Kent Branch
Committee
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Chairman Jose Casal-Gimenez MBCS Prince2 APL1 jose.casal(at)bcs.org.uk Jose has been a member of the BCS since 2007. He has recently become Chairman of the Kent Branch Committee and helps co-ordinate his company BCS group membership. |
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Secretary Jonathan Exell MBCS CITP kent_secretary(at)bcs.org.uk Right from an early age when programming his ZX81, Jonathan's driving ambition was to be a computer programmer. He studied cybernetics and computer science at Reading university, specializing in artificial intelligence and in particular neural networks and genetic programming. During this time he also worked at BT's research labs in their natural language and cybernetics groups. Part of the research was subsequently covered by a patent application and this kindled Jonathan's interest in a world beyond the computer screen. It took 6 long years to qualify as a British and European Patent Attorney. He now works at Williams Powell, a private practice firm of Patent and Trademark Attorneys in central London, where he specializes in IT related Intellectual Property. His clients range from private individuals and start-ups to multinational corporations. He spends much of his time trying to dispel the myth held by many in the UK that patent protection is not possible for software inventions in UK and Europe. It is in many cases and he has a large portfolio of cases he has succeeded in getting granted to support this! Jonathan has never quite managed to jump ship and whilst the legal aspects are often interesting, the IT nerd is always fighting to get out. He is the network administrator for the business and also has a sideline in development of client-server database systems. He is a member of the BCS and a CITP. |
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Treasurer Mike Smith FBCS CITP mike.smith(at)rbli.co.uk Having spent part of his career in senior financial management roles, both in the UK and overseas, Mike eventually masterminded his escape from the "numbers" side of business to focus on his interests in IT and IS. He has worked in a wide variety of industries, including copper mining in Zambia, civil engineering, toll road systems development and automotive components manufacturing in South Africa and the automotive components industry in Britain. All of these experiences have helped him to gain an overall appreciation of how information technology can be effectively used in a range of different contexts. Mike joined Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) in 1998, based in Aylesford, Kent. Since 2000 he has been the Business Systems Manager for that organisation, a role that has provided a number of ICT-related challenges whilst working within RBLI's very diverse portfolio of business units that range from manufacturing to housing, healthcare and the provision of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Mike has an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, together with certificates in strategic information systems and strategies for change, two subjects that he believes are closely related. Between 1999 and 2005, Mike also taught IT-based subjects on a part-time basis to adult learners. Although no longer actively teaching in a formal setting, he is currently completing his dissertation for an MA through the University of Greenwich, focusing on technology-supported work-based learning and knowledge management as key drivers of organisational improvement. He plans to carry out further research in these areas should he survive his current course, assuming his wife doesn't reclaim a major part of the house that is currently covered in books, papers and storage media that he insists are essential for his project! Mike's recreational activities include walking and military history. He lives in Rochester, Kent. |
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Events Coordinator David White MBCS CITP david(at)david-j-white.com David has had a long and varied IT career commencing as a computer operator of an early ICL 1900 series mainframe with the ‘gigantic’ memory of 16k words, 8 exchangeable disk transports of 32k each and a bank of 12 reel to reel tapes – a configuration probably outstripped by most entry level PCs today! Moving into programming using ICL’s low level language – PLAN, and COBOL, David progressed to positions in systems analysis and then into software development management. Over the past 18 years he has held project and program management positions in a variety of business sectors. David’s industry experience began in retail, primarily responsible for point of sale systems and retail credit, moving into software house and management consultancy (retail) sectors before holding project and program management positions in public transport and pharmaceutical research and development. His most significant claim to IT fame was the design and introduction of smart card travel card terminals in London Transport. David has been a BCS member for the majority of his IT career, is a chartered member and has been on the Kent Branch committee for the past 8 years. |
