Ambles Kwok

Ambles Kwok

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Head of Engineering (Toronto) & Head of Security
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

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Résumé

Jobs verified_user 0% verified
  • Thumbtack
    Head of Engineering (Toronto) & Head of Security
    Thumbtack
    Nov 2020 - Current (6 years)
  • Therapia Physiotherapy
    Co-Founder, CTO/CISO
    Therapia Physiotherapy
    May 2015 - Current (11 years 6 months)
    Our vision is to provide treatment to anyone who needs it, in comfortable and convenient locations. Delivering expert therapy is what we do.

    https://therapia.com
  • Setter a Thumbtack company
    CTO and CISO
    Setter a Thumbtack company
    Aug 2019 - Nov 2020 (1 year 4 months)
    Setter is acquired by Thumbtack in Q4/2020!
  • Indigo
    VP, Technology and Digital Innovation
    Indigo
    Jan 2016 - Jan 2019 (3 years 1 month)
  • JUICE Mobile
    Chief Technology Officer
    JUICE Mobile
    Jun 2015 - Jun 2016 (1 year 1 month)
  • F
    Technical Advisor
    Freckle IoT
    Jun 2015 - Jun 2016 (1 year 1 month)
  • Sysomos
    VP of Software Engineering
    Sysomos
    Jul 2013 - May 2015 (1 year 11 months)
    • Spearheaded the development of a highly strategic social media advertising ecosystem, meticulously crafted to amplify impressions, foster engagement, and skyrocket conversion rates.
    • Orchestrated and galvanized cross-functional engineering teams, driving the continuous enhancement and maintenance of enterprise-grade, real-time social media monitoring and analytical tools.
    • Forged pivotal technical and strategic alliances with industry giants such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and other leading social media data providers, elevating our competitive edge and market positioning.
  • GREE International Inc
    Director of Engineering, Monetization and Analytics
    GREE International Inc
    Jun 2012 - Jun 2013 (1 year 1 month)
    Developed mobile social game customized data management platform - DMP to collect in-game behaviour, influential factor, and gamer psychographics. The DMP is the central intelligence for advertising targeting and personalized live operations
    • Architected a near real-time user behaviour analytics engine using Hadoop, Vertica, GreenPlum, and R.
    • Measured the effectiveness and responsiveness of various marketing tools and live operations
    • Collected over 2TB client-side and server-side raw/unfiltered log daily, session-correlated via Hadoop, aggregated with custom python scripts, and archived in Mysql database with Tableau visualization
  • Mercatus Technologies Inc
    Vice-President, Technology
    Mercatus Technologies Inc
    Mar 2010 - Mar 2012 (2 years 1 month)
    ✔ Led divisional and corporate technological undertakings; operational and strategic accountability for hardware, software, network, personnel and technical resources of the recommendation engine, in-store, mobile and SaaS businesses
    ✔ Solution Architect for clients, conducted needs assessment and developed solutions; served as the subject-matter expert in both technology, operation, and security
    ✔ Developed company-wide product and technology roadmap for realizing immediate market ROI, growing product portfolio, and leading technology innovation
    ✔ Managed 28 engineers from various teams including development, QA, IT, and operations; completed all training, career development, performance management and goal-setting
  • Mercatus Technologies Inc
    Director of Engineering
    Mercatus Technologies Inc
    Oct 2009 - Mar 2010 (6 months)
    ✔ Orchestrated and managed a team of 18 talented individuals spanning R&D, engineering, and QA departments, ensuring synchronized execution and optimal performance.
    ✔ Spearheaded the implementation of the ITIL process, revolutionizing our management approach by streamlining and optimizing all IT activities.
    ✔ Pioneered a groundbreaking pilot program for CONCIERGE® at the flagship Real Canadian SuperStore, overseeing the deployment of over 75 CONCIERGE-enabled shopping carts. Through meticulous coordination with stakeholders, vendors, and partners, the program achieved unparalleled success, resulting in a remarkable $4 million USD investment.
    ✔ Engineered a cutting-edge RESTful API SaaS platform, empowering seamless access to
  • Yahoo
    Sr. Engineering Manager & Information Security SME (Paranoid)
    Yahoo
    Jan 2005 - Jan 2009 (4 years 1 month)
    ✔ Led a team of software engineers in the design and development of core Yahoo! Canada services; collaborated with strategic partners, digital media providers, and third-party vendors
    ✔ Architected products such as the lifestyle, sports, finance, weather, search, and local channels; collaborated with US counterparts to localize and specialize services for the Canadian market while actively participating in Yahoo! global platform taskforce
    ✔ Served as the Canadian divisional information security officer; promoted defensive programming, evangelized the importance of security, audited production services and systems

