People profile : General Manager, .NET Developer Tools Division

Name: James Moore

Education: Downing College, Cambridge (B.A. in Computer Science)

Position at Red Gate: General Manager, .NET Developer Tools Division

Start date: July 2005

First job ever: Waiter in a hotel in Somerset

Before you arrived at Red Gate what did you do?

I joined Red Gate straight out of University as a Graduate. Before university I had been heavily involved in the PHP project working on the execution engine, quality assurance and documentation. I also worked as a sales person, technical consultant, customer relations manager, ran the student union bar and co-authored a couple of books.

What does your job involve on a day-to-day basis?

My role varies massively from day to day – one of the best things about it! One day I might spend the day with the sales team working on improving sales processes or chatting about marketing for the division. I still spend quite a bit of my time working on technical stuff – at the moment I am looking at new markets for us to compete in and trying to come up with a market entry and differentiation strategy.

What do you need to be a General Manager of the .NET Division?

This one is quite tough. If I didn't have a strong technical background to begin with, my job would be a lot harder. However, I need to balance what I already know technically, with an interest in all aspects of the business. The other thing is learning what to worry about and what not to – there is always lots going on and only so many hours in each day...

Why did you choose Red Gate?

It was a small company where I felt I could make a difference rather than being a cog in a large machine. Additionally, I had been to quite a few interviews before I came to Red Gate. I came here and got pushed really hard at interview and I left with the impression that the guys here were really smart and I knew I could learn a lot at Red Gate.

What are your favourite Red Gate perks?

Probably the nicest perk, from my point of view, is flexitime.

What's your most memorable Red Gate experience so far?

PDC in LA was awesome (as well as the 2 days we had free either side) as was TechEd in Orlando. The release celebration for SQL Bundle 5 in Paris was great fun. The many punting trips...so many to choose from...