Hackathon team

Mike Ritchie

Spirit Animal: Platypus, honey badger, or rat. A 'honey ratypus', if you're ok about accepting imaginary hybrid animals.

I manage the Development Team in Digital IT. I'm all about getting the software development practices right, and building the team's capability.

I've been working in software development for close to three decades, in many industry sectors - pharma, small startups, investment banking, medical visualisation software, logistics & transportation. Probably some other stuff. I once wrote an application (really, a proper application - for actual money) that basically counted toilet rolls. This was not a career high point. Not even sure why I mentioned it.

Expertise:

  • Patience
  • Developer therapy and psychoanalysis
  • Magic

David Cole

Spirit Animal: Going by the photo it's a balloon-eared eejitbird (I'm the one on the left).

I'm a web developer in Digital IT. I help make the website better, but I also get dirty with tooling like functional testing and Grunt plugins.

I started out as a Web Designer (Photoshop pixel-pusher), but enjoyed building things much more than the aesthetics, so started getting my hands dirty with HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I've worked in a digital agency, have freelanced and now work in-house for a bank. I also have a chainsaw license and worked as a massage therapist for a bit, so I'm probably the only person at the hack day professionally qualified to saw your arm off and then rub it better.

Expertise:

  • Front end web: HTML, CSS, Javascript
  • Making people's chocolate disappear

Alistair Black

Spirit Animal: Crow (or so the online quiz I just did told me)

I work as a Java developer, working with the business to build the features in our products which will make our customers happy!

For the last year and a half I have been on the graduate scheme at Tesco Bank, taking the journey from writing amateur code in my bedroom, to writing quality code suitable for deployment to the masses. Before that I was at university studying electronics, and outside of work I’m generally either up a hill or on my bike...not much into sitting around!

Expertise:

  • Java
  • Android
  • Eating cake (I have a certificate)

Christopher Brind

Spirit Animal: Umber Hulk

Android Community of Practice Lead working on Tesco Bank’s Android app and PayQwiq for Android.

Software developer with 15+ years of experience across various verticals including financials, local government and telecoms. Started by developing GIS apps in C and these days spend my time building mobile apps for Tesco Bank and myself in both Android and iOS. Interests are coding, running, board games and role playing games.

Expertise:

  • Java
  • Android and iOS
  • Server API design

Sarah Farrier

Spirit Animal: A cat. You can never have too many cats

Community of Practice Lead in Digital IT, currently working on registration and login optimisation project work for Tesco Bank

I joined Tesco Bank in mid-2013, managing the delivery of insurance projects. After a year, I moved to Digital IT to broaden my agile experience. Prior to joining Tesco Bank, I led a team of Business Analysts at a division of MasterCard; previous career experience also includes several years of client-facing technical consultancy and software engineering roles. I currently serve on two ‘Tesco Bank Women in Business Network’ working groups, am an active Member of the British Computer Society and sit as a Board Member at YWCA Scotland.

Expertise:

  • Payment processing technology
  • Anti-fraud
  • SEO
  • Web analytics
  • Technical analysis in general

James Hare

Spirit Animal: the (revolver) Ocelot

I’m the Lead Architect for Insurance at Tesco Bank, which basically means I get to talk to our guys in the business teams, and draw Sharpie pictures of applications that will do what they ask. I’m also one half of the team that looks after one of the graduate groups in Tesco Bank, so if there’s anything you want to know about our graduate programmes, let me know!

Expertise:

  • Drawing
  • Getting people to build stuff, based on my drawings
  • Redrawing the bits I got wrong
  • Apologising to those same people, and buying them biscuits so they’ll work to my new drawing

Louis Jimbert

Spirit Animal: Giant Sloth

I am a developer for tesco bank, I write software that (hopefully) brings value to the bank.

I have been working as a developer for almost 5 years, mostly using the Microsoft .NET stack and now Java at Tesco Bank. I enjoy travelling and loud music.

Expertise:

  • Programming
  • Food
  • Muttering in French at screen

Niels Kee

Spirit Animal: Binturong

Scrum Master at Tesco Bank

I’ve worked in various companies across Europe and India since graduating from Edinburgh Uni in 2000. An ex developer I’ve shed the headphones and taken on some more responsibility in coaching teams to deliver better solutions. I’ve been at Tesco Bank for 6 months.

Expertise:

  • Agile Methologies
  • Guiding teams to work collaboratively
  • Java Enterprise
  • Craft Beers

Andrew Littlejohns

Spirit Animal: Koala

My current role is a mix of Community of Practice Lead for the Web Developers and ScrumMaster on the Site Improvements project (featuring a big chunk of Web Devleopers). I’ve been at Tesco Bank for over 4 years, joining Tesco Compare as a .Net Developer before moving into a team lead role.

Before joining Tesco Bank I worked at Scottish & Southern Energy where I once delivered a project on time using the Waterfall Project Methodology....true story, I have witnesses!

Expertise:

  • A bit of front end development
  • Some Agile methodologies
  • C# (including a bit of BizTalk)
  • Herge’s Adventures of TinTin

Stuart Parr

Spirit Animal: Seriously! I’ll take a Sloth if I have to.

I am a Web Developer for IT Digital. I’m currently working on the Site improvements project, a refresh of the Tesco bank Brochureware site.

I’ve been a Web Developer for five years, starting out working on a ecommerce sites and building HTML emails for a online retailer. Since then I’ve worked for smaller agencies doing Frontend, Design and CMS work.

Expertise:

  • HTML/CSS and JavaScript (supposedly)
  • I’m a fairly handy bike mechanic as well

Sam Bedford

Spirit Animal: Wolverine (Which, according to Google, is the animal most suited to my characteristics, worryingly)

I’m in the Head of IT for Voice & Data at Tesco Bank. I look after our Contact Centre technology and the Network our Bank operates over. I’m also one half of the team that looks after one of the graduate groups in Tesco Bank, so if there’s anything you want to know about our graduate programmes, let me know!

Expertise:

  • Contact Centre Technology
  • Being known as Ben
  • Driving Farm Machinery

Cheryl Baxter

Spirit Animal: A Red Panda probably just cause they look like they have fun

Change Analyst within General Insurance currently working on Small Change.

I have worked for Tesco Bank for just over 5 years starting in GI migration as a Team Manager. I live in Glasgow with my partner and guinea pig called Vader. My pet hate is the M8 and fence sitters other than that I would like to think I am fairly easy going!

Expertise:

  • Management
  • Change
  • Operations

Stefan Huth

Spirit Animal: Flying Squirrel

Software Engineer primarily wrangling Java for server side development within the Digital IT dept.

Been in the software development business for the passed 6-7 years working on a variety of different projects ranging from Voice Biometric Password Resets, Education Repositories to Android Development for the Bank. In my spare time I’m a Kung Fu practitioner/fanatic.

Expertise:

  • Front end and server side development
  • General Software Engineering Practices
  • Roundhouse Kicks & Tiger Strikes

Iain Frame

Spirit Animal: Scrat (from Ice age)

iOS leader for Digital IT.

15 years commercial software development experience from large enterprise type systems down to low level embedded. Before that I serviced fighter jets in Her Majesty’s Royal Air Force. In my (very little) spare time I like bouncing down mountains on a mountain bike.

Expertise:

  • Writing code
  • Breaking code
  • Fixing code
  • Falling off my bike