    Significant Achievements:

    ♦ Implemented the flagship product (CA Lifestyle website) which was
  • Yahoo
    Senior Software Developer
    Yahoo
    Jan 2003 - Jan 2005 (2 years 1 month)
    ✔ Spearheaded the creation of Yahoo! Wallet, a fortified web bastion empowering users to safeguard and wield multiple credit cards with precision
    ✔ Orchestrated protocols on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act/PCI-DSS compliance council, safeguarding data sanctity, online transition inviolability, access guardianship, and change vigilance; mentored junior software engineers
    ✔ Architected a symphony of real-time data replication across the East and West coasts, upholding ITIL's business continuity doctrine with unwavering resolve
  • Yahoo
    Software Engineer
    Yahoo
    May 2000 - Apr 2003 (3 years)
Education verified_user 0% verified
  • University of Toronto Rotman School of Management
    Master of Business Administration (M.B.A, Business Administration and Management
    University of Toronto Rotman School of Management
    Jan 2014 - Jan 2016 (2 years 1 month)
  • University of StGallen
    Global Executive Master of Business Administration (M.B.A, GEMBA - Class of Omnium '11
    University of StGallen
    Jan 2014 - Jan 2016 (2 years 1 month)
  • Harvard Business School
    Executive Education, Leading Product Innovation
    Harvard Business School
    Jan 2014
  • University of Toronto
    Certificate in IT Service Management (ITSM, Business Administration and Management
    University of Toronto
    Jan 2012
  • MIT Sloan School of Management
    Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership, Finance
    MIT Sloan School of Management
    Jan 2006 - Jan 2009 (3 years 1 month)
    Courses include:
    ♦ Managing Technical Professionals and Organizations
    ♦ Strategic Marketing for the Technical Executive
    ♦ Fundamentals of Finance for the Technical Executive
    ♦ Managing Complex Product Development Projects
  • University of Waterloo
    Master of Mathematics, Computer Science
    University of Waterloo
    Jan 1998 - Jan 2000 (2 years 1 month)
    ♦ Dissertation titled “Active Transparent Caching”, 2000.
    ♦ Co-contributor of "Caching and Multicast Delivery" in Electronic Commerce Technology Trends: Challenges and Opportunites (ISBN: 1-58347-009-3)
  • University of Waterloo
    Bachelor of Mathematics, Mathematics and Computer Science (and Combinatorics and Optimization)
    University of Waterloo
    Jan 1993 - Jan 1998 (5 years 1 month)
    ♦ Graduated with distinction.
Projects (professional or personal) verified_user 0% verified
  • F
    Food Lion iPhone App
    Managed the deployment of Food Lion's iPhone application in close collaboration with Mercatus Technologies. The app extends the pre-shopping and in-store experience to Food Lion shoppers' mobile devices. Once downloaded, users are able to view weekly sales, create and manage shopping lists, find their nearest store, get recipes and manage their MVP profile which is synchronized with their online account at foodlion.com. The app is free, convenient, and easy to use with over 74,000 downloads and many positive reviews in the iTunes store.
Awards verified_user 0% verified
  • I
    Odyssey Award
    Issued by Yahoo
  • I
    Odyssey Award
    Issued by Yahoo
Publications verified_user 0% verified
  • J
    Active Transparent Caching
    Jan
  • F
    Electronic Commerce Technology Trends: Challenges and Opportunities
    FEB
    Chapter 3 -- Caching and Multicast Delivery (Contributing Author)
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