Meet The Next Gen Of IBMers Helping To Build IBM i
June 16, 2025 Alex Woodie
The graying of the IBM i installed base is a topic that deserves attention, as every platform must find a way to reinvent itself if it wants to survive. IBM executives have been vocal about the need for IBM i customers to hire younger people. Well, it looks like Big Blue is taking its own advice, judging from the new crop of developers working in the Rochester and Toronto labs, and beyond.
It’s hard to believe that Liam Allan has been working on the IBM i platform for nearly a decade. Allan, who started working on IBM i when he was just 17 years old, was hired by IBM in 2022 to lead the development of IBM i plug-ins for VS Code, among other open source projects. Whatever IBM is paying Allan, it is probably not enough, as Allan now sits at the epicenter of a youth movement involving IBM i and open source software.
“We have a really exciting group of developers working on VS Code today,” said Tim Rowe, the IBM business architect in charge of application development and system management tools at the Rochester, Minnesota lab. “IBM is driving it, because we have Liam. We have Scott Forstie. We have others that are here.”
IBM has hired a handful of recent college graduates that work with Allan, Rowe, Forstie, who is the Db2 for i business architect Forstie, and Jesse Gorzinski, the IBM business architect leading development of open source and AI tools on IBM i.
This is by no means a definitive list. But these are the names of the younger individuals that IT Jungle has heard about at recent industry events:
Sanjula Ganepola
Sanjula Ganepola is a software developer at IBM working on IBM i application development tools. Ganepola is an active contributor and maintainer of several Visual Studio Code extensions including IBM i Project Explorer, Code for IBM i, IBM i Testing, Source Orbit, and more.
Ganepola is a 2024 graduate of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he received a bachelor’s degree in science in software engineering. He interned at the IBM lab in Toronto from 2021 to 2023, during which time he gained experience working with development tools and VS Code extensions.
Jonathan Zak
Jonathan Zak is a staff software developer working on open source tools, such as VS Code, Manzan, Mapepire, and Tyrico. He’s a 2022 graduate University of Toronto, where he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Zak works full time out of the IBM lab in Toronto.
“My passion lies in creating robust software solutions that drive efficiency and innovation,” Zak writes on his LinkedIn profile. “I thrive in dynamic environments where I can leverage my technical skills to tackle complex challenges and deliver high-quality results. In my free time, I love to work on coding projects, rock climb, and try out new recipes.”
Julia Yan
Julia Yan is a lead developer for Navigator and Application Runtime Expert (ARE) for IBM i. She’s a 2020 graduate of University of Toronto, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, with a specialty in software engineering. She was hired by IBM in July 2022, and works out of the Toronto Lab.
“I bring a keen eye for detail to both UI design and system architecture, combining creative front-end work with deep back-end problem solving,” Yan writes in her LinkedIn profile. “As a trusted technical leader, I take ownership of complex, high-impact initiatives, mentor teammates, and consistently step outside my core responsibilities to solve tough technical challenges wherever they arise.”
Adam Shedivy is a staff software developer who was hired by IBM in July 2022 following his graduation from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a computer science degree, with a specialization in data science. He worked with Allan and Ganepola to build the new Mapepire database connector.
Adam Shedivy
During his final year in college, Shedivy interned with IBM, where he worked with the IBM i Client Access team. He was going to intern at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, but it was cancelled due to Covid-19. He now works out of the Rochester Lab.
“From a development perspective, I have experience working in many different areas such as back end and full stack development, autonomous vehicle simulation, and Computational Biology Research,” Shedivy writes on his LinkedIn account. “I am currently at IBM working on AI and open source solutions, with a focus on developer and database tools.”
What sets this young group of developers apart is their enthusiasm and their willingness to contribute to development projects that aren’t necessarily part of their day-to-day jobs, Forstie said.
“We don’t create barriers to the team,” Forstie told IT Jungle at POWERUp 2025. “I try to inspire my team to embrace innovation. With that, you have to respect people and give them room to navigate. You expect them to work on whatever their assignment is, but you don’t limit them.
“And let’s not kid around – it’s a really great team to work with,” Forstie added. “People enjoy it.”
Rowe shared a story about one of the younger developers who is working on IBM i Navigator. She ended contributing some changes to VS Code to improve its SQL support. “She has to write quite a bit of SQL as part of doing her Navigator work,” Rowe said. “She was using VS Code because it’s got the best SQL stuff, and she didn’t like the way the syntax was being done.”
Another enthusiastic supporter of the new crop of IBMers is Alan Seiden, CEO of Seiden Group and a leading advocate of open source software on IBM i. Seiden applauded IBM for hiring people based on their current skills and aptitudes, not based on their existing knowledge of IBM i or RPG, which is something he has been vocal about in the past.
“These young people at IBM, it’s very encouraging,” Seiden told IT Jungle at the recent COMMON conference. “They have got a great next generation coming up inside IBM with new ideas. The people we grew up knowing, they can retire, and it will be all right. I know it will be okay. They have got a really bright next generation.”
RELATED STORIES
Keep The IBM i Youth Movement Going With More Training, Better Tools
