Software Architect 

I architected eBay’s software release process, cutting the release cycle from 2 months to 1 week, and boosting developer productivity by about 20% per day (that’s a little under $1 million DAILY impact assuming 250 working days per year at an average salary of ~$230k/year).

I built the West Coast support team at IBM from scratch as a fresh college grad. I hired my own manager, kept zero churn on the team for four years, and got promoted to team lead after one year while being the most junior person on the team when I started. I even created a patent-pending tool to let IBM’s ClearCase snapshot views load in parallel, despite IBM saying it couldn’t be done.

Social Savant 

I played the Chief of Staff and co-founder roles at our startup, Social Savant. My co-founder came up with the initial vision for our company – to teach men better social skills and emotional intelligence so that they could be better empowered to meet the partner they wanted. I took over operations, hiring, managing post-sales, and constantly challenging and refining that vision. I’ve spoken at Stanford University, and mentored over 1,000 men in social skills and emotional intelligence. Every client I’ve worked with has left inspired. In fact, some of them have told me that they met their wives as a direct result the skills that they learned from me.

Infantry Officer 

I was an infantry officer / platoon commander in the Singapore Army. I was also a sharpshooter. I could consistently hit a target the size of a 10.2″ iPad at 300 yards with an M16 without using an optical scope. For context, 300 meters is a little over a San Francisco city blocks. I set a record in inter-platoon wargames, finishing an exercise meant to last 8-12 hours in just 3. Long story, more than happy to tell you over coffee!

Chess Player 

I’m a competitive chess player. My peak was going undefeated with 8 wins and 1 draw, which got me ranked #2 under-21 in Singapore. I play the position, but I also play the person. I anticipate their plans, I read their temperament, and I use that data to create non-forcing positions that them plenty of space to make mistakes. This puts psychological pressure on them and forces them to burn precious minutes on the clock.

Martial Artist 

I’m a gold medal fighter with black belts in both Goju-Ryu Karate and Taekwondo. I’ve also trained in wing chun, boxing, krav maga, and judo. Most of my competitive fights ended with a KO in the first round. I’m not the biggest, strongest, or fastest fighter but what makes me successful is reading how the other person fights and moves, anticipating their actions, and creating and executing a plan whilst in the middle of the fight. I can strategize and adapt even under extreme stress – it doesn’t get more visceral than someone else actively wanting to kick your face in!

Community Builder 

I run a Facebook group with 3000+ members for aftermarket ticket exchanges – no drama / scams / profiteering, just smooth transactions. One of the strongest motivations for a lot of people is a sense of social obligation to one’s community. So I created membership rules such that membership was only granted if someone else sponsored your application or you knew at least ten members in good standing. That way, if someone misbehaved, that person’s sponsor and anyone who knew that person could use that sense of social contract to get that person to do the right thing. Using that framework, I managed to reduce bad deals to almost zero. The two times that deals went sideways, the community was able to come together to get money back for the people involved.

What’s Next? 

I’m constantly working on seeing what I don’t know that I don’t know. I work with a therapist and a mastermind group to keep a 360-degree evaluation going. Most recently, I overcame a sense of imposter syndrome. Right now, I’m focusing on building my financial skills (interpreting balance sheets, P&Ls, and forecasting cash flows) to become a more effective Chief of Staff.

Final Thoughts 

I believe the best ideas and solutions come from connecting different worlds. Whether it’s chess strategy in business, martial arts discipline in tech, or leadership in community building, I thrive at the intersections.

That’s my track record. Am I a Renaissance man? I’ll let you decide.