Farid Essack

Farid Essack Email and Phone Number

Technology Program Manager @ Crossbolt
Farid Essack's Location
Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia, Australia
Farid Essack's Contact Details

Farid Essack work email

Farid Essack personal email

n/a
About Farid Essack

I am a project management professional (PMP) with extensive experience in the delivery of technology solutions across a broad industry spectrum. I’ve spent over twenty years running complex initiatives with stints in Japan, India and many years in the US (Philadelphia, LA, Atlanta, Chicago) and Southern Africa. I have significant exposure to both agile and waterfall implementation methodologies with particular expertise in technology-driven corporate transformations and complex digital product development programs. These programs have ranged from smaller strategic interventions to multi-year initiatives with budgets up to $100 million USD and dedicated team sizes over a 100 people. Domain exposure includes solutions in mining, automotive manufacturing, FMCG, food and beverage, and system migration transitions. The last few years have seen me running digital product development in the health-and-wellness area, driving behavioral change through an incentivized health eco-system. This resulted in interactions with large insurers as well as global rewards and technology partners. Leveraging my skills as a public speaker and a trained crisis counselor (Lifeline) has allowed me sell concepts and to manage relationships with client and project team resources. It has also equipped me to support my teams through the mental health challenges often arising from pressured delivery. In addition to my consulting work, I am an entrepreneur having owned several businesses and taken products to market. This included being a founder of a specialist project management company in South Africa that remains in operation servicing blue chip corporations. There are rumors regarding a darker musical alter-ego that surfaces occasionally. I try my best to service the community as an active crew member of Marine Rescue Brisbane.Skills- Systems and technology Project Management Professional (PMP)- Agile coaching on large corporate programs- Professional Scrum Master (personally with Ken Schwaber in the US)- Qualified trauma counsellor (LifeLine)- Taking technology products to global markets

