Optimisation Algorithms & Mixed Media Artwork — An Interview With Andrew Goldie

We’re sharing the stories of people who help make Propellerhead tick. In this edition, we interview our Technical Strategist and Board Member, Andrew Goldie.

So Andrew, where did you grow up?

I grew up in Tamaki Makaurau and apart from a couple of years in Nelson, I’ve lived in Auckland all my life. I think it’s a great city. I love the connection to the ocean: the picturesque Waitemata harbour and the wild west coast beaches are amazing.

Image: Piha Beach, on Auckland’s West Coast. Photo by Russell Street.

How did you start out? Did you study anything?

I studied Operations Research at university —it’s a branch of applied mathematics that was devised during the second world war.

The best degree for that in New Zealand at the time was a Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Science from the University of Auckland. I later went back and completed a Masters degree in Engineering.

I always enjoyed mathematics and this was a way to use it in a very practical way — solving real-world business and industrial problems that can’t be done by general analysis. It turned out that learning computer programming in order to solve those problems was even more enjoyable.

What has your career looked like so far?

I initially worked as an analyst for Coca-Cola, optimising production and distribution scheduling. I didn’t have access to general programming tools so I did everything using massive spreadsheets with macros.

I left Coca-Cola to do my Masters degree and was employed by the university part-time to teach computer simulation and programming. I built the optimisation algorithm for Air New Zealand’s international pilots as a sponsored thesis and then went to work there as a contractor, productionising the code.

A group of us who were working on similar projects formed a company, with Air New Zealand as our principal client.

After a few years there I branched out on my own and formed a small software development company. It was the beginning of the internet boom so I switched my focus from algorithms to browser-based applications, and occasionally got to combine them both.

My clients included, among others, The Warehouse, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and Propellerhead! I first met Andrew Weston when Propellerhead consisted of him and a couple of contractors doing work for Fonterra. I subcontracted to Propellerhead on and off over several years and watched Propellerhead grow into a mature business.

I took a short break from my own business to return to the company that had built the Air New Zealand software. They had rebranded to The Optima Corporation and were raising capital to market some innovative optimisation and simulation software for emergency services organisations. They employed me as COO and my mission was to help grow the team and move the focus of the company from research to commercial.

Back in my own company I was doing most of my work for Pfizer Australia — mostly building marketing websites and HR-oriented web applications. It was an interesting experience being one of the tiniest companies in the world supplying services to one of the largest companies in the world.

I was invited back to Air New Zealand to help look for new software to replace what we had built many years ago and was still in use — far beyond its use-by date! This was part of a large programme of work with a multi-disciplined team. My role was an interpreter between business and technical people to help explain the requirements and how the solution should work, and then manage aspects of the technical delivery.

During that time, Andrew Weston asked me to join Propellerhead on staff, with the idea of forming a technical consulting service. Jan von Bargen, Andrew and I set about designing and offering this service alongside the core development services.

We re-evaluated the structure of the organisation and how we could strengthen the service offering in general.

This led us to introducing Holacracy as a way to bring distributed responsibility and decision-making into the organisation and transition it into a more multidisciplinary company.

Propellerhead can now provide all the services needed for end-to-end development: UX and UI design, solution architecture, development, product management, quality assurance and in-production support. Instead of a separate consulting team, we now have consulting capability built into our product teams, with very experienced engineers and analysts who have worked on large and complex projects.

What’s your role at Propellerhead?

Now I am an independent contractor but fill a few roles at Propellerhead:

1. We have a group that functions like an internal advisory board and I am a member of this. The board doesn’t have regular meetings but when strategy is being reviewed or there are specific issues or opportunities our opinion is sought for the main company leadership team to consider.
2. I also help coach staff, with a specific focus on software development delivery. Propellerhead is more mindful of being good stewards of their clients’ budgets than any other organisation I’ve worked with and it’s very rewarding to work with developers who are dedicated to doing their very best to deliver value.
3. But probably the most enjoyable role for me is that of Technical Strategist. This is where I am part of a team who gets to actually build software, usually at prototype or early-stage, to demonstrate Propellerhead’s capability to solve a client’s problem, or to set coding examples as reference for the core delivery teams.

What else are you working on outside of Propellerhead?

Right now I have Tourism New Zealand as another important client. I represent them as a technology consultant, helping to translate needs and solutions between business stakeholders and their technology vendors.

This gives me such a great perspective being on the purchasing side of the equation with Tourism New Zealand, and the service delivery side of the equation with Propellerhead. This has honed my empathy for both sides, giving me a deep understanding of the tensions and commercial realities that need to be addressed alongside the technical aspects of solutions.

Hobbies — what are they?

I’m a maker, so I like to design and construct. I now spend less than half my professional time writing code, but I still have computer programming as a hobby. I also like to paint and produce the occasional bit of mixed-media artwork.

Image: one of my mixed-media pieces of art.

Lately I have been trying to combine art and programming, and have been working with generative art. This draws on my background in algorithms to write code that creates visually interesting art and design.

I also love the outdoors and spend time trail running. I’ve run a few off-road marathons and ultra marathons.

Image: running in the Tarawera Ultra Marathon.

What do you listen to or watch?

• I’m a bit of a grazer when it comes to information and I like articles on a range of topics. I find WIRED to be a favourite because it has a surprising mix of biotech, software, business and even crime stories — all with a technology bent.
• I scan YouTube for interviews and profiles of contemporary artists, especially those that have an affinity for street art.
• I need to stay technically current to do my job well, so Medium articles on the technologies I’m dabbling with are a staple.
• When I get the rare opportunity to read books, I tend to go for biographies — real stories are always more interesting to me than fiction.

What causes do you feel passionate about?

I find the tragedy of human trafficking tugs at my heartstrings the most. It’s a massive global problem — we have more people trafficked in the world today than at the height of the African slave trade.

One of the ultramarathons I ran, I raised money for LIFT International — an organisation fighting human trafficking in Thailand.

Image: LIFT International works to strengthen justice systems, support survivors and hold offenders accountable for crimes of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

What’s the most enjoyable part of your day?

When I’m writing brand-new code. The process of opening a new, blank file, structuring some code then compiling and running it to produce something aesthetically pleasing and useful to someone is incredibly rewarding.

What’s the least enjoyable?

Writing research reports and recommendations. A big part of my job is to take technical information and distill it into a form that is digestible by non-technical decision-makers.

I have to be thorough and show that I’ve researched broadly and deeply so that they are confident in making a call. Because of my conscientious nature, there is some anxiety in making sure I get my recommendations right.

What do the next 10 years of your life look like? What do you want to be working on?

I’d like to be writing more code. While I enjoy giving advice from experience, it’s the continuous learning and making that programming provides that I find most rewarding.

I’d like to bring more of my creative coding from side-projects into my day job but it’s important for me to be making useful things or working alongside people who are.

Okay, if you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs — such as food and water — were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?

My iPad and Apple pencil. There’ll be electricity to keep it charged, right?

What was the last gift you gave someone?

It’s my wife’s birthday in a couple of weeks (I’m not allowed to tell you how old) and I’ve bought her some earrings. You can publish this — she chose them with me.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?

It would be Mark Bradford. He’s an artist in California who creates amazing abstract works using coloured paper.

Mark has used his success as an artist to give back to the community he grew up in by funding and leading public projects where kids from foster homes create the artworks. I find his story from humble beginnings to incredible mid-life success inspiring.