Mainframe Engineering Leader Wins Enterprise DevOps Award
Recognition for rethinking software delivery for z/OS-based applications
Sheree Britt, Associate Vice President, Mainframe Engineering Practice Lead, who’s leading the charge for Mainframe Modernization at TD Bank Group, has been recognized as the Enterprise Leader of the Year by the DevOps Dozen awards!
The award recognizes a strong DevOps leader who guides their team through the challenges of developing and implementing DevOps strategies, policies, culture, and practices to improve software development and delivery.
“Culture change is the most challenging aspect of any transformation, but especially in large, complex organizations. TD’s Sheree Britt shows what a leader can accomplish when you lean into DevOps practices and principles and get the organization excited by early wins and the long-term potential,” said Alan Shimel, lead judge and founder/CEO at Techstrong Group.
Following a distinguished 22-year software engineering career at American Express, Sheree was recruited by TD Bank Group to help modernize the software delivery process across platforms and build a talent pipeline around it. For the past couple of years, she’s been leading the team through innovation and change while successfully maintaining high-quality standards to meet day-to-day demands. By institutionalizing DevOps across platforms, TD benefits from greater business agility, normalized skillsets, and increased digital innovation.
A particular challenge for the mainframe has been the retirement of experienced developers resulting in the need to backfill with staff familiar with contemporary DevOps practices and toolchains (and unfamiliar with legacy tools and practices). Through her modernization efforts, new recruits can now use familiar DevOps tools and practices and spend more time coding and problem-solving.
Sheree has been able to bridge the two worlds by adopting an empathetic approach that addresses the perspectives of both new-to-mainframe talent as well as long-tenured developers with limited experience with DevOps.
Her self-described leadership mission: “Lead with empathy, motivate and help colleagues grow and realize their individual career goals”.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
TD’s Mainframe Modernization vision is to develop and equip engineering talent with the knowledge and technical skills necessary to succeed while modernizing the software delivery process. This innovative team spans many geographies including Fort Lauderdale, Toronto, Calgary, and New York.
TD TechCon and Innovation Days
A key element to the team’s success is the open exchange of ideas at internal forums and the freedom to apply these ideas in a controlled environment. TechCon, for example, brings together TD technologists, in-person and remotely, to learn, develop, and enhance their tech acumen and skills.
Partnering for Success
Sheree and her team actively partner with Broadcom to ensure the AppDev process, technology, and culture are progressing together. Sheree is open with her experiences orchestrating her modernization program and in doing so she helps the entire community move forward.
For example, she recently won a Best Session award at the SHARE industry conference for the presentation, “AppDev Modernization: Where Do I Start?” Broadcom’s Vaughn Marshall was a co-presenter in this well-attended and interactive session. The mainframe community benefits when leaders like Sheree share their modernization ‘lessons learned’ (lifts all boats).
Mainframe Leadership
Let’s take time to recognize the incredible progress mainframe visionaries like Sheree are making on their modernization journeys.
Congratulations Sheree Britt! With leadership like yours, the sky is the limit!