Author: Richard Foote

Based in Canberra, Australia, Richard has been working in the IT industry for over 30 years, 20 plus years with Oracle database technologies and is widely regarded as a leading authority on Oracle Database technologies. He hosts the very popular and internationally respected 'Richard Foote Oracle Blog' focusing on Oracle Index internals. After migrating to Canberra, Australia from his native England in 1982, Richard obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computing Studies in 1986. His first IT position was as a Cobol Programmer with the Australian Public Service. Richard worked in various roles, including Programming, Project Management, Data Modeling, Database Design, and finally specializing in Application/Database Tuning and Technical Training. In late 1996, Richard joined Oracle Corporation, as a DBA Specialist and Technical Trainer, based in the local Canberra office. He was regarded as one of the top DBA specialists and instructors in the Australasia region and won many internal awards and accolades. In 2002, Richard left Oracle Corporation to become an independent consultant. He worked at various Oracle sites in the Canberra region, specialising in helping to diagnose and resolve numerous performance issues. During this time, he served as President of the Australian Capital Territory Oracle User Group (ACTOUG) where he also presented regularly. In 2002, Richard also became a member of the well-respected Oracle OakTable Network. In 2005, Richard was permanently employed by the Australian Government as a DBA specialist, supporting mission critical, large scale Oracle databases. Richard is a very popular speaker and regularly presents at user group functions and international conferences including Oracle OpenWorld, IOUG Collaborate, Hotsos Symposium, AUSOUG InSync, ODTUG Kscope, UKOUG Tech Conference and the E4 Enkitec Extreme Exadata Expo. Accolades include special recognition for the highly innovative "Good DBA, Bad DBA" co-presentation at Oracle OpenWorld in Brisbane in 1999, Best Oracle Speaker at UKOUG in 2015 and Best 3 presentations at the Hotsos Symposium in 2017. He also presents a highly successful in-depth seminar on Index Internals and Best Practices, which he has presented in over a dozen countries. In 2008, recognised for his technical expertise in Oracle Databases, Richard was awarded the level of an Oracle ACE Director by Oracle Corporation. In late 2011, Richard re-joined Oracle Corporation as a Technical Pre-sales Consultant and as an Oracle Ace Employee. During this time, Richard worked with numerous Oracle customers in diagnosing and resolving complex database performance issues. In 2017, he was awarded the Best Solutions Consultant in the ANZ region, in part because of his highly successful "Let's Talk Database" series of events. He listens to the music of David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Radiohead as much as possible.