Media kit

Short bio (~50 words)

Brenton Johnson is the founder and Managing Director of Uptake Digital, a Melbourne managed IT provider for not-for-profit and professional services organisations. A three-time AISA CyberCon speaker and member of the GTIA Executive Council, ANZ, he speaks on AI, cybersecurity, culture and leadership, and is known for making complexity sound simple.

Medium bio (~120 words)

Brenton Johnson is an Australian technology entrepreneur and the founder and Managing Director of Uptake Digital, a Melbourne managed service provider (MSP) - the outsourced IT department for organisations that don't run their own. He started out building websites for regional Victorian businesses, went full time on Uptake Digital in Bendigo in 2013 and backed the cloud early, completing more than 50 Microsoft 365 migrations before Microsoft's Cloud Solution Provider program existed and joining its first intake. Today Uptake Digital serves not-for-profit and professional services organisations, with a culture profiled nationally for blending golden age hip-hop and country values. Brenton has spoken at AISA CyberCon in 2019, 2023 and 2026, sits on the GTIA Executive Council, ANZ, and mentors entrepreneurs in their first five years of business.

Long bio (~280 words)

Brenton Johnson is the founder and Managing Director of Uptake Digital, a Melbourne managed service provider (MSP) that acts as the outsourced IT department for not-for-profit and professional services organisations.

Born in Ballarat and raised in regional Victoria, Brenton started his career building websites for country businesses. He kept hearing the same complaint - the website was fine, but the IT behind it was broken - so in 2013 he went full time on Uptake Digital in Bendigo and backed the cloud before the market did. The business completed more than 50 Microsoft 365 migrations before Microsoft's Cloud Solution Provider program existed, earning a place in its first intake.

Under his leadership, Uptake Digital grew into a mature, fiercely selective MSP providing managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud and technology strategy. Its culture, a blend of golden age hip-hop authenticity and country values, was profiled by Moxie Insights and reflects Brenton's operating philosophy: if you get culture right, everything else becomes easier.

Brenton speaks on AI, cybersecurity, culture and leadership. He has presented at the AISA Australian Cyber Conference in 2019, 2023 and 2026, most recently to a sold-out room, joined the ARN EDGE 2026 panel on the IT skills gap and co-hosted the Need to Know podcast. He is a Moxie Top Mind and a member of the GTIA Executive Council, ANZ, and is seeking additional board positions.

A community man since becoming his district's youngest Rotarian at 21, he served as Vice Chair and then President of Bendigo's Synergize Hub, mentored small businesses through government digital programs and still coaches entrepreneurs through their first five years in business. He lives in Melbourne, but insists you can't take Bendigo out of the boy.