Competition Captain Bios

Rob Miles

Rob Miles is Captain of the Software Design competition. Rob is a Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom where he delivers courses in programming, software engineering and embedded systems. Rob has been writing software since computers filled entire rooms and were programmed using punched cards. He has developed code for a huge number of systems over the years, although now he likes to work with XNA, Windows Phone and the .NET Micro Framework, on which subjects he has written MSDN articles and books for Microsoft Press. He is also an experienced presenter and has given breakout sessions at numerous Microsoft conferences, including TechEd. Rob has been a Microsoft MVP for the past five years and has been involved in the Imagine Cup since its inception, initially as a team mentor but more recently as a judge. In his spare time he likes to take photographs and has also been known to dash off the odd verse of poetry – his lectures given entirely in rhyme have passed into legend at Hull. You can keep up with him at www.robmiles.com.

 

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is Captain of the Embedded Development competition. He has been with Microsoft for the past 5 years and has led the Imagine Cup Embedded Development competition for the past 3 years.  Scott currently leads the Microsoft Academic and Community programs for Windows Embedded.  He is responsible for creating the hobbyist focused “SPARK Your Imagination” program as well as a variety of global academic initiatives.  In addition to his work with Windows Embedded, Scott helped launch Vista, Office, SQL and Visual Studio.  Scott is deeply involved in on10.net, Mix and Microsoft Film Studios.  In 2007, Scott was awarded an Emmy for his work on the Windows Vista multi-media promotion.  Scott received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and his MBA from the University of Washington.  He braves the rain in Seattle with his son and extended family.

Gitte-Lena Andersen

Gitte-Lena Andersen is co-captain of the Embedded Development competition. She has been with Microsoft for almost 5 years and has held different roles managing marketing and field projects and programs. Gitte-Lena currently manages the execution of the Academic and Community programs for Windows Embedded, which in addition to the ED Imagine Cup competition includes the hobbyist competition and program embeddedSPARK and other academic initiatives.  Gitte-Lena received both her undergraduate degree in Business and her Masters degree in International Marketing & Management from Copenhagen Business School, and has recently earned certificate degrees in Project Management and Human Resources Management from University of Washington.

 

Andrew Parsons 

Andrew  Parsons is the Captain of the Game Design competition. Andrew is the Academic Initiative Lead for Microsoft Australia and has a huge passion for gaming and game development. In his career leading up to Microsoft, Andrew was a gaming journalist for a decade, as well as an author of 13 books on technology, from introductory titles on programming and design through to comprehensive technical manuals for professional developers. Andrew also created and ran Australian Developer (later becoming International Developer) magazine, a title dedicated to all things software development and still runs www.gameparents.com as a hobby.  You can best find what Andrew is up to on his Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/MrAndyPuppy) or his blog blogs.msdn.com/andrewparsons. Andrew keeps busy in his East Coast home an hour north of Sydney, Australia, with his two kids and four dogs. 

Paolo Tosolini

 

Paolo Tosolini is the Captain of the Digital Media competition. He is an independent consultant who helps corporations adopt social media and online video to improve internal employee communication and training. Previously, Paolo spent 9 years at Microsoft in various roles, most recently as New Media Business Manager, focused on the utilization of social media, online video, and enterprise podcasting to foster employee knowledge sharing within the company. Prior to this role, Paolo worked in various other groups at Microsoft including Windows Media, MSN, and Office, where he managed the Office 2007 partner early adoption program that resulted in more than 500 partner solutions developed at launch. Paolo also blogs and podcasts about Italy and travel at http://www.italyfromtheinside.com.

 

Chris Amaris

Chris Amaris is co-Captain of the IT Challenge competition. Chris is the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Convergent Computing and he has over 20 years experience consulting for Fortune 500 companies, leading companies in the technology selection, design, planning, and implementation of complex Information Technology projects. He specializes in database management, security, performance tuning, systems management, migration and messaging.  A Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with an Information System Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) concentration, Certified Homeland Security (CHS III), Windows 2003 MCSE, Novell CNE, Banyan CBE, and a Certified Project Manager, Chris is an author, writer and technical editor for a number of IT books, including Network Security for Government and Corporate Executives, Windows 2000 Performance Tuning & Optimization, Maximum Windows 2000 Security, Windows Server 2008 Unleashed, and Exchange Server 2007 Unleashed.  Chris Amaris presents on Operations Management, Messaging, Security, and Information Technology topics worldwide.  Chris is also a member of the Computer Security Institute (CSI).

 

Rand Morimoto

Rand Morimoto, Ph.D., MVP, CISSP is a co-Captain of the IT Challenge.  A former Imagine Cup champion in the IT Challenge, he has served as the Head Judge at the Worldwide Finals for the past 5 years. Dr. Morimoto has been in the computer industry for over 30 years and is the lead author for Sams Publishing's "Unleashed" series of books that include worldwide bestselling titles on Microsoft technologies spanning products including Windows 2008, Exchange 2007, SharePoint 2007, ISA 2006, Hyper-V, and SQL 2008. Dr. Morimoto is the President of Convergent Computing, a San Francisco based IT consulting firm that provides technology consulting to some of the largest businesses and government agencies in the world. In his free time, Dr. Morimoto is a Regent on the Board at St. Mary's College of California, volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Chabot Space and Science Center astronomical museum and planetarium, and directly sponsors and supports organizations involved in climate change, international education, and global peace building.