Robert Matthew "Matt" Barrie is an Australian technology entrepreneur. He is the chief executive officer of Freelancer.com, a global online freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace. He is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Sydney where he teaches classes in computer and network security since 2001 and technology venture creation since 2010.
Early life
In 1997, he was accepted to Stanford University, from where he graduated in 1998 with a master's degree in electrical engineering. After graduating, he was employed as a security consultant at the information security company Securify, which was then acquired by Kroll-O'Gara. At Kroll-O'Gara, Barrie acquired the popular information security website Packetstorm from Ken Williams. Returning to Australia in 2000, he worked as a venture capitalist for the boutique firm Innovation Capital, before founding Sensory Networks, a network security company, where he was Chief Executive from 2001 to 2006. In 2013, Intel Corporation acquired Sensory Networks.
Freelancer.com
In 2009, Barrie founded Freelancer.com, an online outsourcing marketplace. In March 2015, the company claimed to have over fourteen million registered users and to have completed seven million projects. In 2011, the company reportedly turned over US$35 million and was valued by Deloitte at between US$100 to $250 million. The company has won a number of awards including two awards for employment in the 15th Annual Webby Awards and the People's Voice for Employment in the 16th Annual Webby Awards. Barrie is a frequent speaker on the topics of technology and entrepreneurship. In 2011, he was one of nineteen featured from the 600 speakers at SXSW. He has been a keynote speaker at conferences including The Next Web, Summit Series and CEBIT. In September 2013, Barrie allegedly rejected a takeover from Japan's Recruit Co. Ltd. for AU$430 million for Freelancer.com. Recruit Co declined to comment on or confirm the Freelancer.com bid. On November 2013, Barrie floated Freelancer Limited on the Australian Securities Exchange, which opened at an AU$1.1 billion market capitalisation in the third biggest opening ever on the exchange. On 19 February 2020, Freelancer Limited was trading at AU$ 0.37 with a market capitalisation of AU$ 167.52 million
Awards and recognition
In 2006, Barrie won the New South WalesPearcey Award for contribution to the IT&T industry. He is a notable alumnus of the University of Sydney, having won the Alumnus of the Year Award for the Faculty of Engineering and IT in 2010. In 2010, Barrie was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Dynamic Business magazine. In 2011, he was named the inaugural BRW Entrepreneur of the Year. In that year he also won the Technology Division for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2011, Barrie was named in the ten most influential people in Australian IT by the International Business Times. In 2012, he was named in the top 100 most influential people in Sydney by Sydney magazine, the top 100 influential engineers by Engineers Australia, and a 2012 Man of Influence by Men's Style magazine. Barrie was profiled by two-time Walkeley Award winning journalist Greg Bearup in Good Weekend. In 2012, Barrie was selected by LinkedIn as one of their "150 worldwide influencers", a selection of thought leaders whose essays are published on the social network, which included Barack Obama, Richard Branson, David Cameron and Deepak Chopra. In 2013, he was named in the top 10 Australian entrepreneurs to watch in 2013 by Smart Company, Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year by News Limited, and in the top 100 most influential engineers by Engineers Australia. He was also named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Engineers Australia Excellence Awards Sydney in 2013. In 2014, Smart Company magazine named him the most influential person in technology in Australia. He was also named in the top 100 most influential engineers by Engineers Australia.
