Meet our Founders

Creating successful leaders through skills-based management

Payam Moghaddam

Payam Moghaddam

Co-Founder

Payam has spent his career proving that great engineering leadership can change lives in positive ways. As a technology executive, he has consistently delivered high-stakes outcomes, most notably during his seven-year tenure as VP of R&D at Galvanize, where he architected the platform that underpinned a $1 billion acquisition.

Payam's leadership model integrates technical excellence with high-autonomy organizational design. He has scaled and managed global teams of 300+ engineers, eschewing rigid hierarchies in favor of environments that prioritize agency and structured guidance. This "culture-first" approach allows teams to maintain high velocity and energy while operating lean.

A recognized expert in AWS Serverless architecture and complex security compliance (SOC2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, IL5), Payam maintains a strict bias toward simplicity and automation. At Admire, he applies this philosophy to help organizations operationalize skill development and unlock the incredible potential of their people.

Keith Cerny

Keith Cerny

Co-Founder

Keith is a leader with 25 years' experience architecting and scaling teams at some of Vancouver's premier technology firms. During his tenure as Chief Technology Officer and later Chief People Officer at Galvanize, he operationalized high-performing teams and a culture of continuous delivery, ultimately driving multiple industry accolades and a successful exit.

Post-exit, Keith transitioned to early-stage venture support as an Angel Investor with Fresh Founders. Over four years, he deployed capital into and advised 20+ startups across North America. His approach centers on mentorship and scenario-based guidance, transitioning ventures from survival to scalable growth.

With a deep specialization in organizational design, Keith aligns human capital with strategic objectives. He serves as a mentor and board member to CEOs, CTOs, and GTM leaders, with a particular focus on accelerating the careers of first-time managers.

Our Story is Your Story

We remember the first time we were promoted to management. The jolt of excitement for being recognized. The sense of growth and empowerment. The bigger salary. We floated home that day on a dopamine cloud.

Then reality hit. We arrived at work the next day terrified. We felt like an imposter. We thought "any minute now they will figure out that we have no clue what we're doing and take away this promotion" ... you know what we mean.

We struggled. We sometimes found a breadcrumb of guidance or mentorship or some incomplete tool here or there. We jumped at the latest management fad or book. We read them all. Most were superficial or just plain wrong.

What was missing was clarity on how to do the job. There wasn't a clear process to acquire our own management skills nor the skills our team members needed. We desperately wanted both a mentor and an assistant manager at the same time. We looked for a solution. We found nothing.

So we built Admire. The technology has finally caught up to our ambitions. However, our vision for Admire is so much more than technology. We are laser focused on making the job of management easier. Whether you are managing people, AI agents, or a team of consultants, we are building Admire to always be in your corner supporting you.

The most important metric that we care about at Admire is: Promotions. If we help you and your team members get to the next promotion faster, then we are succeeding.

We know that leaders who develop people get more people to develop. We experienced it ourselves and want to help you accelerate your journey.

In the future, someone who worked on your team will tell their friend at a dinner that you were the best boss they ever had. If we can play a small part in helping that day happen, we are fulfilled.

Ready to Boss Better?

We'll map your team's skills live and show a path to improvement.

  • A personalized skill map for your team
  • A prioritized action plan you can use immediately