I have been an engineer and leader in different capacities for most of my career. Studying industrial engineering in college helped me understand the real story behind systems thinking and production systems such as Just-in-Time, Kaizen, and Lean. In a sense, we learned such subjects the hard way from advocates of the Toyota Manufacturing System and Theory of Constraint, only to adapt them 20 years later in product design and software engineering.
Later, I pursued my post-grad in Business and IT Management. Surprisingly, as someone with a background in scientific management and Taylorism, my favourite topic was (and to this date is) Organisational Behaviour and Design. I found behavioural science and management a missing piece in building a high-performing organisation.
My higher education was concurrent with working in various tech companies. We had the advantage of living through the expansion of the Web to the general public and the advent of Web 2.0, a period when our industry was more focused on creating value than building walled gardens and proprietary technologies.
After years of working as a software engineer, I recognised that the gap in our industry lies more in team and people leadership, hence my decision to step into leadership roles. After all, I had more control over our direction as a team. Understanding tech, behavioural science, and scientific management was a holy trinity. I never let go of my technical side, staying hands-on and keeping up with new trends.
Currently, I am the Head of Architecture at Trade Me. I am leading a team of principal engineers with a primary focus on our Platform-as-Product, Team Topology, Platform Engineering, DevEx, and enhancing our engineering practices.
While technical leadership comes naturally to me, one of my key advantages is deep experience working in various business domains, including online marketplaces and classifieds, specifically in the Jobs and Property space. As an integral part of the senior leadership team, I am involved in formulating our business strategy, articulating our product vision, and executing it using our technical capabilities. Finding a way to deliver outcomes and drive impact is something I have consistently proven myself capable of in every team I have been part of.
When I’m not working, I spend time with my family in and around Auckland, New Zealand, or train for the next running race.
Disclaimer: Except usual grammar checks and word replacements, no AI/LLM is used to write this page.