We just landed yet another strategic hire for Resolute Software! Our team of “A” players expands with the addition of a VP of Engineering. We are thrilled to announce that Bulent Karaahmed, a seasoned software engineer with broad experience in the software development and team management domains, has been appointed to the position. With over two decades of hands-on engineering practice, Bulent is well versed in many widely-adopted and emerging technologies. His proven track record of success in orchestrating IT and software product development projects from concept to deployment makes him the right choice for our VP of Engineering role.

At Telerik (now Progress), Bulent was instrumental in the development of the well-known NativeScript open-source framework used for building truly native mobile apps with JavaScript. He also led the development effort for the Progress Test Studio test automation suite for mobile, web, API, and desktop applications. In the past year, he has been in charge of the business unit responsible for the development of the Progress AI-powered cloud-based platform for self-service chatbots – Kinvey Chat. Kinvey Chat is a solution of strategic importance to Progress, part of their Cognitive-First business division. Bulent took over the entire unit at a critical moment and successfully led its product development to success. He was not only overseeing the engineering effort, but he also took over the product management, sales and marketing effort for the solution.

“It was an excellent opportunity for me to ramp up my product management skills, customer acquisition and retention knowledge, and business strategy and planning”, recalls Bulent. “In the meantime, my team rapidly expanded, and we successfully managed to deliver on our quarterly goals.”

Bulent’s career started some 20 years ago with web and backend software development, followed by a deep dive into desktop (Windows and .NET) and mobile app development, as well as QA and Continuous Integration and deployment products. In the past few years, Bulent’s latest software engineering passion is in the field of Cloud and Machine Learning solutions. With such a vast engineering background, he finds it difficult to pinpoint a favorite technology/language:

“Every engineering domain I spent enough time on has become my favorite at a certain point in my career”, says Bulent. “Yet, that never stopped me from exploring, jumping from one technology stack to another, to keep learning and enhancing my skill set and knowledge.”

At the start of his career, Bulent and a team of skilled software engineers developed a suite of MS Office alternatives which was eventually launched under the name Corel Home Office.

Some interesting facts about his career - Bulent helped build the popular CorelDraw Graphics Suite and even worked as a sales manager at FADATA, a front-office insurance software vendor.

“I always strive to break out of my comfort zone by challenging myself with projects that are fresh and unconventional”, smiles Bulent. “I truly believe that’s all necessary for an IT professional to fuel their motivation and improve their knowledge and skills”.

We asked him a few questions to understand his drive and objectives now that’s he is officially part of the Resolute team:

You have broad experience in various aspects of software engineering, from development to management to business roles. Which part of your work do you enjoy most?

“Over the years, I have had the privilege to mentor quite a few talented junior engineers. I certainly hope I was able to positively influence their career path with. Mentoring is something I really enjoy doing and take pride in. In my opinion, knowledge sharing is among the most valuable investments one can make, and I always do my best to contribute to the professional development of less-experienced colleagues.”

What is a real professional challenge for you? Is there anything in particular that demands more of your time and energy at work?

“In the past few years, I mostly focused on improving my people management skills. In my opinion, managing people – peers and subordinates alike – is way trickier than a deep dive into tough engineering tasks as every single employee is an individual driven by different motivation and goals. Some certain methods and frameworks can be used to facilitate the process, however, the desired outcome is never guaranteed.”

“With regard to people management, I have a preference for the situational leadership style in which the manager must adjust his methods to fit the level of maturity of the team he is trying to lead. In essence, the successful leader should be flexible to accommodate the requirements of the organization at every given moment. The situational leader would not be afraid to take chances and to adopt a fundamentally different management style if the situation demands it.“

“One of the common top traits of successful leaders is their ability to create a work environment which stimulates employee motivation and their desire for constant personal and professional development. There are no unreachable goals when there is great team culture in place.”

What made you choose Resolute Software?

“I do believe teamwork can go a long way. After my first meeting with the Resolute Software leadership, when I received my job offer, I instantly knew that that is a team with a strong determination to succeed, one that has a crystal-clear vision for the future development of the organization. A team of exceptional professionals. I‘m hoping to contribute to creating greater team synergy and keep it going. I am looking forward to leveraging the experience and knowledge that I have gathered over the years, and to continue broadening my skill set, too.

I believe that Resolute Software will be able to establish a new level of quality of engineering services and solutions, of conducting business altogether; a level that is beyond customer expectations. Customers need reliable, transparent, and sustainable software development and consulting services and we at Resolute Software are determined to deliver them.”

What are your objectives as the VP of Engineering at Resolute Software?

“My main goal would be to expand and develop Resolute’s engineering organization to be able to effectively develop and deliver hardened software solutions that are lightweight, resilient, scalable, secure, and future-proof. The Resolute team makes the difference between “Hello, world” and “real-world” applications. Our internal processes, culture, and customer engagement model ensure that all services and solutions we deliver to customers are deemed as mission-critical and that they guarantee business continuity and sustainability.”

Welcome to Resolute Software, Bulent! We are really happy to have you in our team as our new VP of Engineering.