About Habañero
Leadership Team
Find a complete list of our team members in our employee directory.
On this page:
Executive
Our company is jointly owned by Steven Fitzgerald and Elliot Fishman. Since 1996, our company's leaders have carefully managed our growth, allowing us to secure a reputation for trusted business advice, original creative design, and proven technical expertise. Together, Steven and Elliot have defied the odds by placing Habañero among the only 4% of small businesses that maintain double-digit growth for more than four years . Under their leadership, we have also been recognized with many industry awards, nominations, and honours.
Steven Fitzgerald
President
President Steven Fitzgerald founded Habañero in 1996 and built it into a sustainable and thriving business. His rare abilities to establish a viable business; communicate a compelling vision; ensure the structure, processes, people, and data are in place to achieve that vision; and strategically plan for the long-term have ensured the company’s exceptional corporate growth and performance since its inception. Steven leads by example and reinforces the company values and culture he created. As a result his team is able to deliver true value to clients, build rewarding career paths, and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Steven’s unique abilities and achievements have been recognized both internationally and locally. In 2003, the United Nations Development Programme invited him to East Timor to help build the country’s justice system. Part of a 10-person international team, Steven developed 5- to 20-year technology strategies to enable effective and efficient processes for the justice institutions. Steven returned to East Timor in 2005 to assess progress. In addition, Business in Vancouver magazine recognized Steven in its annual 40 Under 40 Awards of outstanding entrepreneurs, executives, managers, and professionals based on his achievement, experience and innovation, vision, leadership, and community involvement.
Steven is an active member of Vancouver’s business community. He is a Board member of Nitobi Software Inc., a Partner with the BC Technology Social Venture Partners, and an active member of both ViRTUS and Acetech.
Prior to starting Habañero, Steven was a professional engineer on large-scale international projects for BC Hydro. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science in mechanical engineering from the University of British Columbia. Steven is an avid mountain biker and enjoys spending time with his four kids.
Elliot Fishman
Vice-President
Habañero founder Steven Fitzgerald recruited Elliot Fishman in 2001 from KPMG Consulting where he established a proven track record for growing the business by cultivating long-term, trusted advisor relationships with clients. Since becoming partners with Steven in 2004 and assuming the role of Vice President, Elliot has focused on maintaining Habañero’s rapid growth and scaling the business for its second decade. With over a decade of experience in consulting, Elliot has a well-rounded perspective that perfectly complements Habañero’s needs as a young and rapidly growing technology services firm with a unique corporate culture.
Along with Steven, Elliot provides leadership for Habañero and shares responsibility for day-to-day operations. As the executive sponsor for consulting practices focused on Enterprise Line of Business solutions, Elliot ensures that Habañero delivers innovative services, and unparalleled quality and client satisfaction. Known for being both perceptive and receptive, Elliot has earned a reputation for excellence in engagement management by providing high-value counsel to clients; he handles some of Habañero’s key accounts and coaches others in building trusted advisor relationships. In addition, Elliot shares responsibility for directing Habañero’s leadership team, helping the team set priorities, develop business plans, and maintain excellent client relations.
Elliot earned his Master of Arts from the University of Chicago in 1995 and Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1994. He is a member of the Vancouver Chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization, a premier social and learning network for Vancouver's entrepreneurial community. Elliot’s passions include spending time with his wife and children, boating, mountain biking, and skiing.
Leadership Team
Our team consists of industry-leading subject matter experts who guide our company in particular areas and future directions.
Ben Skelton
Practice Leader, Websites and eCommerce
One of Canada’s foremost user experience leaders, Ben Skelton directs Habañero's Websites and eCommerce practice. Ben is responsible for all aspects of the practice including business development, innovation and excellence, and ultimately the final product Habañero delivers. He has extensive knowledge and experience in corporate visioning and strategy, information and interaction design, user interface design, usability engineering, and back-end technology. A member of Habañero’s team since 1999 and the former Director of User Experience, Ben works with many of the company’s high-profile clients. His primary goal for all projects is to deliver real business value to clients and deepen their relationships with customers.
