There are over 400 Oracle ACEs globally, all with a wide range of stories to tell and technical knowledge to share. We want to introduce you to some of these incredible ACEs and their stories, so we will be highlighting an Oracle ACE member every month or even more often in our Oracle ACE Spotlight series.

Today we would like to present you Roel Hartman, who is an Oracle ACE Director working with Oracle Database since the ‘90s. He’s a frequent speaker at large Oracle conferences all around the world.

You can find him and connect on: twitter new logo | Linkedin

  1. Hi Roel, thank you for accepting our interview invitation for the ACE Spotlight section! Let’s start with the beginning: please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello, my name is Roel Hartman, I’m from the Netherlands, I own a one-person company, so I’m Director, Secretary, and everything else, specialized in APEX.

I’ve been an Oracle ACE Director for approximately 13 years. The activity I do for the community is mostly presenting. I have contributed to a few books, now and then I blog as well. I also run a website – clocwise.org which keeps a list of all call for papers for User Group conferences, free and available for all.

  1. What was your journey to becoming an ACE?

Around 15 years ago, there were people around me who were ACEs. And after attending some of my presentations, someone recommended me to the ACE program. I did not believe I was “ACE material”, but I was approved. And I must admit I enjoy being part of the program for many years.

  1. What do you remember from the first time you attended events as a speaker. How was it like?

My first connection with the community wasn’t about giving, but about receiving from the community. I attended Oracle conferences in the Netherlands, Kscope, OpenWorld. And at a certain moment I thought that I would also like not only receive, but also contribute.

I started small, doing presentations in the company I was working for at that time. My first time presenting externally was during an UKOUG conference in Birmingham. It was very scary. When you are standing there presenting, and everyone is looking at you – it can be scary.

Now, when it’s the first time doing a presentation – maybe I am a little nervous. But after the second or third time presenting it – everything is fine.

  1. What would you recommend to others who want to start presenting? How should they start?

Presenting is my favorite activity, because it gives you the opportunity to go at conferences and meet people, and that is very valuable.

Don’t get rid of the emotions, emotions are good. Presenting is scary, but fun as well. You should present about something you like, because if you are not passionate about the topic – it will show. Even if you’re doing a demo and something totally unexpected happens – you can manage it. You can just skip it, but don’t try to fix it on the spot, or you will lose the audience.

  1. What would you say is the biggest (career) achievement you had so far?

It is not just one thing. Since I became an independent contractor, almost 10 years ago now, I have never had to look for an assignment. That is mostly thanks to the activities I have done as an Oracle ACE: presenting, blogging, writing etc. Now people know who I am and what my expertise area is. So, they reach out to me if they need assistance for short- or longer-term projects.

Doing activities in the Oracle community helps you build a brand for yourself and/or the company you are working for. So, there is no direct, short term, revenue in spending all those hours creating presentations, but there definitely is in the long run.

  1. How do you think being part of the ACE Program has helped you?

It helped me personally because I needed to be more proficient when presenting. It also helped with learning new things, because every now and then I discover a topic that seems interesting. That was the case about Docker a few years ago. I submitted an abstract for a presentation on Docker when I still didn’t know much about the topic. After it was accepted, I had to step out of my comfort zone and learn about it, so I could prepare the presentation.

Once you are in the program for a few years, you realize that now you know a lot of people. Many fellow presenters are ACEs and it’s like a circuit, where we always like to let new people in.

Also, when I have a question about a topic, I know who to reach out to and ask – email, Slack, message. And because they know me as well, I sometimes receive an answer within minutes.

  1. What is something you really like about the ACE Program and the reason you would recommend someone to join this community?

I think getting connected with people with similar interests is the most important thing. The other one is learning new skills and gaining knowledge.

Thank you, Roel, we’ve really enjoyed the conversation!

And we hope you also enjoyed reading it! 

Take a look at the other interviews from the Oracle ACE Spotlight series: