James Pilkington

I measure business and technical leaders through multiple lenses but the most important - would I put him or her in front of Sr. leadership at a client or prospect? With James, the answer was an unequivocal yes. He combines deep technical mastery with an instinctive customer-centered mindset, and he consistently delivered outcomes that moved our strategy and business forward. James played a pivotal role in the commercialization of our APIs and 3rd party platform integrations, by grounding decisions in market research, collaborating with our channel partner team, and shaping product-market fit through real customer insight. His technical acumen enabled him to bridge engineering and Monotype's C-suite effortlessly, and his clarity in explaining complex systems made him one of the most trusted technical voices in the room. What stands out most is James’s ability to execute. He is the rare product and technical leader who brings equal parts rigor, creativity, humility, and drive. If you want someone who can own a strategy, build the roadmap, win over customers, integrate, and deploy - then James is that person. I would work with him again in a heartbeat.

I am writing this letter to recommend James Pilkington. I have worked closely with James over the last three years since hiring him to my team to work as the Manager of Technical Operations reporting to myself, Director of Technical Operations. James has been promoted during his tenure to his current position of Sr. Manager. James has proven himself both as a respected leader within his own team and a responsible and trusted member of the broader leadership team here at Grubhub. He was able to gain the respect of his team by being an empathic leader, while continuing to raise the bar of performance with continued efforts in growing his team's technical skill sets and soft skills to advance their careers. He built the trust of his peers by listening to their concerns and enabling himself or his team to solve the problems being raised. In James' own career journey here I have been very impressed with his desire to learn and grow his technical and leadership skills. From his first week on the job it was clear that James is driven by an intrinsic desire to learn, we have a complex product and system and he was able to dive right into getting his hands dirty with our hardware, proactively visiting clients, learning our database and schema, teaching himself wherever he can and reaching out to ask questions when appropriate. On top of being an expert in his area, he seeks out additional opportunities to learn outside of his work hours and outside of his domain by taking online courses or absorbing knowledge specific to other departments in Product, Technology, or other business units.

James is the ultra rare combination of subject matter expert and client mediator. His ability and desire to step in and resolve complex problems were instrumental in our organization's success over the past two years. Regardless of the project, initiative, or challenge, James is the best possible asset involved. I truly wish he was still with our organization!

I had the privilege of working under James for three years at Grubhub, and he is, without question, the best manager I’ve ever had. His unwavering dedication to both his employees and the company is unparalleled. What set James apart was his genuine commitment to supporting his team's career aspirations. He always listened intently and made every effort to help me succeed. The personal and professional growth I achieved during my time with James as my manager is a testament to his exceptional guidance and leadership. James’s drive for self-improvement was equally inspiring. He continually pursued learning opportunities and self-development, setting a rare example in leadership. I wholeheartedly recommend James for any leadership position, technical or otherwise. It would be an honor to work with him again, and I would realign my career in a heartbeat to do so.

James is definitely someone you want on your team. We first met during his first work trip and right out the gate he was inquisitive, hands on, and always willing to help. He later served as my technical counterpart, hopping on calls to problem solve or strategize in real time. I also enjoyed working with him because our similar philosophies on process development, scaling, and the importance of closing the feedback loop. Outside of that, empathetic leader, grit, curiosity, and killer project manager are some of the things that come to mind when I think about working with James.

I managed James at BNY Mellon as part of the Global Fund Accounting Technology team. James always brought his A game to work, always motivated to learn new things and always ready to take on a challenge. Definitely a self starter and someone that can be counted on to work independently as well as part of a team.

I measure business and technical leaders through multiple lenses but the most important - would I put him or her in front of Sr. leadership at a client or prospect? With James, the answer was an unequivocal yes. He combines deep technical mastery with an instinctive customer-centered mindset, and he consistently delivered outcomes that moved our strategy and business forward. James played a pivotal role in the commercialization of our APIs and 3rd party platform integrations, by grounding decisions in market research, collaborating with our channel partner team, and shaping product-market fit through real customer insight. His technical acumen enabled him to bridge engineering and Monotype's C-suite effortlessly, and his clarity in explaining complex systems made him one of the most trusted technical voices in the room. What stands out most is James’s ability to execute. He is the rare product and technical leader who brings equal parts rigor, creativity, humility, and drive. If you want someone who can own a strategy, build the roadmap, win over customers, integrate, and deploy - then James is that person. I would work with him again in a heartbeat.