The Team
Andre Charland, CEO
Andre Charland is the co-founder and CEO at Nitobi Inc. He's been at the forefront of Web 2.0 software development for almost a decade and is an expert on the next generation web. Andre is an advocate for usability and user experience and speaks regularly about how to keep users engaged and active on websites or web-based application. Most recently Andre presented on the Adobe AIR Tour throughout Europe. He's also been a speaker at the Voices That Matter web design conference, Adobe MAX, JavaOne and AjaxWorld. Andre is the co-author of "Enterprise Ajax", published by Prentice Hall last summer and is the lead blogger for O'Reilly's InsideRIA.com.
You can read Andre's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/andre.
Dave Johnson, Chief Technical Officer
Dave is a Nitobi co-founder. He holds a BASc in Electrical Engineering (UBC) and a PhD in Solid State Physics from London's Imperial College. While his primary role is advising on technical direction at Nitobi, Dave is comfortable doing anything from support to quality assurance. Dave has presented at various conferences, including CommunityOne 2007/8, The Ajax Experience 2007, XTech 2007 and JavaOne 2007. He is a co-author of "Enterprise Ajax" and has written for numerous journals and magazines including JavaWorld.com, Adobe Developer Center and XML.com.
You can read Dave's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/dave.
James Douma, Senior Developer
James is an experienced software and Internet application developer with strengths in application and database design. While James is fluent in many technologies, his current focuses are JavaScript, C#, XML, SQL, JAVA and C++.
James began his career in software development with a computer science and applied mathematics degree from York University, and subsequently worked as a software developer and systems analyst for the likes of Royal Bank, Sun Microsystems and Sierra Systems.
James has been the lead developer and system architect in most of Nitobi's internal and client software development projects. His work is pushing the envelope for web-based software applications. He particularly focuses on client side processing and data caching to enhance interoperability, reliability and efficiency of web-based applications.
You can read James's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/james.
Brian LeRoux, Software Architect
A leader in user experience and all things AJAX, Brian is Nitobi's Software Architect. Experienced in developing web applications from concept to creation, Brian believes simplicity is the hallmark of exceptional software. When he is not striving to create bulletproof code, Brian is a founding member of the Vancouver AJAX and Beer Meetup and a regular participant in software events.
You can read Brian's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/brian.
Chris Stone, UX Designer
As a UX Designer at Nitobi, Chris is primarily focused on client projects where he is responsible for all matters contributing to user experience design including, but not limited to, information architecture, user interface design, interaction design and project management. He is a co-founder and local leader for the Vancouver chapter of IxDA (Interaction Design Association), an international organization showcasing talent in the interactive design community and also plays mandolin in a local Vancouver band.
You can read Chris's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/chris.
Brock Whitten, Software Developer
A recent graduate of BCIT's New Media Program, Brock joins Nitobi as a Ruby/Merb specialist and an iPhone/PhoneGap developer. Brock speaks regularly at conferences and has won several design awards for his work, most notably on the 'Better Air for Abbotsford Campaign'. He is reportedly fond of flexing his skills on the foosball table and likes to write 80's-inspired pop songs when he finds the time.
You can read Brock's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/brock.
Rob Ellis, Software Developer
As a member of the Nitobi Client Services team, Rob helps turn ideas into applications. His day-to-day responsibilities include client management, project management, software architecture, database management, server deployment and most importantly, software development. Rob enjoys fresh air and new horizons and can often be found alpine hiking or mountain biking on the North Shore.
You can read Rob's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/rob.
Joe Bowser, Software Developer
Joe Bowser is a member of the Nitobi Client Services team. He keeps busy maintaining the Complete UI project and the Android code in PhoneGap. Joe has spoken at OpenWeb and BarCamp Vancouver and volunteers with the Vancouver Hacker Space.
You can read Joe's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/joe.
Andrew Lunny, Software Developer
Andrew is responsible for creating documentation for Nitobi's full suite of products and facilitating a seamless relationship between its customers and developers. He holds a Bachelors degree in Honours English and another one in Computer Science. He can't believe he ate the whole thing.
You can read Andrew's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/andrew.
Yohei Shimomae, Flash/Flex Engineer
Yohei is Nitobi's resident Flash designer, helping with application skinning, graphic work, design and web development. Yohei's formidable design skills earned him a nomination for Best Student Art Direction in Game Production at ELANS 2008. During his free time, Yohei composes electronic music, plays guitar and designs flash games. His personal website is YoheiShimomae.com.
You can read Yohei's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/yohei.
Jesse MacFadyen, Senior Flash Platform Developer
Jesse's primary role at Nitobi is turning the client's vision into reality. Jesse prides himself in being able to deliver pixel perfect performant applications across platforms in Flash, Flex and Air.
Jesse is also a kick ass guitar player and spends his free time playing blistering solos over hard rock grooves.
You can read Jesse's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/jesse.
Shazron Abdullah, Software Developer
Shazron has spent the last four years developing Mac desktop apps for pretty well-known companies and is now venturing into the mobile space, focusing on the iPhone. He has extensive experience with web technologies especially with the Microsoft ASP.NET platform. He believes that Mac and PC should and can co-exist in peace.
You can read Shazron's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/shazron
Ryan Willoughby, Software Developer
After a one-year hiatus traveling around the world, Ryan recently returned to Nitobi, and has since been focusing on the PhoneGap Symbian port, as well as mobile and web client projects. When not developing rad web apps, he enjoys drinking caesars, traveling, playing ice hockey, shredding, and just being as gnarly as possible in general. He holds a B. Sc. in Physics from the University of Victoria.
You can read Ryan's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/ryan
Fil Maj, Junior Web Software Engineer
Fil is Nitobi's newest staff member, initially joining the Customer Support team but has since begun to work on .NET-based projects. He has a B.Sc. in Computing Science, with a strong interest in artificial intelligence, neural networks and human cognition. In his spare time Fil enjoys being outdoors, playing sports and games, playing his drums, watching hockey and eating food.
You can read Fil's blog at http://blogs.nitobi.com/fil.
Tim Kim, Support
Tim is the newest temporary member of Nitobi and has the role of providing support to customers. Currently, he is on co-op from Simon Fraser University and is striving to get his B.Sc. in Computer Science while also being as lazy as possible. Though he has a strong interest in computers and electronic gizmos, his true passion is tying the gap between programming, design, and user interaction to make a well designed application. In his free time, Tim enjoys watching movies, drawing, and making faces in the mirror.
Alex Samudre, Office Manager
For the last two years Alex has made sure that day-to-day business at Nitobi runs like clockwork. He's responsible for office management and bookkeeping, and, like the rest of the team, loves a good Foosball challenge. When he's not keeping Nitobi on the straight and narrow, Alex likes to taste beer and whiskey from around the world.