Why choose Bekatec?

Sven founded Bekatec in 1996 while still at university studying chemistry. He had previously developed an interest in computers, running one of the first dial-in modem bulletin board systems (BBS) in Germany, an early precursor to later Internet-based social media. An acquaintance who worked for a major international chemical and consumer goods manufacturer needed help with post-merger integration of a new subsidiary’s systems – 600 different laptop computer setups for their sales staff, all with dial-in access and no Internet – so Sven got to work. His proposal was accepted and he and his employees spent the next six months traveling all over Europe, installing uniform MS Windows platforms and training his client’s staff, often physically building necessary communications hardware in the hotels along the route. After the successful completion of this project, Bekatec was hired to provide the global support hotline for this client, which Bekatec has continued to deliver to this day, and the business grew from there. Sven spends his spare time looking after his dogs and horses and restoring vintage cars.

Paul was born in Canada, went to school in Manhattan and in Germany, studied in Vancouver, and has been doing the transatlantic commute for over 30 years now. Recently, he estimated  he’s spent several months of his life aboard airplanes. For almost 20 years, he grew the B2B language services company he founded in 1998 in Germany into one of the top 30 players in its local market, serving clients like KPMG, PWC, Ernst & Young, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Amazon, and many others. After selling the business to take care of his disabled daughter following his wife’s sudden death, Paul moved back to Vancouver Island. Now that he’s found an amazing group home here for his daughter, Paul saw a local opportunity in the need for online services and solutions and convinced his old friend Sven that his beautiful neck of the woods would be a fantastic place to start a new business together. Paul enjoys reading, especially about history, and a good glass of red wine, but he’d rather be traveling.

Cedric served eight years in the armed forces after graduating from school. During his time with the Signal Corps where he specialized in telecommunications, he earned his trade certificate as IT systems electronics technician and was able to advance his leadership and management skills. He joined Bekatec in 2016 as Project Manager and coordinates and controls complex projects for our customers as Team Leader, keeping your assignments on track. He’s a self-described nerd, which means that he can talk at length about any major SciFi universe as well as Marvel and DC comics, but also that for his entire life he has been acquiring in-depth knowledge of computer hard- and software – not just on the job, but out of deep personal interest. Cedric has two kids and enjoys swimming and scuba diving to maintain a healthy real-world balance with his online life.

Sheila loves technology, problem solving, and working with people, making her an excellent addition to the Bekatec team. With a background in Mechanical Engineering and over 10 years of experience managing technical public and private sector projects within IT, software development, R&D, and new product development, Sheila has the keen ability to see both the broader perspective and finer details of any project. Raised in Iroquois Falls, a small town in northern Ontario, Sheila has always had a strong love of the outdoors and a vivid curiosity for the sciences. Having seen much of Canada through her work studying carbon dioxide uptake in boreal forests for Queen’s University, she is quite pleased to have settled on the small and vibrant gulf island, Saturna Island. Here, Sheila finds she is able to balance work and outdoor adventures while continuing to nurture her deep love of music, singing and playing both the guitar and piano.

John was born and educated in Ontario and Quebec, and spent some time in the Canadian Armed Forces (Air) where he received training in electronics. After leaving the Forces, he learned computers from the ground up, eventually building his own single board computers and continuing on to develop automations (robots) as a hobby. His interest in computers broadened as he learned about local area networks. He eventually earned a certification as a network engineer and was quickly hired by IBM. After several years with IBM in Ottawa and making a career change from LAN engineer to Project Manager, John was assigned projects of national and international scope. In 2000, John was transferred to British Columbia to take on the role of Senior Project Manager with the IBM BC Global Services team. After leaving IBM, John worked with the BC Public Service in several capacities as Director, Contract Manager, and in security and privacy. Later, John worked with private organizations serving public and private sector clients. John is an IM/IT Project Manager who earned a Master’s Degree in Project Management and is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), ScrumMaster (CSM) and Disciplined Agilist Scrum Master (DASM). His incredible academic and professional achievements make John an integral part of the Bekatec team as he works to keep us all organized, on-track, and on budget. John married in 2005 and, with his wife Michele and several adopted cats, decided to make Victoria their home. John still loves learning, playing music, technology, and training his and Michele’s beloved felines.