In addition to client work, Ben teaches a two-day seminar entitled “Designing a Better Web User Experience” for the Software Productivity Centre. He is a co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE), presents regularly to numerous groups including the International Internet Marketing Association, COMDEX, and the Calgary Portal User’s Group, and maintains a popular personal blog. In his spare time, Ben is an avid air miles collector, travelling around the world and sampling libations as he goes, and enjoys watching bad movies.
Brian Edwards
Senior Architect, Collaboration Practice Leader
As Collaboration Practice Leader, Brian Edwards oversees the delivery and marketing and sales of all collaboration projects including portals, content management solutions, business process automations, and MS Office solutions. He also investigates industry trends in collaboration, knowledge sharing, and business productivity; tunes Habañero’s processes around information worker and collaboration solutions; and ensures clients are up-to-date on industry trends, technology changes, and business options. With Habañero since 2000 and recognized as an MS SharePoint expert, Brian aims to position Habañero as a world leader in building knowledge management and productivity portals on Microsoft's platforms.
Brian was appointed to Microsoft's Partner Advisory Council for Collaboration and Portals in 2005. He regularly writes and presents on improving collaboration practices and information worker productivity. Prior to working at Habañero, Brian ran the intranet for a Fortune 500 US bank. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Boca Del Lupo Theatre Group, which provides innovative theatre experiences in the Vancouver area and abroad. Besides being a technology geek, Brian enjoys running, hip hop, and playing piano.
Caterina Sanders
Director, User Experience
With Habañero since 2000, Caterina Sanders, Director, User Experience, acts on behalf of end-users to ensure Habañero solutions exceed their needs and expectations. Drawing on her wide variety of business and technical experience, Caterina manages the User Experience team, provides UE leadership for all projects, and conducts project business analysis and project management. Caterina believes Habañero’s strong commitment to user experience in combination with its solid technical abilities ensure clients will receive exceptional business value from any Habañero deliverable.
Caterina has taught classes in website design and development at Bodwell Internet School and is co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE). She holds an Advanced Internet Development Diploma from the Bodwell Internet School along with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia. In her spare time, Caterina enjoys spending time with her family and travelling.
Chris Radcliffe
Director, Client Experience Management
As Director, Client Experience Management, Chris Radcliffe ensures that Habañero builds the most successful business relationships possible with clients. To accomplish this, he focuses on ensuring that all of Habañero’s clients are a good fit and have the capacity to maintain relationships based on mutual respect and trust. In addition, Chris works with a team of advisors to define clients’ expectations of an ‘ideal experience’, build programs that ensure a quality engagements, and convert all clients into ‘raving fans’.
As one of Habañero’s most valuable strategic advisors for portal and external web projects since 2000, Chris also shapes the user experience of solutions and ensures clients receive optimum business value. He continues to provide thought leadership in the areas of enterprise information architecture design, search strategies, and governance and is now studying how social computing trends are impacting strategies for organizational communication and knowledge management.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University and helped establish the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE). Away from work, Chris strives to master the art of bocce and late-night barbequing.
John Atwater
Director, Business Development
John Atwater drives the sustainable growth of Habañero by increasing sales capacity and effectiveness, maximizing the business impact Habañero receives from its marketing investments, and ensuring the high engagement, satisfaction, and productivity of its partners. Working closely with Habañero's Practice Leaders, John widely promotes the value Habañero has helped its industry-leading clients achieve through the strategic application of technology.
Prior to joining the Habañero team in 2004, John consulted to executives of several Fortune 500 companies on how to leverage technology to manage distribution channels and improve sales effectiveness. John has helped define organizational structures and processes associated with account management and customer support, and has coached channel sales partners on how to sell technology solutions to large complex accounts. Like Steve Jobs, John is a Reed College dropout. After realizing he lacked Steve's entrepreneurial genius, however, he returned to school and received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of British Columbia.
Kelly Lautt
Solution Specialist, Business Intelligence Practice Leader
A Senior Solution specialist with over 10 years experience in enterprise-level decision-support, custom applications design, business process improvement, and business intelligence planning, Kelly Lautt heads up Habañero’s Business Intelligence Practice Area.
