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Name: Dmitri 
Job Title: Head of Technology
Pets: Maverick, a grey domestic shorthair cat
What were you doing before Mad Paws?
I was providing technical expertise and consulting services for design and marketing agencies. I was helping them solve their and their clients’ business and technical challenges.
What do you love most about working at Mad Paws?
I love the challenges the work poses. As Mad Paws has grown, we’ve needed to ensure our technological capacity has grown with it – and that’s very rewarding. When I joined Mad Paws, our website could only sustain up to 40 people at a time. A few months later, it increased to 100 people, and a few months after that, we lifted it to 300. Now we’ve reached a stage at which we can handle more than 10,000 website visitors at a time.
Tell me about something special you have on your desk
There is a rubber Halloween spider that’s lived on my desk for over two years now. Somebody brought it into the office for Halloween 2016, and it’s now just become a part of my desk. It’s currently helping me to build a better web solution for Mad Paws.
I also have the Iron Man figurine that Alexis gave me. Apparently, he thinks I’m like Tony Stark.
What do you spend your weekends doing?
I like spending time outdoors. When I was in Russia recently, I spent time doing archery, wind tunnel skydiving, and camping, which was lots of fun. When I’m at home in Sydney, I like to go hiking, canyoning, and whitewater rafting.
Basically, I like mixing outdoor physical activities with social time. If someone says “Let’s give this a try”, I’ll say “Sure, let’s do it.”
I’m also hoping to build my own house one day. My partner Daria and I previously lived in a house which a builder constructed from scratch. I project managed the team of builders, and I learned a lot from the process. For our next home, I’d like to apply that knowledge and build the home myself.
What do you have as the background image on your phone?
You know what? It’s the stock image that came with my phone. I’ve just never gotten around to changing it.
If you could pet sit any animal, what would it be?
Either a wolf or a tiger, because I’d love the challenge of trying to tame them.
Quickfire Round
Lord of the Rings or Star Wars?
Star Wars
Facebook or Instagram?
I’m not much of a social media user. I’ll say Facebook, but only I maintain my account for the social groups, so it’s a necessary evil.
Ice cream or cheese?
Ice cream with Baileys, cheese with wine.
Salsa dancing or archery?
I like them both! I’ve spent more time salsa dancing, so I’ll say salsa.
One horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?
One horse-sized duck. It’s easier to defend yourself against one enemy than 100.
Dogs or cats?
Cats
