Michael Forrester Email & Phone Number

Singapore, Singapore, Sg

In March 2023, a collaboration with Mumshad Mannambeth on a comprehensive 'Fundamentals of DevOps' course led to a significant realization. We shared a common vision: to revolutionize the development of top-tier engineers through the most effective and proven methodologies. Mumshad's established expertise in the DevOps realm was a decisive factor in my decision to join his team. As a Senior Technical Trainer, my role focuses on crafting engaging and informative online video content, leveraging the company's exceptional lab environment.My work spans various aspects of the DevOps domain, including Cloud technologies and Kubernetes. I contribute strategic insights and direction to the team, playing a pivotal role in curriculum development, particularly in Cloud topics, in collaboration with experts like Gordon Oreily and Aditya Chauhan. My responsibilities extend beyond educational content, encompassing all facets of the business, both internal and external, in promoting DevOps practices.Additionally, I actively participate in marketing and business-to-business (B2B) initiatives. This includes contributing to our YouTube channel, creating short-form content, and authoring articles. These efforts are aimed at reinforcing our position as thought leaders in the Operations Engineering sphere, catering to a diverse audience including infrastructure specialists, platform engineers, Site Reliability Engineers (SREs), and Linux Administrators. My commitment is to not only educate but also to inspire and lead in the ever-evolving world of DevOps.

Toronto, Ontario, Ca

In my dynamic role at Web Age Solutions, I served as a Senior DevOps Leader, Advocate, and Technical Trainer, adeptly navigating between strategic initiatives and tactical operations. My primary objective was to amplify the quality and scope of education in the realms of cloud, DevOps, and infrastructure, while driving enterprise transformation through Agile, DevOps, and advanced engineering practices.My tenure at Web Age Solutions is marked by the following key achievements:✪ I orchestrated and led a robust team of trainers and content creators tasked with formulating and coordinating intensive, multi-week upskilling and technological enablement programs pertinent to our customers' business outcomes.✪ Independently designed comprehensive, end-to-end role curriculums for diverse roles, including Front-End Software Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Data Scientist, etc., effectively facilitating learners' journey from novice to advanced levels.✪ Actively proposed and partook in Enterprise, Agile, and DevOps transformations across multiple client engagements, ensuring seamless adoption and effective utilization.✪ Conceived and implemented an array of multi-week Data Engineering, Machine Learning, DevOps, and Cloud Migration programs catering to various environments such as on-premise, cloud, hybrid, edge, etc. Sample collateral can be made available upon request.✪ Enhanced the AWS official curriculum by introducing additional hands-on components, thus reinforcing the concepts learned and promoting practical understanding.✪ Modernized all labs by adopting cloud and other utility computing technologies, significantly elevating the user-end experience.✪ Advocated DevOps principles by facilitating regular study groups and meetings to foster systems thinking, continual learning, and adherence to LEAN principles."

Seattle, Wa, Us

As a key member of the Training and Certification team at AWS, I played in multifaceted roles.As a Certification Specialist, I was entrusted with the technical validation and facilitation of program items across all AWS certifications, emphasizing my strong grasp of the technology and my ability to oversee complex processes.I conceived and bolstered various training programs targeting customers, subject matter experts (SMEs), and internal roles, demonstrating my leadership skills in nurturing talent and ensuring effective knowledge transfer.I orchestrated and maintained lab environments for hands-on labs and programs, revealing my proficiency in creating practical learning experiences that deepened my understanding of AWS services.A key aspect of my role involved enhancing operational efficiency by transforming manual procedures into automated processes. This underscores my adeptness in Automation, a key component of the DevOps approach.Working closely with a dedicated team of Certification Specialists, we collaborated effectively with Project Managers, Data Analysts, and other certification roles to develop and deliver the core certifications for AWS.Despite enjoying a fulfilling stint with AWS and working with some truly exceptional individuals, I decided to leave in March 2022, having realized that writing test exams didn't fully align with my professional passion. Nevertheless, my tenure at AWS was an enriching experience, and I remain open to rejoining the company in a role that better suits my expertise.

