I started in database administration on mainframes in 1995 after in house training with a bank in South Africa. Picked up MS SQL Server from 1998 with SQL 6.5. From there I've used and migrated databases to every release of SQL Server up to the current release.
Moved to New Zealand in 2006 to work with another bank for 3 years, them got a Senior Consultant position with SQL Services Ltd in 2009 where I worked for 11 years. I've now been with DataSentinel Limited, also a SQL Managed Service provider, also a Senior Consultant since 2020.
I've been a contributor to SQL Server Central since about 2004. In New Zealand I have presented at local user group meetings and TechEd, and consulted on behalf of Microsoft in Australia.
I consider some of my strengths to be: The ability to see the root cause of a problem based on minimal information, often identifying solutions that have not occurred to others. Doing research and testing to find root causes and solutions, and being able to communicate DBA principles at all levels, including to non-technical stake holders.