Simon Keen

Summary

I am an experienced technology professional who has had permanent and interim roles. I have focused my career on start-ups and SMEs, although some have grown quite large. My background is software development and architecture although these days I spend more time helping product management and engineering execute well. My career has been divided between software product engineering and field based consultancy roles which has enabled me to develop both technical and commercial skills enabling me to act as a successful communication bridge between the technology and commercial teams. I have worked in a wide range of verticals bringing together differing approaches to solve problems. As an interim I have provided services as a CTO/VP Engineering/VP Product , helping companies get ready for their next growth phase by improving their product strategy & mgmt, development teams and technical architecture. This includes establishing product mgmt, defining products, establishing agile teams, software architecture, training and recruiting the right people. I have worked in many geographies including UK, US, Sweden, Eastern Europe. I have has established subsidiaries in Europe for several US companies and have taken the lead on the internationalization of products. I believe in using the right technology for the right job. I have worked in embedded systems, network mgmt systems and various databases, including Sybase, Oracle, Postgress, MS SQL Server and several No-SQL systems. I have worked in Java, C# recently but have a long list of languages in my past. I have designed high speed distributed systems, network management systems, business systems, SaaS systems, mobile systems and others. I have volunteered as a mentor for the Brunel University MSc in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design. I have a personal interest in neuro-diversity being dyslexic, which gives me a great many capabilities that really help in the software industry. Outside of work I cycle for fun (road cycling), I love to cook and I have an interest in product design, of all kinds.