Chicago, Il, Us

Drawn by the DevOps goal of delivering business value promptly, with quality and compliance, I joined ThoughtWorks mid-pandemic in August of 2020.. Often in DevOps, discussions veered towards tooling, technology, and process. However, as part of the ThoughtWorks Digital Platform Service (DPS) line, I took up the challenge to address the equally crucial aspects of people and communication. DPS championed an adaptable platform strategy, enabling the efficient, swift, and compliant performance of an organization's workforce, processes, and technology.In my capacity as a Platform Architect for DPS, my expertise in DevOps, Leadership, and Automation was put to good use. I engaged with executives (CTO and CFO mainly), thought leaders, and change agents, facilitating the creation of a holistic platform that enhanced operational and engineering delivery. The DPS platform model overcame the typical tech-centric or process-centric dialogues and embraced transformation that influenced tech, processes, and people.My daily responsibilities highlighted my DevOps, Leadership, and Automation expertise:Firstly, I defined and collaborated on the Enterprise Transformation strategy utilizing DPS' platform model. This showcased my strategic planning skills in the DevOps landscape. Secondly, I coordinated various transformation workstreams across an enterprise, including platform delivery, architectural governance, domain modeling, and organizational transformation. This underscored my leadership skills and broad understanding of DevOps. Lastly, by communicating and collaborating with various client executives, I fostered strategic alignment, execution, and value, proving my skill in establishing effective communication channels - a cornerstone of successful DevOps implementation.

Charlotte, North Carolina, Us

In June 2018, I was brought onboard at Honeywell to spearhead digital transformation strategies for Honeywell Connected Enterprises. My role evolved from aligning tech-business strategies to creating high-performing delivery teams. I was tasked to blend cloud, containers, CI/CD, and DevSecOps with business needs and personnel competencies, building an influential IoT platform - Forge.As an architect, leader, and trainer, my key responsibilities spanned across fostering a multi-cloud app migration strategy, team communication, and customer-centric approaches. Strategic planning, organizational evolution, performance management for Honeywell's CTO and CEO, and infrastructure designs catering to customer value were my central focus. My role also required seamless communication within a globally dispersed engineering team, ensuring alignment with business goals throughout the software development life cycle. I mentored personnel on new technologies, establishing Honeywell at the forefront of software evolution.

New York, New York, Us

As VP of Technical Operations at IgnitionOne, I led strategic decisions on architecture, infrastructure, and tooling that expedited the delivery of compliant, high-quality software. My expertise in Rancher, Kubernetes, and AWS and my leadership skills guided engineers to align with business goals.In IgnitionOne, my primary focus was on fostering SAFe/Agile and DevOps culture, automation, and knowledge sharing across the Engineering organization. I removed blockers hindering product delivery and initiated strategies to ensure consistent service, uptime, and performance. Additionally, I provided hands-on training to the Technical Operations team on Containerization, Cloud, Infrastructure as Code, and Orchestration.My notable accomplishments at IgnitionOne included expanding the team from 30 to 70 while preserving a culture of communication and collaboration. I increased the visibility of Technical Operations work, aligning it with global business priorities, and created financial models for tracking a multi-million hosting budget. These strategic decisions contributed to IgnitionOne's record revenue income in Q4 of 2017.

Atlanta, Ga, Us

As the leader of Engineering Operations at NDN, I effectively directed and inspired a diverse team, fostering DevOps culture, and leveraging AWS and FOSS technologies to streamline operations. My role involved overseeing 11 direct and over a dozen indirect reports across various departments, from Product Infrastructure to Technical Support.My daily duties revolved around strategic leadership and hands-on management, which included:✪ Spearheading the technical Operations, Support, and Data Services teams, driving problem-solving, DevOps adoption, and AWS usage expansion.✪ Promoting strategic vision and effective communication within and outside of Engineering.✪ Guiding all planned Product project work, and nurturing leadership within the Engineering department.✪ Managing daily processes such as Change Control, Support Resolution, Agile SDLC Management, and overall Product Project Priorities.✪ Participating in vendor selection and management for services like AWS, Akamai, DataDog, New Relic, and others.✪ Handling on-call escalations for all parts of the infrastructure regularly.Significant accomplishments during my tenure at NDN included:✪ Reducing outages and deployment failures to less than 1 hour/month within the first three months.✪ Launching a new Technical Support team and a new Operations team within the first six months.✪ Establishing a DevOps culture within the first nine months to foster collaborative delivery of high-quality software.✪ Implementing an Agile-based SDLC, replacing the previously used waterfall model, in the first year.✪ Realizing a multi-million-dollar cost reduction for the business through self-initiated cost-saving measures.