Farid Essack's Current Company Details
Crossbolt

Crossbolt

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Technology Program Manager
Website:
crossbolt.com
Employees:
2
Farid Essack Work Experience Details
  • Crossbolt
    Founder
    Crossbolt Oct 2001 - Present
    Founder of Crossbolt, a project management company that specializes in running high risk IT initiatives. Over 20 years in business with a client list spanning three continents and alumni that include more than a few C-level executives.
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  • Discovery Limited
    Gm: Chief Systems Specialist, Vitality Global
    Discovery Limited Mar 2022 - Mar 2023
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    Joined Discovery as permanent staff at a GM level (SVP in USA) with the intent of joining VG USA in Chicago in 2023. I needed to spend a year working in South Africa before the transfer could be processed and was deployed to the global platform team with the intent of establishing the SAFe “Release Train Engineer” role. I was responsible for a 50 person team servicing the technology requirements of all our global insurance partner markets and kept that space running fluidly and absent of drama.… Show more Joined Discovery as permanent staff at a GM level (SVP in USA) with the intent of joining VG USA in Chicago in 2023. I needed to spend a year working in South Africa before the transfer could be processed and was deployed to the global platform team with the intent of establishing the SAFe “Release Train Engineer” role. I was responsible for a 50 person team servicing the technology requirements of all our global insurance partner markets and kept that space running fluidly and absent of drama. My personal pathway changed when my wife was head-hunted into Australia and I chose to support her career. This resulted in me parting ways from Discovery. I was given the opportunity to run the transformation of Discovery’s new joint venture with AIA but took a postponement in order to support my family through the country transition. The relationship with Discovery remains a close one. Show less
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  • Vitality Group Inc.
    Senior Program Manager – Wellness Solutions, Vg Usa
    Vitality Group Inc. Aug 2018 - Feb 2022
    Chicago, Usa
    Reported directly to the CEO of Vitality USA and ran several initiatives in the global corporate wellness space along with joint ventures working directly with Apple in Cupertino. This stint included the Covid period wherein the wellness market was particularly dynamic and our strategies had to shift quickly to capitalize on things that were taking off and jettison other initiatives that were proving redundant. During this period, we had to grapple with the challenges of releasing a global app… Show more Reported directly to the CEO of Vitality USA and ran several initiatives in the global corporate wellness space along with joint ventures working directly with Apple in Cupertino. This stint included the Covid period wherein the wellness market was particularly dynamic and our strategies had to shift quickly to capitalize on things that were taking off and jettison other initiatives that were proving redundant. During this period, we had to grapple with the challenges of releasing a global app with fast rollout capability that still catered for region-specific nuances and rewards. The ‘Maverick’ team that I looked after, was highly regarded in the broader group’s delivery eco-system and set several implementation benchmarks. Show less
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  • Discovery Limited
    Senior Program Manager – V1 Global Platform Build, Vitality Group
    Discovery Limited Aug 2016 - Jun 2018
    Johannesburg, South Africa ; Chicago/New York, Usa ; Manila, Philippines
    Management of the program to re-engineer the underlying platform and all Vitality digital assets for all global markets in the Vitality Group. This was a high-capex, multi-vendor product build using a hybrid execution pattern that allows for some flex whilst still working within fixed time commitments for delivery. It was a complex program ecosystem involving a large development crew (> 10 agile development teams) operating across several countries and servicing the requirements of multiple… Show more Management of the program to re-engineer the underlying platform and all Vitality digital assets for all global markets in the Vitality Group. This was a high-capex, multi-vendor product build using a hybrid execution pattern that allows for some flex whilst still working within fixed time commitments for delivery. It was a complex program ecosystem involving a large development crew (> 10 agile development teams) operating across several countries and servicing the requirements of multiple international markets. The platform had over a million users in the first year of operation and is now hosting Vitality wellness solutions in 26 different countries. Show less
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  • Multichoice
    Agile Coach
    Multichoice Jan 2011 - Jul 2016
    South Africa
    Agile coaching to Scrum teams, Kanban support teams and Management (>50 million USD corporate programs). I was responsible for over 20 Scrum teams running full Scrum-of-Scrums with program level performance reporting.In addition to the coaching role, I had full coordination responsibility on several critical initiatives: Project Synapse, the ESB/SOA adoption initiative (taken live in 2011), SAP-Billing system interface (taken live in 2012) and “Clarity”, the new MultiChoice billing… Show more Agile coaching to Scrum teams, Kanban support teams and Management (>50 million USD corporate programs). I was responsible for over 20 Scrum teams running full Scrum-of-Scrums with program level performance reporting.In addition to the coaching role, I had full coordination responsibility on several critical initiatives: Project Synapse, the ESB/SOA adoption initiative (taken live in 2011), SAP-Billing system interface (taken live in 2012) and “Clarity”, the new MultiChoice billing platform where I was responsible for commissioning planning and DevOps coordination of over 50 separately deployable technologies. This was taken live in Namibia (2014) and SA (2015) using an innovative Waterfall\Agile pattern that attracted international interest. Show less
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  • Betterlife Group Ltd
    Agile Coach
    Betterlife Group Ltd Sep 2015 - Apr 2016
