What’s your job title?
CTO
What do you actually do?
I oversee the technical direction of all our projects. I design the architecture of the software we build, and I work with Ingrid and our clients to make sure we build the best products possible.
I’m also responsible for setting up new developers in our team, supporting them with any technical issues, and agreeing on learning goals and training for junior devs.
My biggest role is keeping up to speed with new technologies (especially AI), and to make sure we’re on the right technical track.
What’s your journey getting here been like?
I’m an English grad, but I’ve been coding and tinkering all my life, and computer science has always been my real passion. I retrained with a Master’s in Computer Science.
I got my start in development building ordering systems and sales forecasting algorithms for Ocado, then Scala development for Ovo Energy, but my real passion has been in building new software from the ground up.
I founded Fintek Software in 2014, building MVPs for startups in the fintech industry. I’ve always loved the challenge of designing and building something new, but since we’ve started building software for charities the work has become much more fulfilling. Ever since we built the UK’s first sexual health chatbot, I’ve been focusing on NLU, accessible development and how to use generative AI safely.
What topic in chatbot technology do you care a lot about and why?
Accessibility is such an important part of web development, and it’s something that is really overlooked in many chatbots. I want to make sure that we build accessibility into our dev and testing process from the beginning.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Lego! I like building stuff.
What is your favourite pun?
I have 10 favourite puns. I entered them all in a pun competition. I hoped they’d win, but no pun in ten did.
