about me
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experience
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education
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expertise
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skills
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achievements
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informal experience
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interests
Shaun Wuth
Entrepeneur & Experienced Leader of Software Teams
About Me
A very brief overview.
I am honest, dedicated, technical and fast-learning, and enjoy building, leading and working with passionate, high-functioning teams.
I am currently accountable for several teams at Benevity, covering their Financial Platform, User Identity and Access Management (UIAM) and APIs, as an Engineering Director. Previously I've lead teams covering more user-facing SaaS and Mobile products. I successfully founded and ran an app-development company for 11 years, working with enterprise clients from a variety of sectors (native Android and iOS, and supporting back-ends and infrastructure). Delivering top-shelf products is very important to me (see some achievements), and I have the ability to remain calm, focussed and create a productive environment when high-pressure situations arise. I have excellent communication skills and enjoy working with others to solve problems. Supporting the people I work with so that they can deliver at their highest levels is the only way to be successful.
I am meticulous with our products' designs, and believe that an enticing, simple and accessible user experience is core to success. Back this with high-performing, scalable and robust core products, and you've got enterprise-level software. I can see the "big picture".
I am confident in software architecture, technically proficient in several high-end programming languages and experienced in integration with custom hardware and software. I have an Electrical Engineering degree, and have developed highly technical, robust, performant, as well as user-appealing software throughout my career of 21+ years; from back-end to front-end, cloud-based, mobile apps, desktop, firmware, and custom ROMs, in a large variety of sectors. I stand by elegant architecture, clean and documented code, continuously and autonomously tested and deployed to engaged users.
I always spend quality time, and engage with my family of 4. We try to find adventures, off-the-beaten-track, whenever time allows, and I am passionate about endurance sports, new tech and quality education.
I am a firm believer that one can work in a fun environment, maintain a good work-family-life balance, and still deliver superlative work – it’s what I strive for every day!
Experience
The most recent.
Mar 2020 → Present
Benevity
Director, Engineering
(Previously Software Development Manager,
Technical Lead &
Senior Software Developer)
Victoria, BC, Canada
A company centred around corportate social responsibility, with a focus on "doing good" in the world. It utilises bespoke implementations of their product which enables "online giving, matching, volunteering, and community investment", and are central to many of the world's iconic brands' "goodness programs". Duties currently include leading 3 distinct value streams, across several teams, and a base of approximately 65 engineers. They focus on the Financial Platform (Global Disbursements), UIAM and APIs. Previously I managed a few teams, which delivered products in the Web App, Cloud Native and Mobile space, and prior to that, lead the architecture and development of these same products, specifically Android and iOS native mobile apps, and supporting systems, and fullstack web development.
May 2011 → Mar 2022
Customised Applications
Managing Director
Cape Town, South Africa
Mobile app development company, specialising in native Android and iOS mobile systems for a wide-range of clients, from individuals and start-ups to large corporates. Apps range from financial to educational games, integration with custom hardware and IoT devices, construction calculators, and various tools to compliment corporate products. Manage a remote team of developers, handle marketing and product sales, as well as design and develop the apps themselves. Also build various internal products. Clients include Sanlam Investments, intelliBUILD (PocketQS), Snuza, Sebenzana (Sasol, Sappi), Fundhouse, iNet BFA, Tracker SA, Rocking the Daisies, Honeyguide, Hivemind.mba, among others.
Aug 2008 → Jun 2011
Fundamental Software
Senior Developer
Cape Town, South Africa
Financial services IT company, specialising in the provision of a single Product, The Fundamental Portfolio Manager (FPM), a desktop-based (C#, .Net) financial asset-management platform. Duties included design and implementation of new modules and facets to the product as well as mentoring and training of newer colleagues. Major clients included Allan Gray, PSG Wealth, Nedbank, Personal Trust, Taquanta and several other local and international asset managers.
Jan 2008 → Dec 2008
Consulting Software Architect and Developer
Architect & Senior Developer
Cape Town, South Africa
Running a consulting business offering development of (but not limited to) custom in-house applications, web sites and web applications. Clients include eBAM Systems, PMSight, ForwardSLASH and AMS.
Jul 2007 → Dec 2007
ForwardSLASH
Product Project Manager & Developer
Cape Town, South Africa
Online marketing company specialising in the gaming industry and owning some of the world’s leading online gaming websites. (Currently trading as DigiOutsource.) I handled project management for their various software releases and marketing drives, as well as assisting in development of an internal content management system.
Apr 2006 → Jun 2007
Cortell Intelligent Business Solutions
Senior Developer & BIS Consultant
Johannesburg, South Africa
A Business Intelligence consultency, dealing in budgeting, forecasting, reporting and planning for a variety of businesses. I was involved in development of bespoke software (using C# and VB.Net primarily), as well as developing BI models and reports in TM1, SQL Server Analysis Services and Tableau.
Apr 2004 → Apr 2006
EBAM Systems
Technical Lead / Product Manager
Johannesburg, South Africa
Currently part of the AvantEdge group, eBAM handles a product Motovate Pro: a sales, management and CRM system for the motor industry. I was part of the team to develop the product, using Microsoft Solutions (C#, ASP.Net, Java, etc.), in a technial lead position, as well as directing the product itself.
Education
Secondary and Tertiary.
