Capability threads

A career reads differently by capability than by chronology. Pick a thread to follow it across roles and projects, or scan them all. Every stage links back to the chapter where it happened.

Hover or focus a node to trace how one thread compounds across the career, or click straight through to a chapter or thread.

CodePlatformsEngineering capabilityOrganisationsTechnology strategyAgentic enterpriseAutomationPlatform engineeringArchitectureDeveloper enablementOrganisational designTechnology strategyGovernance and riskAI and agentic systemsBusiness and product leadership

Automation

From migration scripts to autonomous agentic loops. The longest-running thread: every stage automates the friction the previous stage exposed.

  1. 2006 – 2008 Network scripting and one-click environments Spreadsheet-to-system migration scripts at O2; one-click dev-environment installer at Fidelity. Code →
  2. 2012 – 2016 CI/CD and environment automation CloudFormation, Ruby and Jenkins pipelines; one engineer could operate the whole platform; daily releases with compliance checks built in. Platforms →
  3. 2016 – 2020 Infrastructure as code as an organisational pattern Shared reusable infrastructure patterns cutting cost and time for every subsequent project. Engineering capability →
  4. 2021 – 2024 Self-service platforms Fully automated Azure environments and an Engineering Enablement Platform, doubling live environments while cutting provisioning time by about 80%. Organisations →
  5. Now Autonomous agentic loops Hekton agents that research, build, review and operate software under governance-as-code. Agentic enterprise →

Platform engineering

Building the capability underneath the applications, so one investment enables many teams.

  1. 2012 – 2016 Integration engine and forms platform XTRAC Connect and the forms continuum turned digitisation from bespoke projects into a repeatable capability. Platforms →
  2. 2016 – 2020 Event-driven platform at enterprise scale Cloud-native EDA platform, built by a team of fifteen, becoming the backbone of the digital experience ecosystem. Engineering capability →
  3. 2021 – 2024 Company platform from zero HUB's foundational Azure platform, environments, security posture and enablement platform, built from the first commit. Organisations →
  4. Since 2024 Platform engineering as an executive function Leading the platform-engineering function for Vanguard Europe, shaping investment rather than writing the Terraform. Technology strategy →
  5. Now The software factory as a platform Hekton treats delivery itself as the platform, with agents as the workload. Agentic enterprise →

Architecture

From application design to enterprise architecture leadership, without ever leaving the whiteboard behind.

  1. 2008 – 2012 Application architecture MVVM, MVP and service design inside fixed-income product systems. Code →
  2. 2012 – 2016 Systems and cloud-native architecture Twelve-factor re-architecture of Fidsafe for 10M+ users; early serverless migration. Platforms →
  3. 2016 – 2020 Architecture as an organisational function Director-level architecture leadership; cloud strategy; domain-driven design with the business. Engineering capability →
  4. 2021 – 2024 Architecture for a whole company HUB's conceptual product architecture with clients and SMEs, plus the standards keeping fast-growing teams coherent. Organisations →
  5. Since 2024 Architecture connecting strategy to execution Architecture leadership for Vanguard Europe, translating strategy into executable priorities. Technology strategy →
  6. Now Architecting the agentic factory itself Hekton's agent, governance and review-gate design is systems architecture applied to a factory whose workload is agents rather than a product team. Agentic enterprise →

Developer enablement

Treating engineering capability as a product: workshops, dojos, katas and centres of excellence.

  1. 2016 – 2018 Live-coding workshops Serverless, Alexa and ML workshops building cloud expertise across the APS organisation. Engineering capability →
  2. 2019 – 2020 The learning dojo Self-contained cross-platform katas, full solution development including pipelines, upskilling global teams concurrently. Engineering capability →
  3. 2021 – 2024 Enablement as company infrastructure HUB's Engineering Enablement Platform and centre-of-excellence model. Organisations →
  4. Now Enabling human-agent teams Workshop and dojo patterns re-emerging as onboarding for teams that include agents. Agentic enterprise →

Organisational design

Designing the teams, roles and operating models that technology strategy needs to become real.

  1. 2016 – 2020 Teams around platforms Structuring architecture and platform teams, and communities of practice around the cloud strategy. Engineering capability →
  2. 2021 – 2024 Building the organisation itself Hiring process, resource plans and autonomous team design scaling HUB to 60+ engineers in three countries. Organisations →
  3. Since 2024 Operating-model design Shaping how architecture, platform engineering and business lines fit together across Vanguard Europe. Technology strategy →
  4. Now Human-agent team design Researching operating models where agents are team members with tiered autonomy. Agentic enterprise →

Technology strategy

Turning technology direction into funded, executable, measurable change.

  1. 2016 – 2018 Divisional cloud strategy From tentative AWS experiments to a multi-year strategy with live systems behind it. Engineering capability →
  2. 2021 – 2024 Company technology roadmap HUB's strategic technology and cloud roadmap, owned end to end with executive leadership. Organisations →
  3. Since 2024 Regional strategy inside a global firm European technology strategy connecting local business needs with Vanguard's global capabilities. Technology strategy →
  4. Now Strategy for the agentic era Public work on how agentic AI changes technology operating models and leadership itself. Agentic enterprise →

Governance and risk

Making governance part of the system rather than a gate around it, in regulated environments where trust is the licence to operate.

  1. 2014 – 2016 Compliance in the pipeline Fidsafe CD pipelines automated operations, security and compliance checks, enabling daily releases in a regulated firm. Platforms →
  2. 2021 – 2024 Security posture and SOC 2 HUB's initial infosec posture, SOC monitoring and SOC 2 Type I readiness. Organisations →
  3. Since 2024 Responsible AI governance AI enablement designed with governance built in, appropriate to a regulated financial-services firm. Technology strategy →
  4. Now Invisible governance and governance-as-code Hekton's claims registers, risk registers, review gates and approval policies enforced inside the agentic workflow. Agentic enterprise →

AI and agentic systems

From ML workshops and RAG pilots to designing the agentic enterprise.

  1. 2016 – 2020 Early ML and emerging tech Machine-learning workshops and distributed-ledger experimentation in the labs remit. Engineering capability →
  2. 2021 – 2024 Applied generative AI Azure OpenAI and retrieval-augmented-generation exploration for a fintech product. Organisations →
  3. Since 2024 Enterprise AI enablement AI adoption and responsible governance across Vanguard Europe. Technology strategy →
  4. Now Agentic software factories Hekton, Gremlins and The Agentic Tekton as a connected research programme. Agentic enterprise →

Business and product leadership

Working the seam between technology and the business: clients, product, compliance and executives.

  1. 2012 – 2018 Business-case engineering Labs POCs framed as investments; ROI definitions that got one in five ideas funded. Platforms →
  2. 2019 – 2020 Domain design with the business Event Storming and DDD sessions putting business experts at the modelling table. Engineering capability →
  3. 2021 – 2024 Client and executive partnership Conceptual product architecture with clients and SMEs; partnership with product, compliance and executive leadership at HUB. Organisations →
  4. Since 2024 Strategy alignment at executive level Keeping business strategy, architecture and engineering pointed at the same outcomes across Vanguard Europe. Technology strategy →