On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .

The first leader I served under used a phrase almost daily – Winning is Hard . I try my best to enjoy each win . It ’ s not always easy , but this experience is a journey .

The one constant I can call out are the relationships I ’ ve made along the way . A large portion of my community , both personally and professionally , are the same people I ’ ve worked along-side . It creates a special bond with someone when you do what it takes to achieve that win – I ’ m grateful for those I ’ ve been able to experience it with .

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

My journey is somewhat unique in that I ’ ve served in most of the roles our technology enables – frontline to leadership . At every level it became clear that digital enablement was a key , long-term focus for investment .

It was also apparent that the market was incredibly underserved both in terms of available , scalable tech and resources with the skills to enable ops and tech to co-exist . I jumped headfirst into the juxtaposition .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?

An organization needs diversity in perspective to drive innovation . A key enabler to this is healthy conflict .

To have comfort with healthy conflict you need trust and respect . I ’ m not sure this is a management style , but I believe in the statement above and try to cultivate it .

What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?

Human-centric design . I view all other topics as an enabler to this . Tech is changing at such a rapid pace and consumers have more optionality than ever . If you don ’ t deeply understand your user , their problems and can truly enable them – it ’ s over .

How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?

My wife and two young boys are my deepest source of joy . It ’ s hard to keep the work brain turned on when a four-year-old and two-year-old meet you at the door .

If you could go back and change one career decision what would it be ?

Prioritizing chances instead of status-quo earlier in my career . Balancing risk , having the hard conversation ,

An organization needs diversity in perspective to drive innovation .

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