Scott was born in Canada and moved to Australia as a teenager. He worked as an Underground Coal Miner for over 10 years which provided him a first-hand perspective on how automation technology is revolutionizing the coal industry. He then earned his degree in Audio Engineering and worked weekends for Roy Morgan Research as a door-to-door interviewer for the Gallup Poll. Scott has had a lifelong interest in technology, whether it’s using creative tools like ProTools and Adobe, or researching the latest innovations with Machine Learning and AI. This lifelong interest culminated in being offered a position back in his home country of Canada to begin a career with Softchoice and get the opportunity to reconnect with family and explore Canada’s great outdoors once again! During Scott’s time at Softchoice, one of Canada’s largest technology resellers that partners with over 1000 technology companies, he spearheaded his Commercial client’s digital transformation journeys via Cloud Migrations, Cybersecurity reinforcement, Data Centre restructuring and Network upgrades before leaving as a successful and tenured Senior Account Executive. Upon leaving Softchoice, Scott sought to work with a company with a more focused technology specialization that would facilitate the continuation of his passion for helping businesses expand their digital transformation journeys, which led him to ultimately join the Canadian Bekatec team. When Scott isn’t busy working on behalf of his clients you can find him playing volleyball with family and friends, in a mosh-pit supporting the local music scene, helping local charities, hosting a murder mystery party, or having his face buried in a novel about some epic space opera or toe-curling horror tale.

Trung completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration at two German universities, and during his studies continued to feed his passion for travel with semesters abroad spent in Singapore and California. Trung estimates he’s visited over 40 countries so far, with no plans of stopping. Working from anywhere in the world for a company whose philosophy he aligned with was the ideal scenario for him, which is why remote work with Bekatec was an opportunity he couldn’t let pass. Raised in Germany, Trung moved to Vietnam little over two years ago and currently lives in the capital Hanoi. During his Master’s studies, he became fascinated with IT and wrote his thesis on the usage of Blockchain technology in the supply chain. For four years, Trung lived in Esbjerg, Denmark, and worked for Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services. Here, he grew his expertise in the area of project management and gained some stellar Excel skills before pivoting to freelance IT management work and eventually finding his home at Bekatec. Trung cultivates a genuine passion for each project he works on and enjoys digging deeper into topics that are unfamiliar. In his spare time, Trung can be found enjoying a beer and a BBQ with friends in Vietnam, or really, any here in the world his adventures may take him.

Lukáš’ former colleagues have described him as a magician when it comes to working with numbers and an extremely genuine and determined character who will go out of his way to help colleagues when he can. At Bekatec, we couldn’t agree more. Lukáš was born in Slovakia and has lived his entire life in the country’s capital city, Bratislava. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Banking, and Investment through Bratislava’s University of Economics, as well as his Master’s Degree in Finance. The majority of Lukáš’ career has been spent working in reporting, web analytics, and content editing, experiences that have guided his work at Bekatec since 2017. He thoroughly enjoys being able to see his hard work come to life, and is dedicated to doing his best work to ensure his client’s wishes are fulfilled. Lukáš enjoys playing video games and learning programming for fun (mostly Javascript and its libraries). 

Adrian joined Bekatec in 2021 as a Project Manager and describes the team as a big, supportive family. He enjoys the fast-paced nature of the work and thrives on the collective goal of delivering the highest quality services to all Bekatec’s customers. Now living in Düsseldorf, Adrian has spent time in Hamburg, Berlin, and Cologne, but is originally from Frankfurt, Germany. Having received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Adrian completed an apprenticeship with U.S. company Ingram Micro, who, in 2018, hired him as an account manager in logistics for one of their biggest clients. In this position, Adrian was responsible for monitoring the performance of international websites, adapting and optimizing customer-specific processes, and proactively collaborating to ensure SLA compliance. Perhaps a bit of an adrenaline seeker, Adrian enjoys visiting Holland to go kite-surfing, or staying close to home and riding his motorcycle, swimming, and exercising. More than adrenaline, Adrian enjoys seeking solutions through comprehensive analysis – whether it’s processes, projects, or technology, he is eager to increase efficiency and effectiveness to maximize success for all of his clients.

