Who is this guy?

I grew up in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Back then, its claim to fame was Phillips, the electronics company, and its local soccer team PSV. Now, we still have those two, but the city is apparently a hub for industrial design. That, and ASML has its headquarters in Veldhoven, right next door.

I studied computer science back when it wasn't cool, classical guitar, and lute, and even got Ph.D. along the way. I eventually made my way to New York City, where I worked as a research assistant until the iPhone came out in 2007. Cliché alert: it changed my life.

I knew how to write for macOS, and iPhone apps weren't that big of a jump at the time, so I got in early. I wrote the first app for the Wall Street Journal, and the first app for Audible, mostly by myself. Times have changed, thank goodness, and now I'm part of a large team, currently at Slack.

I still play the lute professionally, and I play bass guitar in a soul band. I love reading and doing crosswords. I live north of New York City in the beautiful Hudson Valley with my wife, daughter, cat Pippin (yep, that's him on the right. He's the photogenic one), and dog Poppy.