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    Coaching, team setup and initiation assistance to tech resources and execs on the SnappyHome initiative - a new product launch. This was a part-time consulting role.
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  • 35
    Hiatus
    35 Aug 2009 - Oct 2010
    Took an extended break from business and my professional career to spend time with my family, on hobbies and go exploring (overland in Africa and international trips).
  • Financial Intelligence Centre
    Senior Project Manager
    Financial Intelligence Centre Jun 2008 - Jul 2009
    South Africa
    I managed a team of eleven architects and developers to come up with an overall architectural governance framework which was used to automate key business processes at the Financial Intelligence Centre. In doing so, we also pioneered Scrum as a delivery process. I turned down the offer of a second contract extension to spend more time with my family and on other activities outside my professional field.
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  • Nissan Motor Corporation
    Senior Project Manager
    Nissan Motor Corporation Jun 2006 - May 2008
    Pretoria, South Africa And Hitachi/Tokyo, Japan
    I was responsible for the program to replace the vehicle tracking system on Nissan’s vehicle assembly plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria. Responsibilities included turnkey management of all resources (people, vendors and budget) from proposal stage through to delivery, associated communication to stakeholders in South Africa and head office in Japan as well as project risk management. The system went live in January 2008 and is the only project of its kind to do so with zero downtime at any Nissan… Show more I was responsible for the program to replace the vehicle tracking system on Nissan’s vehicle assembly plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria. Responsibilities included turnkey management of all resources (people, vendors and budget) from proposal stage through to delivery, associated communication to stakeholders in South Africa and head office in Japan as well as project risk management. The system went live in January 2008 and is the only project of its kind to do so with zero downtime at any Nissan plant globally. The project came in 10% below budget and was wrapped up on schedule. Show less
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  • Data Abstraction (Pty) Ltd.
    Business Development Manager
    Data Abstraction (Pty) Ltd. Jul 2005 - Jun 2006
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    I joined Data Abstraction as a partner and took on the portfolio of business growth and operations management. A highlight included all aspects of the product development and introduction to market of the Blindfold camera seal product. This included managing deliveries of the patent attorneys, branding consultants, graphic designers, development contractors, fund agents etc. I successfully raised grant funding through the Department of Trade and Industry’s SPII fund.
  • Harris Freeman (Usa)
    Project Manager
    Harris Freeman (Usa) Jul 2001 - Jun 2005
    Philadelphia/Atlanta/La, United States
    IRely Solutions, USA and India, New company launch, January 2004: Assisted the client with the business modelling and launch of a new IT related consulting venture. The company continues to operate, and has over 100 employees (www.irely.com). Harris Tea Company, USA, AT21 MES solution, September 2001 to June 2005: Designed and developed a holistic technology solution to meet their inventory management and quality tracking requirement. This involved managing a multi-site US factory… Show more IRely Solutions, USA and India, New company launch, January 2004: Assisted the client with the business modelling and launch of a new IT related consulting venture. The company continues to operate, and has over 100 employees (www.irely.com). Harris Tea Company, USA, AT21 MES solution, September 2001 to June 2005: Designed and developed a holistic technology solution to meet their inventory management and quality tracking requirement. This involved managing a multi-site US factory rollout and responsibilities also included the creation and management of a software development team in India. I was also involved in turnaround strategy consulting as part of the client’s acquisition growth. A material portion of tea drunk in North America still runs through the blending algorithms I coded during this time. Show less
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  • Hatch
    Systems Engineer
    Hatch Jun 1998 - May 2001
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    I was involved in all aspects of design and commissioning of factory automation and manufacturing execution systems across many clients. This included the milestone SAB EC2000 project which resulted in the establishment of the world's most automated brewery. At the time we were considered to be amongst the most competent manufacturing systems teams in the world.
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  • Goldfields Of South Africa
    Junior Engineer
    Goldfields Of South Africa Jan 1994 - May 1998
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    Won the best "Mechanical Engineering Bursar" award for every year I was on the scholarship program.

Farid Essack Skills

Agile Methodologies Project Management Pmp Business Analysis Cross Functional Team Leadership Requirements Analysis Business Process Change Management Software Development Sdlc Scrum Project Planning Software Project Management Project Portfolio Management Agile Project Management Management Consulting Soa Business Process Improvement Solution Architecture Business Intelligence

Farid Essack Education Details

Frequently Asked Questions about Farid Essack

What company does Farid Essack work for?

Farid Essack works for Crossbolt

What is Farid Essack's role at the current company?

Farid Essack's current role is Technology Program Manager.

What is Farid Essack's email address?

Farid Essack's email address is fa****@****olt.com

What schools did Farid Essack attend?

Farid Essack attended University Of Kwazulu-Natal, Westville Boys High School.

What skills is Farid Essack known for?

Farid Essack has skills like Agile Methodologies, Project Management, Pmp, Business Analysis, Cross Functional Team Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Business Process, Change Management, Software Development, Sdlc, Scrum, Project Planning.

Who are Farid Essack's colleagues?

Farid Essack's colleagues are Ted Philip Lat.

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