It’s time to turn the spotlight on arrt’s elder statesman, Rich, a man whose wealth of experience and deep-rooted passion for technology have shaped decades of IT evolution.
Background and Career
Rich has spent his entire working life working in IT which is 42 years and counting! He swears he was once offered an interview to become a Lion Tamers assistant at a circus (back when they had such things), but we’re not sure if he’s making that up
Yes, they did have computers 42 years ago, but they took up same space as a decently sized semi-detached house and had a fraction of the processing power of your average smart watch. Rich’s first job was a computer operator working with an IBM Mainframe 4341 and his role entailed mounting tapes, creating punch cards and decollating (yes, we had to look that word up!) continuous stationery. Moving onward and upwards Rich first started coding in COBOL, before moving to several 4GLs (anyone remember them?).
He eventually ended up being a Relational Database DBA specialising in Sybase and SQL Server with a bit of Oracle thrown in for good measure. In a sliding doors moment back in 2007 Rich was given the opportunity to work on BizTalk and became an integration developer when he met up with Alistair and Tony eventually leading to the foundation of arrt.
Off duty
Rich would be the first to admit that he’s not really grown up. Having been mad keen on motorbikes since the age of 13 he still loves nothing better than riding and tinkering with his bikes or going to see the professionals doing their thing at the Isle of Man TT.
Rich and his wife Sharon recently competed their PADI open water scuba diving qualification for no better reason that he thinks it’s good to set yourself challenges and to continue to learn and experience new things.
Although a life- long fan of live music Rich was a late adopter of the festival scene having first gone to Glastonbury at the age of 42. He’s been festival-ling ever since and says the camaraderie and fun that can be shared with friends and family is really something special
Married, with 3 grown up children, two cats and two horses to look after in addition to keeping arrt at the forefront of Digital Innovation means that Rich’s motto is “There’s always something to do”.
Long may that continue.
To learn more about the people and stories shaping arrt, explore our previous Spotlight On features with Steve and Alejandra, and keep an eye out for future editions highlighting inspiring individuals both within and beyond the company. You can also visit our news page for updates on our latest projects and team highlights.
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