Summary of Skills

• Over 12 years of experience in the mobile application space including software development and business development
• Over 11 years of people management experience including 5 years of growing and managing a truly global team
• Over 1 year of experience building startups, managing startup programs and understanding the startup lifecycle
• Significant product experience including product requirements, new product introduction, and product lifecycle management
• Over 5 years of press and social media engagement with hundreds of interviews, numerous videos, and a very active social media profile
• Extensive public speaking and event execution experience as a key contributor for numerous BlackBerry events and startup conferences
• Substantial network of contacts within the mobile and startup space including venture capital, key brands, large software vendors and numerous other companies

Jan 2012 – Present           University of Waterloo                     Waterloo, ON

Director, VeloCity and Student Innovation

• Successfully managed a team of 7 people to continue building one of the most innovative university entrepreneurship programs in the world focused on helping students create successful startups
• Managed the VeloCity Venture Fund which was responsible for delivering over $300,000 in key startup funding to deserving University of Waterloo startups
• Established strong partnerships with numerous organizations both locally and globally including investors, mentors, programs and government to help increase the awareness of the VeloCity program and the opportunities for the companies based in our programs
• Mentored and coached over 50 companies through the various stages of establishing their businesses from customer discovery to launch and customer acquisition
• Evolved and enhanced key programs supporting entrepreneurs including  the VeloCity Residence, the VeloCity Garage and the new VeloCity Campus programs

Nov 2011 – Oct 2012             NextUp Labs                            Waterloo, ON

CEO and Co-Founder

• Helped several struggling startups by actively assisting with key tasks including product development, product strategy, marketing and business development
• Learned the tough lessons associated with founding a company, acquiring customers, and managing the entire business lifecycle

May 2004 – Sept 2011        Research In Motion                       Waterloo, ON

Senior Director, Global Developer Relations

• Successfully managed a global team of over 35 people based in all major regions (North America, LATAM, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific) with a focus on managing remote teams and managing across cultural differences
• Significant international travel experience including knowledge of local cultures and engaging developers in their own communities
• Extensive public speaking experience with hundreds of formal presentations at numerous conferences, numerous keynote addresses and delivery of speaker training to my staff
• Considerable product experience including sourcing and prioritizing feedback from the developer community, requirements documents, and product lifecycle decisions
• Key contributor to the launch and success of RIM’s social media programs including the BlackBerry Developer Blog (http://devblog.blackberry.com) and Twitter (@BlackBerryDev and @mikekirkup)
• Substantial experience with new product introduction including messaging, positioning, press and media engagement, marketing campaigns and in-market product support
• Formal press and media training with hundreds of press interviews including global publications, localized publications, and developer focused bloggers
• Managed the strategic technical relationship with a variety of vendors including HP, Google/YouTube, Cisco/WebEx, Slacker, Lenovo, Dataviz, MLB.com and many other companies
• Created a number of unique programs and tools to increase developer satisfaction and productivity including the Developer Issue Tracker, the BlackBerry Developer Newsletter, and the Developer Video Library
• Key contributor to the formation and launch of the BlackBerry Developer Certification program, Academic program, and Developer Training program

April 2001 – May 2004       Research In Motion                       Waterloo, ON

Software Developer, Wireless Security

• Designed and developed complex applications in J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) for the RIM BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
• Credited as an inventor on over 100 separate patent filings for software innovations relating to BlackBerry smartphones and security
• Designed and implemented numerous applications and APIs for the BlackBerry including PasswordKeeper and the SSL/TLS security protocol

Education

 2003 – 2007                     University of Waterloo                     Waterloo, ON

• Masters of Management Science – Management of Technology Degree through a part-time distance education program. (http://motd.uwaterloo.ca)
• Relevant courses taken include the Theory of Organizational Behavior, Principles of Management of Technology, Strategic Management, and Entrepreneurship, and Operations Research

1996 – 2001                      University of Waterloo                     Waterloo, ON

• Bachelor of Mathematics, majoring in Computer Science, specializing in Information Systems Management and Software Engineering
• Relevant courses include Cryptography, Software Testing and Maintenance, Software Abstraction and Specification, Algorithms, Concurrent Programming, Digital Design, Software Specification and Requirements, Operating Systems, Distributed Systems, Networking, Databases and Software Implementation
• Relevant Information Systems courses include Corporate Financing, Financial and Management Accounting, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Introduction to Business, and Strategic Organizational Design