2000 → 2003
Bsc ENG (Honours) – Electrical & information
University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) & University of Cape Town (UCT)
Cape Town & Johannesburg, South Africa
Electrical Engineering honours degree. Transferred from UCT to WITS after 1 year. I decided that I might get a better education due to the reputation of the Engineering Department at WITS, and the results of an investigation into their syllabus.
- 2000: Achieved mention on “Dean’s List” for academic excellence.
- 2001: Awarded Merit Certificate for Software Development I (95%)
- 2002: Member of the Golden Key Society for Academic Excellence – WITS Chapter
- 2002: Awarded E J A Loerincz Scholarship for overall aggregate over 75%
The course has changed now, but was a combination of the following: BSc Eng (Elec) and BSc Eng (Info).
2007
Principles of Professional Project Management
Faculty Training Institute (FTI)
Cape Town, South Africa
The course covers the fundamental principles and techniques of Project Management.
Matriculated (Graduated) 1999
High School
St Stithians Boys' college
Johannesburg, South Africa
- 5 Distinctions
- Academic Honours
- Member of Public Relations Team
- 1st Team Cross Country
Expertise
Things I'm good at, and enjoy doing.
01
Leading a Company and Teams
Through the running of Customised Applications, and leadership roles in current and previous companies, I've developed a proven track-record of helping teams be efficient, high-performing, and motivated to deliver work at an enterprise level, often leading by example. Being highly technical is an asset when leading teams to solve complex problems, especially in cross-functional domains, in enterprise software.
02
Fast Learning
Likely my strongest ability is the pace at which I can learn. The "ramp-up" time required to become productive in something new generally out-paces my peers, and has always been an asset. This is most true of technical and leadership subjects.
03
Product Management
A large part of my role in Customised Applications was been product design and management. I had to ensure clients' requirements were understood correctly, and that this was translated into products, screens, and features which are user-friendly, performant and meticulously designed. Ensuring features are limited to those that align with the vision for the product has been paramount.
04
iOS and Android (Native) App Development
I have over 10 years' experience in developing native Android and iOS applications; from the years of heavily fragmented Android apps, and complex Objective-C, and C++, based iOS applications through to modern IDE-assisted Android development and Swift 5.x. I am continually investigating various cross-platform tools to improve the development process, and time-to-market, but have found few to rival clean native apps.
05
IoT and Hardware Integration
Customised Applications has been involved in several projects where development of, and integration with, custom hardware and firmware has been required. This includes communication over Bluetooth (and BLE), using custom encryption and protocols, as well as some firmware customisation.
06
Optimised Desktop and Back-end Development
Almost every app we've developed has required a back-end, and I've always been involved in the technical development of these. Additionally, previous companies' work has required desktop development in conjunction with supporting back-ends. The functionality required here has often involved complex algorithms, financial and business models, and optimised processes to support a large user-base, and time-critical functionality.
07
Product Design
In addition to management of a product's features, I've been heavily involved in the graphic design, and other creative aspects of its screens. This has ranged from initial wireframes and prototyping, to the actual layout in Figma, Illustrator, Sketch and Photoshop, and implementation in Front-End web development, or Native App User Interfaces.
Skills
Technical proficiency
Swift (iOS)
Kotlin
Objective-C (iOS)
Java
SQL
C++
Javascript
(S)CSS
Python
Node.js
Angular
PHP
Vue.js
C#
Achievements
Some things I'm proud of!
Change Agent at Benevity
Change Agents are a small, hand-picked cross-functional group of individuals who drive innovation and change within the business. We work together to ensure we're focussed on the highest-value work, always improving efficiency, and driving a high-performance and rewarding culture.
Semi-Finalist in Global Learning XPRIZE Competition
As part of the Leap to Know team, we were one of 11 semi-finalists to present an Android-based education application in Los-Angeles in 2017. The competition is centered around "develop[ing] open source software solutions that will facilitate an autonomous learning environment for children living in remote areas of the world." Our solution provided unassisted learning of elementry reading, mathematics, phonics, problem-solving and writing in the form of a self-adjusting game.
Read more about the competition.
Winner of Africa Android Challenge 2012
We submitted our application Parent & Baby Handbook. It was an application providing answers and advice from a selection of the world's most renowned books on parenting.
The app itself has since been discontinued.
Informal Experience
Things I've learnt outside the work-place.
I am very interested in data privacy, and therefore build, and work with, various open-source privacy-centred software involving end-to-end encryption, and user-owned data.
I have two children and consciously navigate the balance between delivering my all at work, and properly providing for a family.
I am perpetually investigating the latest software development practices and tools, for use in personal projects, as well as any projects required for business.
Interests
Just some of the things that keep me busy.
Endurance Sports
Running, Cycling, Hiking, Triathlon. From ultra-marathons, and trail-adventures to IronMan and Double-Century cycling races.
Music
Bass, Guitar, Piano. Composition and Production. I'm probably not very good, but it really gets me excited.
Education
Everyone deserves to have a good one! If it's rural villages with a need for technology-based teaching, or simply furthering my own children's learning, I want to be involved.
Travel
Among other shorter trips, we have done two 6-month overland adventures in the past 5 years, as a family: The USA & Mexico (36 states, and 26,000km), and Southern- and Eastern-Africa (10 Countries, 25,000km). The different cultures, nature and vistas keep us yearning for more.