Executive CV
Heinrich Heesen
Technology Architecture Expert | Consulting CTO | Agentic AI & Operational Systems Leader
- Pretoria, South Africa
- +27 72 211 3960
- linkedin.com/in/heinrich-heesen-za
Executive Profile
Heinrich Heesen is a technology architecture expert and consulting CTO with more than 20 years of experience designing, scaling, and operationalising complex technology platforms. He combines executive-level judgement with deep hands-on technical capability across telecoms, ISP infrastructure, cloud architecture, IoT telemetry, automation, product delivery, and business-critical operating systems.
His current focus is the practical application of agentic AI: creating AI-assisted operating models where large language models, workflow automation, retrieval, software agents, browser-based execution, integration tooling, and human approval loops work together to improve throughput, reduce administrative drag, and raise the quality of decision-making.
Through Barberry Labs and ongoing practical implementation work, Heinrich has built and applied real-world AI-assisted operating layers for research, document drafting, support workflows, browser-driven operations, code-agent orchestration, knowledge capture, and business process acceleration. This gives him a grounded, implementation-led understanding of how organisations can move beyond AI experimentation and start capturing durable operational advantage.
Core Value Proposition
- Translates emerging AI capability into practical, governed operating workflows
- Bridges CTO-level strategy, architecture, implementation, and operational adoption
- Designs systems that combine people, process, software, data, and AI agents effectively
- Applies proven experience from telecoms, cloud, IoT, telemetry, product, and service operations
- Helps clients identify where agentic workflows create real leverage — and where they do not
Agentic AI Capability
- Human-in-the-loop agent workflow design, including approvals, auditability, escalation, and safe task boundaries
- LLM-enabled research, reasoning, drafting, summarisation, coding assistance, and operational follow-through
- Tool orchestration across OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Codex/Cursor-style coding agents, retrieval, browser automation, and APIs
- Agent-assisted processes for knowledge work, support triage, document generation, data extraction, task routing, and reporting
- Commercially grounded AI adoption focused on measurable savings, improved execution speed, and better management visibility
Selected Career Impact
- Served as CTO/CIO, Director, and Shareholder at iConnect SA, playing a senior leadership role in scaling the company into the biggest hosted PABX provider in South Africa.
- Founded Barberry Labs to deliver senior technical architecture, agentic AI implementation, cloud-connected systems, workflow automation, and productised technology consulting.
- Architected practical agentic operating layers that demonstrate how AI assistants can support real business execution rather than remaining isolated chatbot experiments.
- Founded Pro Automation and led development of PoolSense, a patented smart water-quality monitoring product combining IoT, telemetry, field data, alerts, and operational product delivery.
- Designed and built Asset Trail for EduPrac, a specialised asset depreciation platform supporting South African tax practitioners across multiple industries.
- Led technical architecture and delivery for water-sector telemetry, calibration workflows, dashboards, and field-connected operational systems.
- Contributed to ZA-INX governance, pricing, budgeting, and operational oversight as a committee member.
Professional Experience
Leads Barberry Labs as a senior technical consultancy focused on agentic AI, technology architecture, cloud-connected systems, workflow automation, AI-assisted delivery, architecture review, and operational improvement for businesses that need senior technical judgement without unnecessary complexity.
Consults across IoT, cloud-connected systems, dashboards, telemetry, digital operations, and custom AI integration processes. Work includes Asset Trail for EduPrac and broader system design for operationally complex businesses.
Leads technology direction, project delivery, ERP improvement, workflow automation, technical execution, and operational systems across security operations, customer delivery, and business systems.
Founded the business and led the technology architecture and development of PoolSense, a patented IoT product focused on smart water-quality monitoring, telemetry, alerts, and field-connected operational insight.
Held senior technology leadership responsibility for strategy, architecture, network and voice systems, billing, compliance, platform reliability, operational tooling, and technical team leadership during the company’s growth into South Africa’s largest hosted PABX provider.
Led VoIP systems, technical planning, support quality, service reliability, and technical enablement in a communications-focused environment.
Technical Domains
- Agentic AI systems, LLM workflows, prompt/action design, retrieval, and tool orchestration
- OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Codex, Cursor, and AI-assisted software delivery
- AWS architecture, cloud backends, APIs, monitoring, security, and reliability
- IoT, telemetry systems, ThingsBoard, real-time dashboards, device management, and operational intelligence
- Telecoms, ISP platforms, VoIP, hosted PBX systems, billing, compliance, and service reliability
- ERP, CRM, permissions, workflow automation, quoting, reporting, and business process systems
Education and Credentials
BEng, Computer Engineering
University of Pretoria, 2002 to 2005
- Vodacom bursary recipient
- Performance bursaries for 3 consecutive years
- Patent holder: PoolSense smart water-quality monitoring system
- Languages: Afrikaans, English