Cloudforce is thrilled to welcome Richard Herbert as Chief Technology Officer. A seasoned technology entrepreneur with 30 years of experience, Richard has pioneered innovation and driven transformational change in both public and private sectors, aligning perfectly with the Cloudforce mission to harness the power of the cloud and AI to makes lives better.
Previously, Richard was Founder and Principal of Escape Velocity in Melbourne, Australia, a digital workshop dedicated to bringing people and technology together to help organizations innovate and boost business profitability. He’s also celebrated as the visionary founder behind HireRoad (NGA.NET), a revolutionary hiring management platform that champions objectivity and meritocracy in hiring, transforming both Australian and U.S. Federal Government recruitment processes.
“Having worked collaboratively with Richard since 2011, I’ve come to rely on him not only for his subject matter expertise in a number of engineering disciplines, but also for his incredibly unique blend of business acumen and strategic consulting,” said Cloudforce CEO and Founder Husein Sharaf. “He has become an invaluable resource to me, Cloudforce’s staff, and to our clients for his experience in systems architecture, data integration, and artificial intelligence, among other skill sets.”
As Cloudforce CTO, Richard will be responsible for the creation of a software capability to integrate with the cloud services team. “I want to create disruptive technology that will delight our customers and drive the adoption of Azure services,” he said. “I just love the Cloudforce culture and trajectory. It’s an exciting time to be working with the very best in the Microsoft ecosystem, and to all the AI-powered achievements and advances to be realized through Microsoft’s latest innovations!”
With a solid background in business management, product development, SaaS Architecture, IT provisioning and security, and an invaluable, innate sensitivity to engaging others to help develop a true tech “human touch,” Cloudforce looks forward to Richard’s contribution toward building upon its esteemed culture of a workplace “where tech gets human.” A born disruptor, Richard is a perfect fit with our #eliteforce that thrives on defying convention.
“Having held the title of CTO at Cloudforce myself since our inception, I certainly thought long and hard about who the right leader would be in this role to lead our next phase of growth. I couldn’t be prouder and more humbled to welcome Richard to our team,” said Sharaf.
Born and raised in Southeast Asia before moving to Australia, Richard is now navigating the task of relocating his family, including his two youngest of four children, to the U.S. as he segues to his next chapter of empowering organizations to make real progress in their core mission—now through the real-world application of gen AI tools. And we look forward to all the disruption he will bring!
Before joining Cloudforce as Content Specialist, Leslie worked in corporate and ad agency settings, and as owner of her own freelance writer/producer business. Throughout her career, she’s written spots and informercials for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Larry King, Brian McKnight, and Tom Bodett, to name a few. Her passion for inspiring, informing and entertaining also led to several fundraising and awareness video efforts for the Northern Virginia Urban League and Northern Virginia Family Services. As a proud Syracuse University graduate, she also served as Alumni President for the Washington metropolitan area, where she helped establish a scholarship program for area students attending S.U.
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