I am the senior manager for the Solution Consulting team for in Europe, Middle East and Africa. My team perform the technical aspects involved in positioning and demonstrating Progress products during sales engagements as well as responding to customer enquiries relating to evaluation requests, formal invitations to tender and even responding to your questions and comments here on myProgress. I personally have been involved with Progress, specifically OpenEdge, for 20+ years having originally learned to program in OpenEdge ABL (Progress 4GL) as part of my university degree. I fell in love with the language and platform way back then and remember making a decision that `this product will be my future`. Over the last 20 odd years I`ve worked as an analyst programmer and as a consultant with a particular focus on openEdge frameworks, software configuration management and testing best practices working for companies like Grampian software, Petrochem UK Ltd and even a brief flutter with Hewlett Packard. More recently I have been involved in both the strategic and day-to-day execution of planning , the stategic offering from Progress Software, at both a corporate and local EMEA level. I am a member of the Progress Pacific SWAT team, a group that meets regularly to given `feedback from the field` to help shape Progress`s go-to-market strategy in relation to our PaaS platform. Outside of work I am a keen aviculturist (Parrot keeping and conservation) and am also the church warden of my and a member of the parochial council where amongst other things I focus on `modernizing` our beautiful 12th century parish church building and parish with the introduction of 21st technology such as social media and improved back office processes (with even a flutter of Progress Pacific - watch this space! :) ). ©