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 The Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation and Nitobi Software and an active member of 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.

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.

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 “User Experience Done Right!” for industry professionals across Western Canada. He is a co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE), presents regularly to numerous professional groups, and maintains a popular personal blog. In his spare time, Ben is an avid air miles collector, travelling around the world sampling libations as he goes, and enjoys watching bad movies.

As Practice Leader, Collaboration, Brian Edwards oversees the marketing, sales, and delivery 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, business productivity, and Web 2.0; 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, and emerging social networking trends. 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.

With Habañero since 2000, Caterina Sanders, Director, User Experience, acts on behalf of end-users to make certain that 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.

As Regional Director, British Columbia, Chris Radcliffe is responsible for creating and implementing a go-to-market strategy, executing the regional sales plan and developing strategic client relationships. Chris has a strong vision for the business potential in the region and a compelling approach for integrating the role into Habañero's existing and evolving leadership structure. With Habañero since 2000, Chris brings extensive experience in client experience management, project delivery, senior level consulting, risk management, and financial analysis, and he has worked extensively with Practice Leaders to develop our service offerings.

As one of Habañero’s most valuable strategic advisers for portal and external web projects, 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 is a co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University. Away from work, Chris strives to master the art of bocce and late-night barbequing.

Regional Director for Alberta, Jason McIntyre is responsible for all of Habañero's operations within the province. Jason has over 15 years of experience working in and consulting to IT organizations. His focus is in strategy consulting across business domains such as business development, marketing, product commercialization, and operations; and IT areas such as architecture, portfolio management, PMO structure and operations, ERP, CRM, and collaboration.

Prior to joining Habañero, Jason held a variety of IT positions for organizations such as Walton International, Wireless Matrix Corporation, and Xerox Canada as well as a variety of consulting positions for organizations such as Avanade Canada, Ideaca Knowledge Services, and Pangaea Systems. He also ran his own IT consulting firm for eight years. He has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Calgary and a number of IT certifications. Outside of the office Jason is an avid cyclist and handyman, and loves spending time with his family.

Lars Agger is responsible for building the success of Habañero’s enterprise resource planning practice area, which includes both AX and NAV, and providing leadership for his growing team. He has a vast background in a variety of systems including SAP, AX, and NAV, 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 leads Habañero’s sustainment practice and is responsible for the marketing, sales, and delivery of all sustainment service offerings. Liam assists clients in developing overall sustainment strategies and provisioning services that complement clients’ resources and capabilities. His effective sustainment plans reduce operating costs and minimize the risk of down time, security incidents, and data loss while providing the ability to adapt quickly to changing business needs and continually improve user satisfaction and adoption. With Habañero since 2005, Liam aims to position Habañero as a leading application management services provider for Microsoft-based applications.

Prior to joining Habañero, Liam co-founded an engineering and software services company. While there, he led the development and implementation of a vendor-managed inventory solution based on the Microsoft platform that is currently used by manufacturing and distribution companies at over 500 locations worldwide. In addition to being a Microsoft Certified Professional, Liam holds an ITIL Foundation Certificate and actively works on incorporating ITIL Service Management practices into Habañero’s sustainment engagements. Liam has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of British Columbia. When not working, he enjoys trail running and biking on the local mountains.

Peter John McFarlane leads Habañero’s engineering team and ensures software solutions help businesses achieve their strategic goals. As Director of Engineering, Peter John oversees team resourcing and capacity management, knowledge management, and career development, and plays a vital role in the running of day-to-day company operations. Applying his keen problem solving skills and proven leadership abilities, Peter John also acts as a technical advisor on some projects, assisting with requirements gathering and architecting business solutions.

Peter John co-founded the Vancouver SharePoint User Group (VanSPUG) and is actively involved in the local development community. He is a key organizer and facilitator of monthly VanSPUG meetings and encourages his team members to present at numerous industry events. Peter John is also an invited member of the Computer Systems Technology Program Advisory Committee at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) where he plays a vital role in keeping BCIT programs relevant to the needs of students, business, and industry.

Prior to joining Habañero, Peter John gained development and leadership experience as Technical Lead and Lead Mentor at JJ People, and as Senior Consultant at FDM Group. He graduated from the Information Technology Institute in Moncton, NB with a diploma in Information Technology after serving as an officer in the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve, 1st Battalion North Nova Scotia Highlanders. When he’s not burning the midnight oil, Peter John enjoys playing his guitar, snowboarding, and skydiving in his old kilt.

Senior Consultant and Habañero partner Rick Martin focuses his time working with a small number of strategic clients to drive business value through the implementation of technology. Rick’s expertise lies in the information worker space, where he focuses on the SharePoint platform.

In late 2005, Rick founded Habañero’s Calgary office and created an incredibly solid team that developed strong client relationships and an excellent reputation in the marketplace. Under his leadership, the Alberta region delivered exceptionally strong results and was well set up for continued success after Rick’s relocation back to Vancouver in mid-2009.

As a Partner, Rick also spends time working on refining Habañero’s operational processes to drive innovation and value. Prior to joining Habañero, Rick held positions at Capgemini, a global business consultancy firm out of Vancouver, and PA Consulting Group in the United Kingdom where Rick originates. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bristol in the UK. Off hours Rick is an avid mountain biker and taster of warm beer.