Transition Insight

Writer, Thinker and Web3 Developer (2022 – Present)

With the exception of a couple of forays back into consulting and one brief engagement with an alternative financial media firm, Real Vision, I have spent the last few years focusing on Transition Insight—a project I began in 2010 after leaving IBM in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis.

To be honest, I mostly just wanted to maximize my personal returns from integration work rather than surrendering most of it to IBM as a client delivery executive. Having tried the route to partner (a mostly administrative and bureaucratic affair), I decided to stay close to development and architecture primarily to come to terms with crypto, explore digital content, and dive into third-party attestation (such as e-signature solutions and SecureKey Concierge), as well as the Android digital wallet space. These were relevant to an abiding interest in political-economy and self-determination (in all its varieties).

With the evolution of Ethereum into a proof-of-stake protocol, I have now shifted my full focus to the risks and opportunities posed by capital and its distribution across social networks, particularly within the context of artificial intelligence and the ongoing transformation it has brought to software development. My turf is governance and how it integrates identity and domain through capital.

The remainder of this page provides an overview of my quarter century working in 'tech'.

Thomson Reuters

Senior Agile Program Manager, ONESOURCE (April 2019 – May 2022)

ONESOURCE is the primary utility used by transnational firms to manage corporate and value-added taxes to various sovereign authorities. I was responsible for marshalling governance for the growing development teams spanning the various components of the firm's primary tax offering: Datahub, Core Platform, User Admin, Calendar and API Guild.

My primary objective was to ensure an Agile delivery and governance model for our teams, dovetailing them against long-term roadmaps and managing stakeholder reporting, escalation and overall expectation-setting on delivery and execution.

Integral to the task was ensuring cohesion between our Toronto-based core development teams and adjacent partnerships in Hyderabad, Minsk and Kyiv, primarily with Tech Mahindra and EPAM.

Transition Insight Consulting Inc.

November 2010 – November 2018

• BMO Finance Technology (Feb 2017 – Nov 2018) — Audit data delivery; counterparty collateral risk reporting
• RBC Digital Payments (Jan 2015 – Jan 2017) — Scrum Master, RBC Wallet; Project Manager, SecureKey trusted-identity authentication for Canada.ca services
• TD Digital Channels (Jul 2014 – Dec 2014) — UX on TD Web Banking and broker applications
• Loblaw Loyalty (Jan 2014 – Jun 2014) — PC Plus web and mobile; programme value cited at ~$1M annually
• Toronto Pearson International Airport (Nov 2012 – Dec 2014) — torontopearson.com mobile; interactive digital mapping and signage
• RBC Retail Online Banking (Nov 2010 – Oct 2012) — ~$5M e-signature (investment contracts on tablet); ~$2.5M retail online-banking redesign to lift electronic-document enrolment and cut paper, processing and postage

IBM Canada Ltd

April 1999 – November 2010

Project Delivery Executive

• Manulife Financial (Mar 2010 – Nov 2010) — Resource delivery, Individual Life and Retirement Services
• TELUS Communications (Apr 2009 – Mar 2010) — Delivery governance of IBM services
• Air Canada (Nov 2008 – Jan 2009) — Proposal team lead: replacement of enterprise messaging and printing

Project Manager

• Rogers Digital Media (Nov 2007 – Oct 2008) — Agile “Web 2.0” redesigns (CanadianBusiness.com, Macleans.ca); ~$250k, 8+ people
• Bell Canada (Application Development, 2006–2007) — Application-services programme including OrderMax (call-centre order processing); ~$3M, 45+ people
• IBM Global Imaging and Workflow (Apr 2004 – Oct 2005) — Document-processing / Content Manager (GIW) implementations
• Scotiabank Data Centre Solutions (Jun 2003 – Apr 2004) — Data and application infrastructure upgrades

IT (Information Technology) Specialist (1999–2002)

• Ontario Government
  • Management Board Secretariat (Business Process Analyst)
  • OPGT (Project Control Officer)
• IBM Host Publisher
  • Developer (VMware/JavaScript)
• CIBC Mellon
  • Business Analyst (Business Process / Workflow Documentation)

Education

• Diploma, Applied Information Technology (Nov 1997 – Jul 1998) — ITI, Toronto. Graduate with Distinction. Team-based application design; full-stack network and application development; database engineering.
• Monbusho Graduate Research Scholar (Sep 1995 – Mar 1997) — Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. 18-month Ministry of Education scholarship; economics; intensive Japanese at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
• M.A., International Affairs (Sep 1993 – Jun 1995) — Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University. International political economy. Thesis - US Foreign Direct Investment in Japan: The Socio-Economic and Cultural Impediments, Dean’s List
• B.A. Honours, History and Political Science (Sep 1987 – May 1991) — University of Western Ontario. Political Science, Theory and Philosophy; Latin American politics; Introduction to International Affairs; Early modern European history; Canadian, American and Russian history

Certifications

• PMI PMP — Project Management Professional
• CSM — Certified Scrum Master
• PMI ACP — Agile Certified Practitioner
• Outdoor Education Certificate — Humber College
• Level III Yoga Instructor — Downward Dog, Toronto
• Certified Automotive Repair Technician
• Canadian Securities Course

Citizenship

• United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland (Birth)
• Canada (Naturalized)
• Republic of India (Eligible)