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Education Liaison Bryan Badham MBCS CITP bryan.badham(at)bcs.org Bryan left school aged 16 in 1972 with a keen interest in Electronics, Radio Systems and Jimi Hendrix. He immediately joined Post Office Telephones as an apprentice and trained at Bletchley Park, home of the wartime Enigma Code Breakers. His academic studies at Canterbury Technical College resulted in Bryan attaining City & Guilds Telecommunications Technicians Certification with further Certification in Telephony & Telegraphy. After his apprenticeship Bryan enjoyed the long hot summer of 1976 driving around the Kent countryside repairing subscribers telephones and replacing overhead wiring. However this adventured was short lived as Bryan was soon introduced to a life of Telephone Exchange Maintenance. During this time he developed his interests in electronics and was soon chosen to train and work on the modern electronic exchanges that were being introduced across the Canterbury Telephone Area. This work inevitably led Bryan into the world of computer technology and programming. From the mid 1980's he introduced and operationally supported the System X Telephone Exchanges that brought reliable, high speed, voice and data services across the country. In 1996 Bryan took a Technical Manager position, joining a newly formed National Support team. This team's role was to provide 3rd line support for the server estate that provided all of BT's internal file storage and print services. At the time it was the worlds largest Novell File and Print solution with over 300 servers spread across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 2004 Bryan was appointed Department Manager of this team and is currently a Senior Technical Professional actively involved within the BT Security, Enterprise Directory & Identity Management team. Bryan's career with BT has so far spanned 36 years, with the majority of his time being spent on IT related projects and support activities. He is now looking forward to the day when he can follow the Chairman's example and take a well earned and long awaited retirement. However in today's challenging times Bryan knows that he still has a long and interesting career ahead of him, hopefully with a number of Consulting opportunities to boost his pension fund. During his IT career Bryan has so far:
Bryan has been a member of the BCS since 2004, he has recently joined the Kent Branch Committee and the Cybercrime Forensics SG |
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Committee Member Jonathan Killin FBCS CITP jonathan.killin(at)btinternet.com Jonathan accidentally stumbled into the IT profession 26 years ago. It took him that long to find a viable way out, but he retired in 2007. Graduating in Philosophy and Politics in 1979, he searched in vain for Ph.D. funding for about 6 months, before realising that he would probably have to get a job. So he became the data controller for a major producer of Scotch Whisky, and found himself in charge of a 4 floppy disk drive, no HDD, 64k Rair Black Box. He taught himself how to program using MBasic, and sat back to enjoy the product - of the company. In July 1983 he joined the Knowledge-Based Systems Centre at the (then) Polytechnic of the South Bank in London. He struggled with LiSP and Prolog for a few months before becoming Project Manager of Esprit Project 12, the very first KADS project. He specialised in Knowledge Acquisition, and after many wonderful experiences, set up KBSC Ltd., as one of 4 directors. In July 1988 KBSC Ltd. was acquired by Deloitte (actually it was Touche Ross Management Consultants then). Having just become a father, Jonathan thought that he would probably give IT Consulting a go for a couple of years. 19 years later, he retired. During his IT career he: - managed the delivery of card fraud identification systems for financial services clients; - implemented SAP and Oracle systems in both professional services and telecommunications industries; - helped ensure that the world's largest mobile phone company didn't crash and burn on 1st January 2000 (it didn't); - assured the technical delivery of Transport for London's Congestion Charging scheme, and - advised on a wide range of IT related issues. He became a Director of Deloitte Consulting in 2001, and a Principal in Deloitte in 2004. He is a Fellow of the BCS and is a CITP. He still likes whisky, and whiskey. As well as being a member of the BCS Kent branch committee, Jonathan is a member of the BCS ELITE group and BCS Specialist Group in Artificial Intelligence (SGAI). |
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Webmaster Roger Burnett MBCS CITP roger.burnett(at)bcs.org.uk Roger has been working in the IT industry since 1989. He spent the early years working for systems house installing and supporting systems for tool and plant hire companies (Cado/Contel/Versyss hardware). years working for systems house installing and supporting systems for tool and plant hire companies (Cado/Contel/Versyss hardware). From 1990, Roger spent 10 years working in the paper and board industry, carrying out engineering and support for a wide range of office and production control systems. Since 2000, Roger has been working for a multinational company, responsible for the architecture and engineering of infrastructure for the provisioning of PCs throughout the World. Roger has been a member of the BCS for most of his career. He is a chartered member, and has been a member of the Kent Branch committee since 2004 |
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YPG Representative John Humpston john_humpston(at)hotmail.com |
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