Now , we ’ re seeing a move toward selling more bespoke and turnkey solutions based on in-depth conversations with end users about their current and future requirements .
What is your management philosophy ?
I ’ m a results-orientated type of manager , and I do not like to micromanage people . I train and set goals with my salespeople , and I help steer them toward those goals , but it is ultimately up to them . I deliberately look to hire self-starters for this reason .
When you look back at your career , what has been the most memorable achievement ?
Going all the way back to the early days of my career , I won a deal in the early 2000s to put copy machines in all Costco locations globally . And in the last few years , I worked in the education space helping universities move their enterprise resource planning ( ERP ) and infrastructure to the cloud to transition to remote models and deal with the impacts of the pandemic .
What made you think of a career in technology ?
I grew up in the 80s , so I remember when the World Wide Web and email were first emerging – it was hard to wrap your head around . At some point when I was connecting copiers to the network and using them as high production printers , I had an “ ah hah !” moment that the Internet was going to transform everything . The more I spoke with IT people at various companies , the more I realised how valuable they are . They are the people really driving the organisation . IT is telling the CFOs and CEOs what they need to do from a technology standpoint to be viable and sustainable . That was towards the end of the 90s , and that was when I realised that I wanted to be in IT .
What do you think will be the hot technology talking point of 2022 ?
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning . It ’ s a fascinating space as organisations are starting to experiment and implement AI and Machine Learning workflows . These use cases require vast volumes of data to train algorithms and are driving huge demand for powerful , flexible , and highly scalable storage infrastructures . In fact , our software architect Curtis Anderson has recently joined the MLCommons storage working group to develop an industry benchmark to help organisations decide on the right storage solution for their specific workflows .
What are your personal interests and where do you like to spend most of your time after work ?
I ’ m a massive sports fan . I play a lot of golf and play competitively with friends . I watch all kinds of sports and have season tickets to the college football at the University of Washington , which is where I went to school . •
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