Richard Ferguson

Experience

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  Harbor Systems (formerly Interlink Harbor/New Era Systems)

  Jan 1997 - Jan 1999

  Development Manager

  Managed a team of 10 in the development and ongoing evolution of the Harbor enterprise backup & recovery system and file transfer product line. Coordinated development efforts with quality assurance, documentation and customer support. Improved the overall development process and delivery schedules by implementing basic project management and SDLC practices, including requirements definition, project planning, test and support strategies.Achievements:- Principal Architect and Development Manager of a suite of enterprise-class storage management and data communication systems that grew to $20M/year.- Enhanced the customer experience by establishing a company-wide cross-functional committee to gain insight on new release content and customer feedback. Higher customer satisfaction contributed to the Harbor product line’s revenue growth from $5M to $20M per annum and a Top 30 Innovative Companies Award.- Secured an $800,000 SR&ED tax credit (recovered a large portion of total development budget) by proving my team had advanced technology by developing a data transport infrastructure, high-speed object broker transport middleware and multi-threaded client server technology that moved data 10 times faster than competitor products.- Supported New Era’s sale to Interlink in 1997 by conducting presentations to multiple potential buyers; then worked with the founder to buy back the company in 1998 and on its subsequent sale to Beta Systems in 1999. Show less

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  Tantia Technologies (formerly Beta Systems Canada)

  Jan 1999 - Jan 2002

  Vice President of Software Development / CTO / General Manager

  Directed the Canadian subsidiary, reporting directly to the CEO and Board of Directors in Berlin. Developed the subsidiary’s strategic plan, product strategy, technology and product road maps, budgets and company policies. Provided leadership to 90+ personnel (including a remote team in Germany). Managed an $8M annual operating budget. Oversaw product management, software development, maintenance, quality assurance, documentation and customer support. Tracked industry trends and emerging technologies, set product direction and identified potential partners. Partnered with the U.S. Executive Team and Customer Advisory Board to drive technology innovation and revenue growth. Supported sales and marketing activities by travelling extensively to build relationships with clients, technology partners, technology analysts and the media. Conducted numerous presentations to all of these groups, as well as public speaking at multiple industry trade shows and conferences (audiences up to 2,000 people).Achievements:- Held progressively responsible leadership roles with the same technology development company, during a 5-year period that saw the company’s name change several times as it was sold, re-acquired, re-sold and rebranded.- Played a key role in driving the Canadian subsidiary’s revenue growth from $20M to $50M+ per annum.- Contributed to revenue growth by negotiating licensing agreements and development agreements with technology partners, including IBM, Sequent, Hitachi Data Systems and Bus-Tech.- Secured a Leader rating by technology analysts at the Gartner Group.- Worked with the CEO to set up and rebrand Beta Systems’ Canadian subsidiary to Tantia Technologies.- Coordinated with various universities to implement co-operative education and internship programs. Show less

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  Whippet Consulting

  Jan 2002 - Jan 2008

  Software Development Consultant

  Developed user interfaces, using Eclipse, NetBeans, C, C++, Java, JavaScript, HTML, AJAX and SQL.Achievements:- Created new user interfaces for IBM’s Print Manager, Benchmark’s ISPW enterprise software change management application, and Beta Systems’ Harbor file transfer applications.- Designed a change management and software release process for an online gaming company.

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  P2 Energy Solutions

  Jan 2008 - Jan 2011

  Senior Development Manager, Reserves and Wellcore

  Managed 2 software development teams (18 personnel) in developing Reserves (oil reserves management system) and Wellcore (well life cycle management system). Assisted Product Managers in setting product direction and selecting technologies. Worked closely with clients and business analysts to define new features and functionality.Achievements:- Sped up software development, improved product maintainability and freed up 40% of resources for other projects by evolving both the Reserves and Wellcore products toward more conventional C#/.Net architectures.- Streamlined release processes to achieve 60% faster completion of product pre-packaging, packaging and release.- Eliminated regressed fixes & raised customer satisfaction by creating an auditable change management system.- Provided due diligence for the acquisition of the Wellcore product line. Show less

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  Shaw Communications

  Apr 2011 - Aug 2012

  Manager, Architecture and Delivery

  Provided leadership and support for 5 project teams, 30 fulltime direct reports and 40 contractors including architects, developers, business analysts, technical leads, testers and project managers. Directed changes to source control and build systems that improved software development process ensuring SOX compliance. Partnered with Business Transformation peers to define business requirements for Product Catalog, Order Entry, Order Management and Billing systems to replace legacy applications. Successfully implemented processes critical for defining requirements, acceptance criteria and acceptance process for third party product updates resulting in improved vendor relationships, enhanced quality and overall program stability.Achievements:- Took charge shortly after a 3 week development/testing outage caused by a faulty third party update. Eliminated further outages by creating third party update acceptance criteria and an acceptance process to ensure stability.- Changed source control & build systems to improve software development process and ensure SOX compliance.- Maintained team productivity despite significant changes in organizational structure, leadership and strategy. Show less

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  SMART Technologies

  Aug 2012 - Oct 2015

  Manager, Firmware Development

  Led the Firmware Team (12-14 personnel) through dozens of product development life cycles for SMART interactive flat panel TV’s, SMART interactive projectors, SMART boards and various accessories, in collaboration with other Hardware Engineering teams. Provided product strategy, product roadmaps, resource management, risk management, project management oversight and solutions at all stages of the life cycle, and served as a primary interface to suppliers, resellers, internal customers and end users. This included driving innovation at the concept, design, prototype & pre-production stages, and managing team support of initial product roll-out, mass production and ongoing optimization to reduce costs and assembly times at partner factories in China, Korea and Mexico.Achievements:- Implemented a unit test framework to test code logic in firmware, and led the creation of specific exit criteria, checklists and tracking systems for all 6 teams in the Hardware Engineering Department. This resulted in fewer production problems and fewer quality issues, a 10-20% increase in both first pass yield & production capacity across all products, ~30% fewer customer/reseller complaints and 8-figure annual cost savings.- Led firmware process development, documentation and staff training for an ISO 9001 recertification audit, and ensured processes dovetailed with all other Hardware Engineering groups. Received an “Excellent” audit rating.- Restructured the Firmware Team into 3 product groups, with gains in productivity, technical/leadership capacity and a 15% increase in the team’s employee engagement scores due to new coaching, mentoring, leadership and cross-training opportunities. This also increased flexibility in re-assigning resources to meet project schedules.- Headed the Employee Engagement Committee, which raised employee satisfaction by 10% department-wide. Show less

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  Nureva Inc.

  Apr 2017 - now

  Director, Firmware