Ricardo Mestre
About Ricardo Mestre
Ricardo Mestre is the Principal Agile Coach and Senior Manager at Talkdesk, with extensive experience in agile methodologies and project management across various companies and roles.
Principal Agile Coach at Talkdesk
Ricardo Mestre serves as the Principal Agile Coach and Senior Manager at Talkdesk. He operates remotely and holds key responsibilities, including mediating the interface between Product and Engineering. Mestre reports directly to the Global Head of Product and the Engineering VP. His role includes managing a team of 9 Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches to implement continuous improvement initiatives across the entire department. Mestre also co-created the Agile Academy, a mandatory series on Agile Fundamentals for new employees at Talkdesk.
Career Background
Ricardo Mestre has held several pivotal roles throughout his career. He worked at Lean Kanban Inc. as an Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT) from 2019 to 2020 in the Aveiro Area, Portugal. Prior to this, he co-founded Ricardo J Mestre Lda. and served as Managing Partner, Agile Coach Trainer, Consultant, and Speaker from 2018 to 2020. His experience also includes being an Authorized ICAgile Instructor at ICAgile from 2018 to 2020 and serving as an Agile Coach / Scrum Master at HERE from 2012 to 2018 in Berlin, Germany.
Experience as a Scrum Master
Ricardo Mestre has extensive experience as a Scrum Master. He worked at Microsoft from 2008 to 2011. During his tenure, he contributed to various agile transformations and process improvements. Prior to Microsoft, he was a Project Manager at Amplitude Net from 2007 to 2008 and held roles as a Software Tester at Siemens, Altice Labs (as a contractor from XLM), and NEC from 2004 to 2007.
Educational Background
Ricardo Mestre holds a Licentiate degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Universidade do Porto and Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, completed between 1993 and 1998. He also obtained a Certification of proficiency (B1) in German Language from Goethe Institut in 2010. Additionally, Mestre is certified in Project Management by Prince 2 Practitioner - Office of Government Commerce of UK, achieved in 2007.
Key Contributions at Talkdesk
Ricardo Mestre has made significant contributions at Talkdesk. He played a crucial role in transitioning an entire department from quarterly release planning to continuous planning, leading to annual operational cost savings of EUR 1 million. Mestre's responsibilities also include leading the Agile Academy, an essential 5-episode series on Agile Fundamentals for all new employees, and spearheading various continuous improvement initiatives within the department.