At Inbloom.org, an educational non-profit dedicated to personalized learning and secure data services, I served as an architect, engineer, and technical lead of the IT operations team. We were a remote team, heavily invested in Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure and a broad range of technologies, working towards a highly efficient IT organization.My role was multifaceted. I contributed both to the strategic objectives of the business and the tactical execution of various projects by my team. As a hands-on technical contributor and manager, I operated daily in a tech landscape that included Linux, Windows, Ruby, and Chef, among others.Under my leadership, the team adhered to a DevOps methodology. This approach transcended traditional company barriers, embodying principles like continuous improvement, design over defect, systems thinking, and seamless IT-to-business flow.Our technology stack was diverse and robust, encompassing AWS, Chef, Ruby, Ubuntu, Windows 2008/2012, MongoDB, Gazzang, Gluster, Apache Tomcat, Elasticsearch, and more. This variety, combined with my leadership, DevOps, and automation expertise, drove the creation of a dynamic, performant IT organization.Regrettably, Inbloom.org ceased operations in August 2014, but the impact of our efforts in the realm of educational technology endures.

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

At Worthpoint, an online antique and auction pricing system, I was brought onboard to helm their IT department. As an organization used by dealers, hobbyists, and libraries to value antiques, the breadth of my responsibilities was significant, spanning advanced Amazon Web Services (AWS) usage, basic Linux, Solaris, and Windows server administration, and solution architecture for diverse areas such as backups, fault tolerance, Unix/Linux patching, database management, and AWS optimization.Our technology stack was comprehensive, comprising Apache, Haproxy, RHEL, Ubuntu 12.10 LTS Server, various AWS services (EC2, S3, EBS, ELB, Route 53, CloudFront, CloudWatch), and more. I handled all the basics of system administration alongside scripting, automation, backups, performance monitoring, and more, employing technologies like DNS, SMTP, SSL, Apache 2, Tomcat 6/7, Solr, Riak, PostgreSQL, Jenkins, Selenium, Chef, Ruby, and Google Apps.My contract stint transitioned into a full-time role leading a multi-person Engineering and Operations team. We embraced a DevOps/Visible Ops approach for the delivery of our web-based software products, using AWS and Chef exclusively. My team and I pioneered the creation of a dynamic, elastic infrastructure, marrying technical best practices with a progressive culture.On a weekly basis, I took on on-call responsibilities, covering Chef, CopperEgg, AWS EC2/RDS, DynDNS, and Google Compute. I also spearheaded a significant physical-to-virtual data center migration from Qwest to Amazon, encompassing fault tolerance/DR, automation, security, new monitoring and management, and more. My position straddled both strategy and tactics, contributing to the overall success of Worthpoint.

Majere Enterprises was a solo consulting firm specialized in DevOps, AWS, team performance optimization, infrastructure, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and more. Over a decade, I provided services for a range of contract positions, details of which are individually listed. This journey continued until I shifted my focus towards full-time roles, leading to the firm's closure.

Toronto, On, Ca

OnX is a Canadian-based firm that was exploring expansion into the U.S. hardware and software services market. I was engaged as the first technical resource in the U.S. market acting as a special assistant to the CTO office as a presenter, strategist, and senior technical consultant. My main responsibilities were initial customer meetings, pre-sales, and sales support, best practice architecture and design, Macro-to-micro strategy definitions, customer demos, project implementation, and on-site design workshops. My area of technical focus was on enterprise transformation, consolidation, and optimization of client infrastructures with my primary role as architect and implementer. The largest project was a 30,000 seat enterprise transformation for a large utility company. More detail can be provided upon request as the scope was both broad and deep. This was a great position mainly because of the high-level architecture, industry understanding, and scope combined with the occasional deep dive into implementations.

Ca

EDS enlisted my services for a substantial virtualized SAP deployment on Sun hardware for a key client. The role necessitated both technical aptitude and business acumen, requiring daily interactions with the client. I facilitated the design and implementation of 500 virtual machines across 50 SUN servers with DMX and Clariion storage. This multi-tiered SAP installation evolved after two months to encompass engineering, design, and architectural tasks for any complex design or virtualization request from the client.As the lead on several projects, I managed strategic direction, requirements interpretation, and technical execution. My responsibilities spanned the design and implementation of VMware and SUN servers for disaster recovery, backups, patching, LAN/WAN connectivity, VPN, SAN including SRDF, capacity planning, and licensing, among others.My 2008 projects emphasized geographically dispersed VMware farms, standalone Windows 2003 for large databases, BI Accelerator for SAP on IBM Blade Centers, 500+ Solaris Container implementations, and several high-end AIX installations. The extensive array of technologies was substantial, and further details can be provided as needed. This position suited me well as it was solution-focused and customer-oriented, aligning with my dedication to service and customer satisfaction. This role was one of the contracts undertaken through Majere Consulting.

Dallas, Tx, Us

Okay so we are 20 years back from this writing... do you still care? If so I will tell you fun tales of this place but my number one thing to say is ATT buyout and SPACE which was an awesome pre-cursor to Cloud Computing....... thank you for reading this far.

Us

This was a contract at the King and Queen building in Dunwoody. Really excellent crew here but it was almost 20 years ago. Nothing relevant to report other than I was here.

Houston, Texas, Us

I said I would stop cutting things out at the 20 year mark, but do you really care about 18 years ago? In Tech? Really? Then honestly we probably don't need to work together, but if you can convince me.... remind me to tell you about my co-workers (ALL OF THEM) who had wives who worked in a particular industry.... it was weird.

Atlanta, Ga, Us

Okay so since this is the 20-year mark, I will stop cutting out the descriptions of my history, but know that if you want a REALLY good story... ask me about doing a data center migration with UHAULs.....

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Us

I really loved this contract, but I could not stand the bureaucratic nature of this company. Probably more my shortcoming than theirs. Remind me to tell you how an owl took a styrofoam cup out of my hand, silent as death, while standing outside a data center at 3 am. Thanks for reading this far. you are quite the trooper.

Houston, Texas, Us

ooof another contract where I learned that misogyny is real, and I was born a man and identify as a man. Quite a story.

I will tell you a lot about this position, but two things I can reward you with for reading back 20 years.... delivering constructive feedback while standing on a desk and yelling at the top of your lungs and.... throwing water on a server as a way of letting people know that they suck at running a business (not me; a VC)...

This was another of those contracts that I regretted taking almost immediately. If you have read this far, then please ask me about cooking fish inside of a giant satellite dish. <<<< yes!

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

As a reward for reading this far, ask me about political infighting, beer, Jesus, and the roof of the Biltmore Hotel. I will tell you things about this job that will make you laugh. Oh and Y2K to boot.

Jacksonville, Florida, Us

It was 1999 and this place was...interesting. As you can see, I didn't last long. Talk to me if you want to know more.

Dallas, Tx, Us

Kudos for reading this far. I did indeed work for an ISP before Internet was decent. If you really want to know about this position, then ask me.

Roswell, Georgia, Us

Do you really want to know what I did in 1998 in Tech? Call me if that is the case and I will tell you wonderful stories about my manager, Dan, who was a JOY to work with.

Us

If you read back this far, please let me know and I will send you a cookie... no seriously. Ask me on LinkedIn. If I can... I will.

Spanish, Japanese

Civil Engineering, Rotc