Torsten was born during and shaped by the anarchic 1970’s and claims he was raised partially in Germany and partially in the then-emergent universe of home computing. By the early 1980s, he was developing and operating modem based networks, such as bulletin board systems (BBS), until he migrated to the Internet in the mid 1990s, a place where he still lives and thrives to this day, embracing geek and nerd culture. But he also knows how to keep a sharp eye out for new business opportunities! Torsten had been a developer and consultant for major corporations like DHL, Lufthansa, Bosch, several major German banks (LBB, SEB, and others,) and a number of oil companies (Texaco/DEA, Migrol, Q8, Aral, WEAT) before he joined Bekatec in 2014. At Bekatec, he is Senior Consultant for international online marketing, website services, and especially tracking technologies for our enterprise customers. Always keeping abreast with the cutting edge of his field, many of Torsten’s projects involve Big Data technologies (for example storing statistical data in a Hadoop/HBase cluster, examining Google Analytics Data with BigQuery and other BigQuery cases). Torsten is an excellent cook when he manages to pry his eyes away from the computer screen, and in his spare time also builds scale models.

Dirk is our second in-house chief nerd who will come up with brilliant coding ideas whenever his other job as a single dad affords him a break. He has an engineering degree and was self-employed for many years supporting small/medium companies in IT, providing general PC, server and hardware maintenance. Before the birth of his son in 2011, Dirk was a dedicated Billiards Pool player, having spent many years on a league and developing considerable skill in the sport. When his son arrived, Dirk decided to end his self-employment and took a job for an SEO-related company and later, a design company where he built websites with the Open Source Drupal CMS. Now a happy member of the Bekatec team living in Dortmund, Dirk administers the servers and provides comprehensive support to the WordPress team. While his love of playing pool is still alive and well (not to mention his dedicated two-decade long love of Linux), he adoringly shares that now he’s ‘playing in the league of bringing up my son.

Alexis, a 39-year-old French native hailing from the scenic region of Brittany, has woven a fascinating tapestry of experiences that reflect his passion for technology and zest for life. Born and raised in the picturesque landscapes of Brittany, Alexis took his first steps towards his career in 2005 when he pursued a telecom and networks program, immersing himself in the intricate world of digital communication. Over the span of 2005 to 2007, he dedicated himself to mastering the complexities of this field, laying the groundwork for his future pursuits. After his academic endeavors, Alexis ventured into the corporate world, joining the ranks of France’s largest Telecom provider, Orange. There, he honed his skills and contributed to the telecommunications industry for a fulfilling three years. Seeking to expand his horizons and improve his command of the English language, he embarked on a transformative journey to Australia, where he immersed himself in a new culture and language. Upon his return to France, Alexis decided to pivot his career towards web development. His path led him initially to self-employment as a website agency, where he refined his craft and developed a deep passion for coding. Subsequently, he found his professional home in a promising French startup named Smiile, where he devoted nine years of his life. During his tenure, he specialized in building and enhancing backend systems, managing hosting and development environments, steering product evolution, and leading the backend team. Alexis’s affinity for working with PHP and SQL, coupled with his keen interest in DevOps, fueled his professional journey. While he thrived in the backend development arena, he actively avoided delving into frontend work, preferring to focus on his true strengths. In 2023, Alexis made a life-altering decision to relocate to Canada with his small family. He discovered the idyllic Victoria, British Columbia, to be the perfect place to put down roots. In September 2023, he embarked on a new chapter in his career by joining Bekatec, ready to contribute his skills and expertise to a new endeavor. Beyond his professional life, Alexis is an enthusiastic participant in various hobbies, including basketball, sailing, hiking, DIY projects, and the exploration of culinary delights as a dedicated food lover. Music is an integral part of his daily routine, and he can’t fathom a day without its harmonious presence in his life.

Ibrahim was born, raised, and still lives in Solingen, Germany, a city he shares is known as the ‘City of Blades’ for their world-famous kitchen knives. His passion for the internet and web pages started early in life and at just 16 years old, he began to learn HTML and CSS programming. A self-taught developer and designer, shortly after school he started an apprenticeship as a design assistant with a focus on media and communication. Since that time, Ibrahim has worked in a variety of industries in addition to his freelance work, further honing his skills in web development and design, visual design, and front-end development. Ibrahim works as a Web Designer at Bekatec and enjoys applying his skills to a variety of projects. He is passionate about staying up-to-date on all the latest developments in his field, ensuring all our clients’ needs are met with only the highest quality possible.
Spending his working hours at a computer, Ibrahim always strives to get out of the house and do something each day. Outside of work, you can probably find him spending time with friends and family, enjoying a coffee somewhere outside, or traveling. He’s also interested in architecture, photography, cars, and art.

