A short biography
I have been working in web design and development since 1999. After starting off working for a small local IT firm producing sites for small businesses I joined EGOManiacs (part of the now defunct Affinity Internet Holdings PLC) in 2000 during the dot-com boom as a junior web-designer. It was during this time that I developed an interest in server-side development and started learning ASP.
After leaving EGOManiacs in early 2001, I became a freelance designer and developer and went on to form an ongoing partnership with lastfield Limited that lasted over three years, running the lastfield Birmingham branch.
During those years ASP came, went and was replaced by PHP as I became more and more interested in software engineering and programming in general, particularly object-oriented programming, agile development methodologies and test-driven development. When RubyOnRails arrived, I fell in love with Ruby and quickly consigned PHP to the “languages I never want to touch again with a barge-pole” bin.
After I moved back to London in early 2006 I took the position of Senior Developer at Agile Evolved where I became more and more actively involved in the Ruby and Rails community, posting articles on my blog, attending the London Ruby Users Group and contributing to the community in the form of numerous Ruby libraries and Rails plugins.
In late 2006 I took the position of Head of Software Development for a London-based media company, where I was able to take Ruby and Rails and other open-source technologies to new heights in various large-scale, global software projects.
As of June 2007, I have been working as a software engineer for Reevoo.
I am avid darts fan and play for a local team. If you ever meet me at some kind of pub-based social-event and there is a board, feel free to extend a challenge! I am also a supporter of Arsenal football club (quiet at the back!). I’ve recently starting playing poker on a regular basis. I currently live in North London with my partner of over six years, Julie.