The National Software Testing
Conference 2022

Simon Dawson

An Experienced Technology Architect with 20+ years of experience and is currently working with Atom Bank as Head of Engineering. He is passionate about DevOps, Cloud, and Agile. He is known for preparing high-level designs for client sign-off and detailed designs to use in building out new architectures to support client business requirements. He possesses solid technical hands-on knowledge and is an excellent communicator at all levels both internally and externally, with clients and vendors

Robb La Velle

Robb is a thought leader in the domain of software quality assurance and based in London. His 20 years of consulting experience has included clients and project locations as diverse as a global energy concern in Cape Town, a multinational telecommunications company in Manila, a mining company on Borneo, a global bank in Frankfurt, a major semiconductor manufacturer in Shanghai and the United States Army at the Pentagon.

Shiva Prasad

Shiva Prasad, Vice President, Cigniti is based out of London and heads ROW Delivery spanning the UK, Europe, ANZ, SA, and APAC and manages a team of 600 experienced professionals. Shiva is responsible for the success of key clients directly and works closely with CXOs in creating their future roadmap. Shiva is an experienced negotiator, creates ‘win-win’ outcomes.

A pragmatic executive with over 18 years of performance-driven and result-oriented IT experience in delivering digital transformations, disruption business models enabled by cloud-based services, IT transformation initiatives in complex environments, driving innovative enterprise automated solutions, setting up & managing testing practices. He is a natural team player with a hands on management style, ready to roll up his sleeves and work with all team members. Shiva is a seasoned thought leader in Quality Engineering in building large testing practices and accounts at Microsoft, AppLabs, DXC, and Mindtree prior joining to Cigniti. An active & influential speaker in different testing conferences, including EuroStar, NSTC, and TMF. Shiva strongly believes in - live up to the challenge and learn every day!

Robert Seels

Rob is a Director at Cigniti for the UK & EU region. He is passionate about helping clients to solve their software quality issues and is responsible for helping to develop tailormade services for clients. Working with Cigniti’s excellent solutions architects and delivery teams to ensure clients receive ‘best in class’ solutions.

Rob has over 35 years business experience with almost 25 years in the Quality Assurance industry. Having started in software testing recruitment, he later founded and ran his own test consultancy before joining Cigniti a little over 5 years ago. He has experience across a number of domains including retail, energy & utilities, manufacturing and finally banking and financial services where he has focussed his energy for the last 15 years.

Rob lives in the Cambridgeshire countryside with his young son and his trusty black Labrador. In his spare time Rob participates in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where he competes in the IBJJF. He currently trains under World Champions Tom Barlow and Chelsea Leah. In 2019 he was crowned European Ultra-heavyweight IBJJF Champion, a title he hopes to recapture post the pandemic. He also likes stand-up comedy. Among his favourite comedians are Bill Burr, Bert Kreischer and Jim Jeffries.

Jack Mortassagne

Jack has more than 30 years’ experience within Quality Assurance and Software Testing. He started his IT career as a software developer and later worked as a business analyst within the Retail and Distribution sector, before moving into and specialising in Software Quality Engineering. His early move into Software Testing was motivated by the realisation and understanding that effective Quality Assurance and Software Testing was at least equally, if not more mentally challenging and stimulating than analysis, due to the multi-layered combinations and complexity of positive and negative logic built into and tested for in today’s ever more complex digital business critical systems. Jack worked for many years as an independent Test Management consultant alongside, and within some of the world’s leading Software Testing and Quality Engineering consulting firms before going on to cofound a successful independent Quality Assurance consulting firm with specific focus on the Banking and Financial sector. Jack was recently accredited as a TMMi Assessor by the TMMi Foundation.