Katrin first apprenticed as a media designer before earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design at the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, with a brief stint at KADK Copenhagen where she adopted the ‘Danish attitude to life and appreciation of graphic work’ that continues to guide her work today. Before joining Bekatec in 2020, she worked in advertising for various agencies and large retail chains, honing her design and strategic marketing skills. Her graphic design expertise is diverse and includes corporate design, logo development, typography, web design, and illustrations. Now, Katrin is an integral member of the Bekatec team as a Lead Designer, and is passionate about seeing design projects through from concept to completion. Her critical thinking, problem solving, and project management skills ensure she is able to anticipate our customer’s needs, meet tight deadlines, and streamline and simplify processes through her design finesse. Katrin has also recently received a certificate in front-end web development for UI/UX-design with HTML5 and CSS3. In her spare time… actually, Katrin has no spare time! Besides her work for Bekatec, she’s busy raising three energetic kids.

Constanze found her passion for creating creative campaigns and print designs during her time working for advertising agencies and nonprofit organizations. She has a degree in Communication Design from the University of Applied Sciences and Art in Düsseldorf and worked as Senior Art Director for various major advertising firms before joining the Bekatec team. While web-specific design and online projects were new to Constanze, she quickly found her footing and was able to excel in this new role. With clear tasks, strict deadlines and clear communication, Constanze truly is able to achieve anything she sets her mind to. Constanze lives in Ratingen with her husband and two young children. There is little time for hobbies at present, but she does enjoy sailing, snowboarding, yoga and volleyball. She actively tries to convince our homebody-nerds to change their lifestyle with little success so far but, to quote Constanze, “nothing is impossible!” so there may still be hope.

Kevin worked for 18 years in various positions at a major logistics company before he began to yearn for a change of scenery. This led him to seek an education in the automotive repair industry but he didn’t quite feel at home in that industry. Lucky for the team at Bekatec, the experiences Kevin gained in these settings have proven highly transferable as he’s able to apply quick and intuitive learning and analytical thinking to his work as Junior Project Manager.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Michaela now resides in beautiful British Columbia, having settled into North Vancouver. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Taxation and Tax Policy, followed Master’s in Corporate Economics and Management through the Prague University of Economics and Business, and went on to gain vast professional experiences in account management, copywriting, custom CRMs, B2B content, social media, and marketing. One of her most significant projects was developing a comprehensive website for a major supermarket chain in the Czech Republic. Michaela prides herself on providing excellent customer service experiences as well as her strengths in strategic, big-picture thinking, communication, and workflow management. She joined Bekatec in 2022 as a Web Content Editor thanks to a student advisor who connected her with an exciting and new opportunity. Michaela enjoys the supportive and cooperative nature of the team and appreciates that she’s able to learn something new each day. In addition to her web content work, she also acts as Junior Project Manager on occasion and finds the two roles provide a positive balance. As a constant seeker of knowledge, Michaela’s work is also her passion – she spends much time reading about work-related topics like technology, programming and copywriting. She also enjoys journaling, camping, being outside, and spending time with friends.

Linh is a brilliant self-taught front end web developer who has traveled and studied around the world. Born in Vietnam, it was here Linh earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English Studies and worked as an English instructor before moving to the peaceful German city of Jena to complete a Master’s Degree in English Linguistics. During her studies she worked as a research assistant before shifting to a new and exciting role as a computational linguist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. It was during her time in Germany that Linh’s interest in programming and web development was truly ignited. A move to Canada in 2021 inspired her to seek a new career path, and she began to study HTML, CSS, and Javascript, to name a few. Needless to say, Linh’s love of web development and working with different languages combined into the perfect skill set for Bekatec, where she started as a Web Content Editor in early 2022. Since that time, she has worked on a number of international projects including the localization of websites for the Belgian and Polish markets where she tackled new challenges with ease, meeting and exceeding our clients’ needs. In addition to learning new languages, biking and gardening, Linh enjoys cooking and sitting down with a good book.