Desigan Pillay

Desigan Pillay has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. Desigan most recently worked as a QA Architect at Envel since June 2021. Prior to that, they founded Appdeate in February 2020, where they focused on challenging assumptions and embracing technology to disrupt industries. In 2019, Desigan served as a Co-Founder at Fund Social Good, with a vision for an Africa free of trauma, corruption, violence, and inequality.

From 2018 to 2021, Desigan worked at Union Swiss as a Software Test Lead. During their time at Ipreo from 2016 to 2019, they held the role of Manager of Software Test Engineering, where they managed and led agile testing teams.

Desigan's earlier experiences include working as a QA Manager/Scrum Master/Agile Coach at SunGard (now part of FIS) from 2009 to 2016, where they focused on improving Agile methodologies and managing functional and non-functional testing. Desigan also worked as an Automation Team Lead at SQS-SA from 2006 to 2009, responsible for managing regression suites and coordinating testing activities.

Desigan's career started as an Oracle Developer at 2Cana Solutions in 2006 and as a VB Developer at PM Consulting from 2003 to 2005. In these roles, they gained experience in software development, requirements gathering, and system design.

Desigan Pillay completed a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) degree in Information Systems Technology and Business Information Systems from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which they attended from 2001 to 2004. In 2000, they also obtained a diploma in Computer Engineering from Durban Commerce and Computer College.

Desigan further pursued their education in the field of software testing. Desigan earned an ISEB Foundation certificate from SQS-SA in 2006 and an ISEB Intermediate certificate from the same institution in 2009. In 2014, they obtained a certification in Agile Testing from Growing Agile.

Desigan also engaged in professional development courses and certifications. Desigan completed a programming course in Introduction to JAVA at New Horizons in 2010. In 2011, they enrolled in the Dale Carnegie course on Human Relations offered by Dale Carnegie. Desigan acquired certifications in Crucial Conversations from VitalSmarts and Management Essentials from Sungard in 2013. Additionally, they obtained a certification in Performance Management and Labour Relations from Sungard in 2014.

It is worth noting that Desigan Pillay attended the University of KwaZulu-Natal twice, completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Information Technology during their second period of enrollment, which also spanned from 2001 to 2004.