2024 Victorian Pearcey Chequered Flag for Chris Piastri, co-founder of HP Tuners

The Pearcey Foundation today announced Chris Piastri, co-founder and CTO of HP Tuners, as the recipient of the 2024 Pearcey Victorian Entrepreneur Award. The award was presented last night by Professor Ed Hovy, executive director of Melbourne Connect. The event also featured the 2024 Pearcey Oration, which was given by Dr Ian Oppermann, co-founder of ServiceGen and an industry professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Chris Piastri, his co-founder Keith Prociuk and their team are using computing technology to supercharge the driving experience for elite motorsports drivers and everyday enthusiasts. They are celebrating 20 years since the founding of the company, which is now a global industry leader in engine tuning for all sorts of vehicles on wheels, hulls and skids.

Chris Piastri and HP Tuners
Piastri graduated from the University of Melbourne, writing his thesis on long distance, optical soliton communications, before joining Siemens Telecommunications to work on broadband infrastructure, designing and implementing new network capabilities for domestic and international telcos. He developed and led the technical team for Telecom NZ that implemented the national ATM network. He was part of the team that migrated the Telstra network from legacy systems to IP and optical infrastructure.

While applying and developing his engineering and computing science skills to diverse technical challenges, Piastri was also growing a family, encouraging his four kids to follow in his footsteps and be active in sports.

"Chris grew up racing BMX bikes, playing country football and water skiing, before later going on to drag racing. Each of these endeavours embodies the spirit of taking a risk, and the way he pursued these efforts gave voice to how he would make a difference and inspire others later in life. He coached the basketball team for one of his daughters and was the mechanic for his son Oscar, who started racing go-karts when he was ten," said Jordan Green AM, Chair - Victorian Committee, Pearcey Foundation.

Piastri's father had been a professional mechanic, and Chris' interest in cars and his joy in solving technical challenges combined in a hobby project for after-market tuning of engine and transmission controllers in cars. With his hobby partner Keith Prociuk in the USA, they found that there were no commercial solutions for what they were doing. In 2003, they co-founded HP Tuners - quite appropriately, in a garage!

The company's headquarters are in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, with Chris, as CTO, leading the engineering, product development and R&D from Melbourne.

"This shift from a safe career in communications technologies for large corporates to professional consumer software and hardware as a bootstrapped entrepreneur, was a significant risk," said Green.

Early successes delivered laptop-based software suites, initially focused on GM vehicles, later including Ford and other brands. HP Tuners then moved on to dedicated, specialised hardware and software providing cutting-edge tuning and diagnostics solutions for high-performance vehicles, bridging the gap between technology and automotive expertise. Those solutions have extended to mobile phone apps, providing users with a plethora of roadside and trackside data access and analytics for real-time monitoring.

HP Tuners' product suite continues to expand, offering a wide range of digital adjustments, live logging capabilities, diagnostics, and tuning options for both casual vehicle users and dedicated race car enthusiasts.

Before Piastri established the company, software mapping and control was largely an art form. He led the industry worldwide in turning this into a science with software that actually worked. He and his company are now the world leaders. His efforts changed the face of recreational, amateur and professional motorsports the world over.

However, it's not just in the technology that Piastri has innovated. His company offers its products and services using a novel system of in-app credits. This makes the same advanced products accessible to the DIY enthusiast in a home garage, as to the professional in a race support team.

HP Tuners is a prominent sponsor of drivers and events throughout the world. Beyond his own company, Piastri supports grass roots, professional and community activities that help hundreds of thousands of people reach for their dreams. He is a willing and generous mentor, providing advice to both aspiring drivers, and to their fathers. He enjoys mentoring and training engineers in real-time software, and particularly in reverse engineering techniques.

"A classic Australian quiet achiever, Chris's journey and impact hasn't stopped, and I am confident that he will continue to inspire others in ways that make the world a better place," said Green.

As the Victorian Pearcey Award recipient, Chris Piastri will represent the state in the Pearcey National Awards to be held on 19 November 2024 in Brisbane.

For more information about previous Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award recipients, go to https://www.pearcey.org.au/awards/state/vic.

The 2024 Pearcey Oration

The 2024 Pearcey Oration was delivered by Dr Ian Oppermann. Ian is co-founder of ServiceGen, helping governments accelerate digital service delivery. He is an industry professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and member of the board for multiple deep technology start-ups.

During his Oration, Dr Oppermann explored the exciting future for Australia as we embrace the latest in digital technologies and services to improve our lives, strengthen our economy and bolster our competitive position globally.

Other State Awards

Australia Capital Territory Awards: the awards will be presented at an event in Canberra on 24 September 2024. More details to come.

NSW Awards: the awards will be presented on 6 November 2024 at an event at the ASX in Sydney. More details at https://www.pearcey.org.au/community/event-rsvp/?event_id=55. 

Queensland Awards: nominations for the QLD Awards close on Monday, 9 September 2024 and can be submitted at https://www.pearcey.org.au/awards/nominations/state-nomination-form. 

South Australian Awards: nominations can be submitted at https://www.pearcey.org.au/awards/nominations/state-nomination-form. 

Tasmanian Awards: nominations can be submitted at https://www.pearcey.org.au/awards/nominations/state-nomination-form.

Western Australian Awards: Peter van der Made, founder of BrainChip, was the recipient of the 2024 Western Australian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award was presented as part of the 33rd annual WAITTA INCITE Awards, Western Australia's longest running Tech Awards program. More details on PRWire here.

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About the Pearcey Foundation
The Pearcey Foundation Inc. is a non-profit organisation established in 1998 to raise the profile of the Australian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry and profession. It was created in the memory of one of the greatest pioneers of the Australian ICT industry, Dr Trevor Pearcey. By celebrating the heroes in our industry, past present and future, the Foundation is looking to attract and encourage young Australians into this most exciting of global high technology sectors of our nation.

Web: www.pearcey.org.au

X: @Pearcey_org #PearceyAwards

LinkedIn: Pearcey Foundation #PearceyAwards

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