A retired pizza delivery guy, Ricky lives in Brisbane, Australia, having moved back there from New York City. He shares his life with his wife, Karen, his son, Xander, and his daughter, Claire.
Ricky is dedicated to enabling high fidelity human expression by pushing the limits of web technology and design. He is currently pursuing this as co-owner & CEO of Shorthand, makers of the most excellent visual storytelling platform for iconic brands and institutions like Amazon, Ford, the Sydney Opera House, English Heritage, Christie’s, the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford, Manchester City FC, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, the BBC, FT, Dow Jones, The World Bank, the US Department of State and one of, if not, the largest bank in the world.
His roles as a parent of young children and an author of scientific publications means he is in the habit of speaking about himself in the third person. Sometimes Ricky sports a scruffy beard, sometimes he doesn’t. You’ll usually spot him wearing an English Laundry or Shorthand shirt.
Ricky holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Queensland, and previously worked at NICTA, Australia’s ICT Centre of Excellence, where he performed a mix of research, customer development, government and industry liaison and, of course, software engineering. He loves learning through experimentation which has resulted in injuries and failed businesses, as well as a moderately successful one.
Likes: intellectual honesty and straight talk, free markets, football (the round ball kind, in case clarification is needed), Devonshire tea, Australian style lattés, English Laundry, The Beatles, The Cat Empire, travelling, fast food, slow food, all food.
Dislikes: political correctness, irrational fear, green eggs and ham.
Ricky is @rickyrobinson on X.