bryan-may

README.md



README for Bryan May (He/Him)

Guiding Principles


I believe experimentation and testing hypotheses are more valuable than making bold strategy claims. The best strategies emerge from learning, not declarations.
I believe iterating on a problem to solve the most fundamental issue elegantly is core to scaling. Complex solutions mask simple problems. Find the root, solve it well.
I believe transparency accelerates trust and decentralized decision-making. Working in the open—through docs, issues, and public channels—compounds organizational learning.
I believe that GitLab wins when customers win. Professional services should accelerate customer outcomes and establishing strong foundations for scaling SDLC operations (especially in the age of AI).
I believe continuous improvement requires continuous feedback. If I can do something better to work with you, tell me. I value constructive criticism. Compliments feel good in the moment. Constructive feedback is the true give to help you grow.

Who I Am

I'm based in Central New Jersey with degrees in Computer Engineering and Software Systems Engineering. My career started as a civilian with the US Army at Fort Monmouth and Aberdeen Proving Ground, where I earned a patent for communications mapping work.
I transitioned to private sector in 2017 with Verizon as a product owner for their enterprise DevOps platform. That experience—managing GitLab rollout for 10K+ developers, tackling app modernization and cloud migration—shaped how I think about enterprise transformation.
Early in my career, I lived through painful waterfall projects: multi-year lead-ups to integration events that never went to plan. Those experiences drove me toward DevOps and Agile, and I'm grateful for them.
What to Expect from me

My Role

I lead the Americas Professional Services team at GitLab, overseeing both sales and delivery. My focus is helping customers achieve outcomes that matter: greater developer efficiency, improved developer experience, reduced security risks, accelerated development velocity, and faster time to market.
These outcomes become possible when we establish foundational, scalable processes with customers from the start. GitLab Professional Services removes the opportunity cost of diverting your best engineering talent to migration, implementation, and transformation work. We help you set things up right so your team can focus on what differentiates you in the market.
My ultimate goal: help our customers win by making the complex simple and the foundational solid.
How I Work

Daily Workflow


Review Slack mentions and key channels (continuously)
Check GitLab todos (few times daily between meetings)
Scan email (once or twice daily)
Work through personal backlog (offline notes with links to docs, issues, emails)

Working Hours: Generally 8am-5pm ET. I sometimes check in after 7:30pm for west coast team questions.
Communication Preferences


Need my attention now? @ mention me in the relevant Slack channel (avoid DMs unless sensitive)
No response in 24+ hours? @ mention me in Slack as a reminder
Best response time: Slack
Email: I check it, but it's not my fastest channel

Working with me


Use public Slack channels over DMs whenever possible—it enables awareness and learning for others
Link to source context (the original doc, issue, or thread where an idea started) so I can be efficient with my time and yours
I am an INTJ analyst/architect personality type, which may be useful context.
Want to get to know me better? I would love to have a coffee chat! Just slam it on my calendar within my working hours and I'll be there.

Reading List

Books and ideas that shaped my thinking on DevOps, product management, and leadership
DevOps & Transformation


Sooner Safer Happier by Jon Smart

The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim

The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim
Investments Unilimted

The DevOps Handbook by Gene Kim and Jez Humble

Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow by Dominica Degrandis

Project to Product by Mik Kersten

Product & Strategy


Inspired: How to create Tech products customers love by Marty Cagen

Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen

Sprint: Solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days by Jake Knapp (I haven't actually read this, but the concepts are summarized here: https://www.gv.com/sprint/)

Opportunity Roadmaps is a blog post about how to shift the thinking about roadmaps from features to opportunities

https://www.producttalk.org/ is a great blog by Teresa Torres about product discovery.

Leadership & Sales


The Qualified Sales Leader by John McMahon

Never Split the Difference: Negotiate Like your life depended on it by Chris Voss

Measure what Matters - OKRs by John Doerr

Mindset: The new Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Anything by Malcolm Gladwell