A die-hard Canadian, in 2005 Kelly sold her custom software solution company based in Los Angeles to return to Vancouver and join Habañero. Kelly is a member of The Data Warehousing Institute, which helps organizations increase their understanding and use of business intelligence by educating decision makers and I/S professionals on the proper deployment of data warehousing strategies and technologies. Kelly also regularly writes and presents on the incorporation of knowledge management and business-driven information delivery in modern enterprises.
Kelly holds a Bachelor of Political Science from UBC and a graduate degree in Political Science from UCLA, specializing in Computational Modelling and Statistical Analysis. When not working, Kelly enjoys entertaining, and hiking and camping with her husband and 100-pound dog.
Lars Agger
Dynamics Practice Leader
Dynamics Practice Leader Lars Agger is responsible for building the success of Habañero’s Dynamics practice area. He has a vast background in a variety of systems including SAP, Navision, and AX, and places great value on the implementation, as opposed to just installation, of company-wide solutions. Known for his ability to translate companies’ business needs into viable IT solutions, Lars works with clients to implement Dynamics solutions that provide speed, visibility, and flexibility and help align their IT strategies with business strategies.
Before working at Habañero, Lars was a Director of MIS for six years, spending over four years at Q Media in Vancouver. Prior to that, he worked as a Senior Consultant at SAP Canada for three years. Lars has a Masters degree in Supply Chain Management from Aalborg University in Denmark. He’s an outdoor sports fanatic who regularly takes advantage of Vancouver’s outdoor offerings including hiking, running, and playing soccer.
Liam Kerney
Sustainment Practice Leader
Sustainment Practice Leader Liam Kerney guides clients through the final phase of the software development lifecycle, which includes application maintenance, support, and infrastructure management. Assisting clients in developing overall sustainment strategies for solutions that Habañero implements, Liam provides on-going services to complement clients’ resources and capabilities. His effective sustainment plans greatly reduce clients’ total cost of ownership over the lives of solutions.
Liam is a Microsoft Certified Professional, a credential awarded based on his skills and experience successfully implementing Microsoft products and technology in business solutions. Prior to joining Habañero, he led the development of a vendor-managed inventory software solution based on the Microsoft .NET framework that is currently used by a global manufacturing and distribution company at over 500 locations in three countries. Liam has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of British Columbia. When not working, he enjoys playing in the Vancouver Ultimate League and trail running on the local mountains.
Peter McFarlane
Director of Engineering
Peter McFarlane leads Habañero’s Engineering Group and ensures software solutions help businesses achieve their strategic goals. As Director of Engineering, Peter facilitates communications and training within the engineering department and plays a vital role in both the development of company strategy and running of day-to-day operations. Applying his keen problem solving skills and proven leadership abilities, Peter also acts as technical lead on some projects, assisting with requirements gathering and architecting business solutions.
Prior to joining Habañero, Peter gained development and leadership experience as Technical Lead and Lead Mentor at JJ People for three years and as Senior Consultant at FDM Group for four years. He graduated from the Information Technology Institute in Moncton, NB with a diploma in Information Technology after serving in the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve, 1st Battalion North Nova Scotia Highlanders. When he’s not burning the midnight oil, Peter enjoys playing his guitar, snowboarding, and skydiving in his old kilt.
Rick Martin
Regional Director, Alberta
One of our resident Microsoft SharePoint experts, Rick Martin's primary areas of technical expertise are the design, implementation, and deployment of effective information worker solutions. With close to ten years experience as a consultant in Canada and the United Kingdom, Rick applies his expertise leading successful projects across a range of industry sectors. Recently promoted to our Alberta Practice leader, Rick is responsible for developing and leading Habañero's operations in Calgary and Edmonton.
In addition to Habañero, Rick held positions at Cap Gemini, a global business consultancy out of Vancouver, and PA Consulting Group in the United Kingdom where Rick originates. He has a Bachelors degree from the University of Bristol in the UK. Off hours Rick is a fierce mountain biker and a member of the North Shore Mountain Biking Association (NSMBA).