Bob Hitching

Current

• Director, Technology - Xumii Services at Xumii (acquired by Myriad Group, August 2009)

Past

• Program Director, Digital & Wireless Innovation at Lonely Planet
• CIO at Genos
• CTO at Legion Interactive

• General Manager Online Solutions at Chandler Macleod Group
• Founder and CEO at Bags Of Time
• Product Development Director at News International
• Internet Developer & Consultant at Various
• Computer Game Developer (Self-employed)

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Education

• University of Leeds
• University of Nottingham
• University of Nottingham

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Recommended

6 people have recommended Bob

Connections

300 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

• My Blog
• My Company
• My New Company

Bob Hitching’s Summary

20 odd years experience in technology; 14 even stranger years in all aspects of online and mobile technology, frequently getting the bends from navigating between hands-on tech dev, product management, general management of cross-functional teams, and CXO leadership of tech start-ups; I like creating value from rapid technological innovation, emerging market opportunities, new business relationships, pattern recognition, and successful team leadership

Bob Hitching’s Specialties:

mobile, geo, social, innovation, web, travel2.0, wireless, convergence, LBS, disruptive technology, start-up, intrapreneur, entrapreneur, API, Open Source, commercialisation, SOA, agile, mashup, SMS, strategic planning, MMS, architecture, WAP, design, IVR, WordPress, hands-on development, IVVR, human factors, AJAX, ergonomics, PHP, Drupal, J2ME, usability, iPhone, Android, Google Maps, Earth, Facebook, OpenSocial, MySpace, scrum, social networking, customer-obsessive disorder

Bob Hitching’s Experience

• Director, Technology - Xumii Services

  Xumii (acquired by Myriad Group, August 2009)

  (Public Company; MRYN; Telecommunications industry)

  April 2008 — Present (1 year 8 months)

  • Building and leading the technology team for this venture capital funded mobile social networking startup - see http://www.xumii.com - which in August 2009 was acquired by Myriad Group (SIX:MYRN), Europe's largest mobile software company and provider of software to more than 2 billion mobile phones worldwide
  • Responsible for the delivery of an ambitious and innovative product roadmap requiring a massive technology set, including web, mobile web, native iPhone, Android and J2ME applications, Java, PHP, MySQL, OpenSocial, XMPP, Drupal, GWT, AJAX, SMS, and integration with Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, iMeem, Flickr, YouTube, MSN Chat, Google Talk, Yahoo! Chat, and AOL Messenger
  • Successfully achieved product evolution from stealth R&D mode through private beta into public launch of a suite of prototype products which within a few months were helping over a million people stay connected via social networking on their phones
  • Grew the team’s capability and the technology offering from a direct-to-consumer downloadable mobile application to a powerful mobile social networking platform suitable for international mobile operators and handset manufacturers

• Program Director, Digital & Wireless Innovation

  Lonely Planet

  (Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Publishing industry)

  2006 — 2008 (2 years )

  • Leading the market delivery of a portfolio of Travel2.0 and experimental technology-led digital travel solutions, including lonelyplanet.tv, and others in the pipeline.
  • Creation of LPmaps (digital mapping via Google Maps, Google Earth, Facebook and other platforms) including strategy, product mgt, project mgt, architecture, hands-on development, infrastructure, making the coffee.
  • Publisher of Lonely Planet's first public API for developers to extend LPmaps, see labs.lonelyplanet.com for more.
  • Defining and delivering a portfolio of mobile technology solutions for on-the-road travellers; SMS, mobile internet, MMS.
  • Building an Innovation Lab in Sydney to fast-track this stuff using agile development, off-the-shelf solutions, and partnerships.

• CIO

  Genos

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Human Resources industry)

  2004 — 2007 (3 years )

  • Start-up; commercialisation of Emotional Intelligence IP into a global online solution that helps employers measure and develop their people's EQ; technology building and product development; helped through to first VC round in Dec 06; Genos is now bigger than I can cope with for a job-on-the-side.

• CTO

  Legion Interactive

  (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  2005 — 2006 (1 year )

  • Led tech development and infrastructure teams to deliver convergent digital technology solutions spanning web, phone (IVR, IVVR), and mobile (SMS, WAP, MMS, i-mode, 3G video) to customers including ninemsn, News Interactive, Fairfax Digital, Telstra, Vodafone, Optus, and Channels 7, 9 and 10.
  • Presided over Australia's busiest ever mobile interactive events including Big Brother and Australian Idol voting.

• General Manager Online Solutions

  Chandler Macleod Group

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; Human Resources industry)

  2002 — 2004 (2 years )

  • Intrapreneurship; led the product development and commercialisation of an online self-service psychometric testing solution, globally unique in delivering 'better people decisions' through a special blend of computer-generated plus psychologist-written assessment reports.
  • Achieved online sales of $0.5m per month within first year, exported to 20 countries worldwide.

• Founder and CEO

  Bags Of Time

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)

  2000 — 2002 (2 years )

  • Built and led the UK's first online 60-minute shopping service in London.
  • Achieved the UK's fastest ever online shopping delivery @ 17 minutes from order to delivery, and broadcast live on BBC Radio.
  • 'Best Customer Service' finalist at European E-Commerce Awards 2000.

• Product Development Director

  News International

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Newspapers industry)

  1999 — 2000 (1 year )

  • Created and managed 'dot corp' incubation unit for News International (News Corp UK).
  • Directed the launch and development of numerous online products including online auctions, shopping, jobs and property marketplaces, an ISP, and news and entertainment sites representing brands such as The Times and The Sun that together reach over 20 million customers.
  • Managed the Product Development team through many exciting dotcom moments, including the UK's highest profile live web chat with Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• Internet Developer & Consultant

  Various

  (Public Company; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)

  1994 — 1999 (5 years )

  • Learning the online trade.

• Computer Game Developer

  Self-employed

  (Self-Employed; 1-10 employees; Computer Software industry)

  1984 — 1985 (1 year )

  • Developed ‘MegaFruit’, a pokies simulator for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum written in Z80 machine code. The game enjoyed modest commercial success from a publishing and distribution deal made with Thor Computer Games. 20 years later, MegaFruit can now be played on a Spectrum emulator on my phone!

Bob Hitching’s Education

• University of Leeds

  M.Sc. , Master of Computer Science & Virtual Environments , 1994 — 1995

  > Focus on internet, artificial intelligence, search algorithms, virtual environments
  > Thesis: 'Commercial Applications of the Internet' (!)
  > Graduated with Distinction

• University of Nottingham

  Dip. App. Psych. , Diploma in Applied Psychology , 1990 — 1991

  > Focus on human-computer interaction, ergonomics
  > Devised customer-centric technology development methodology for ICL

• University of Nottingham

  B.Sc. , Psychology , 1987 — 1990

  > Focus on human-computer interaction
  > Graduated with 2:1 Honours
  > Special Award for Top Honours Student from class of 50+

Additional Information

Bob Hitching’s Websites:

• My Blog
• My Company
• My New Company