive. It is here where he learned to incorporate his programming skills with his design background – producing impressive results for clients.

In 2012, Riz co-founded Sidra Blue with his business partner Amel Holic, and took on clients who needed custom integrations with their websites and systems. They rebranded to BlueSky Digital Labs in 2018, where focus was pivoted to building custom software and delivering digital solutions to clients in various industries.

With Riz’s leadership in cultivating a strong team culture, BlueSky grew from a team of 14 to 40 developers and designers in a span of 3 years – culminating with BlueSky winning a judges’ nominated award for the Business Person of the Year category at the 29th Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards in 2022.

After an asset sale and parting ways in 2024, Riz has been lending his skills and expertise to various Perth based companies like Dezign Digital and Nexion Group. He has also stepped up his volunteering activities, which includes mentoring at hackathon events organised by the WA Data Science and Innovation Hub (WADSIH), putting in time with the Australian Computing Society (ACS) as an Industry Mentor, and joined the Engineers Australia Diversity and Inclusion committee – advising on Neurodiverse inclusion in WA.

With over 20 years of experience crafting custom digital solutions for Perth companies and organisations, Riz joins Ability Heroes in an advisory role, leading the digital efforts of the organisation.