As a child, Brian loved atlases and lego, (a good indicator of his aptitude for geospatial work). He also enjoyed exploring the beaches and forests where he grew up.
Whether formal or informal, Brian’s education was made for geospatial problem-solving. He earned his Bachelor of Science, with majors in Physics and Geomatics, from the University of Ottawa. Then, he worked as a software developer, learning as much as he could in the startup sector. Brian’s admits that his top-notch troubleshooting comes from his time as a signaller in the Canadian Armed forces, where he always was fixing something that was broken. In addition to technical faults, he grew his passion for geospatial from the line-of-sight problems he had to solve.
Sparkgeo’s people and mission attracted Brian to Sparkgeo. He joined us in 2018 and works remotely from a small town on Vancouver Island. He appreciates working close to home, as doing so allows him to learn, train, and grow, instead of wasting hours commuting.
The vigorous exchange of ideas within Sparkgeo appeals to Brian. He also appreciates how the company accommodates differing personalities and work styles. He feels that this makes the company stronger.
Brian appreciates Sparkgeo’s ability to forge relationships. This allows the company to attract talent, and grow exceptional products. He believes that the web is changing fast. He wants to focus on how to make the most of this.
When asked about technology, Brian notes his fondness for the Sliptics Client (the secret sauce behind Maptiks). He also finds Mapbox Vector Tiles amazing, and hopes to see more come out of this.
Brian attributes his happiness to his wife, Anne-Lynn. He’s travelled to locations including Damascus, Oban, Jerusalem, and Barkley Sound. He enjoys reading old tomes on society, history, and political thought. Currently, he’s growing his skills in GraphQL, Elixir, and React.
