Introducing the Visual Studio ALM Rangers – Jesse Powell

Who are you?  

I have been with Microsoft for 11 years, all of them with Microsoft Consulting Services. During that time my focus has been both as an ALM coach, acting as build master, scrum master, or release manager for our high profile development engagements, and as a TFS/VSTS SME, overseeing and executing high impact deployments, upgrades, and migrations of TFS and VSTS. About 5 years ago I moved into an Architect role and I now split my time between presales and delivery of App Dev, Azure, and DevOps focused customer engagements.

What makes you tick?

I consider myself a growth hacker/role hacker, and I strive to think outside the box to find creative solutions to problems. I am a firm believer in Karma in the sense that keeping a positive attitude and striving to help others leads to a happiness, health, and success. In my spare time I enjoy traveling, gardening, home improvement, and playing guitar.

Where do you live?

I live in Staten Island, New York.

Why are you active in the Rangers program?

Being active in the Rangers program allows me to be a key link between the product group and the field. It keeps me aware of the whitespaces in our products, and it gives me a platform from which I can advocate on my customer’s behalf.

What is the best Rangers project you worked in and why?

I was lucky enough to participate in the very first iteration of the TFS Integration Platform, which was very exciting because it was also my first direct interaction with the product group. I am also a big fan of the Branching and Merging guidance and TFS Upgrade guidance from the Rangers, which have both come in very handy many times for customer engagements.

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers introductions. SeeRanger Index (Who is Who?)for more details.