Marcus Session is the Vice President of Information Technology Services for Tampa International Airport (TPA). He is responsible for leading and advising on technology initiatives throughout the organization. He has 21 years of experience in Information Technology working in a variety of industries. Previously, he served as Interim CIO for USF Health and Senior Director of IT Operations for the USF System.
During his tenure at Tampa International Airport the ITS team has undergone significant change; restructuring of the IT project management office, information security team, hosting several local technology events, and strengthened relationships with other technology organizations throughout the country. This has increased visibility, collaboration, security, and efficiency of technology initiatives at TPA.
He has spoken at national conferences, led transformative initiatives, and promoted innovative ideas to help TPA reach its goals, and maintain its status as “America’s Favorite Airport”. He is also a leadership coach, college instructor, and holds a Master’s of Science in Information Technology, as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Florida. He is also a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and a Cisco Networking Academy alumnus.
Episode transcription:
[00:00:27] Marcus Session: Good morning. I'm Marcus Session, Vice-President of Information Technology services with Tampa international airport.
[00:00:33] Jahn Karsybaev: Thanks so much for joining us today on the Ivy Podcast. Appreciate you finding time on the holiday week, everyone, you know, taking the time off. So it was great for us to connect.
Tell us a little bit more about your background to your current role. What falls under your purview?
[00:00:49] Marcus Session: Well, you know, I've been Maxi for over 20 years. Sound weird saying that, but no, I don't don't feel like it's been that long, but yeah,of the 20 years, you know, I've worked in a variety of industries, healthcare, helped them search higher education, you know, obviously aviation transportation, industry, you know, got some consulting, on the side I teach, so,a lot of different areas, you know. My current role, I'm responsible for all the technology initiatives and I'll say racial security. Tampa International Airport is America's favorite airport, by the way, so that's what it is. It's Americans living in there. And you know, basically anything we're trying to protect knowledge of perspective, you know, coming up with a strategy or working with departments and our partners to help technology bring value to the organization and help us support our missions and goals.
But most importantly, if I had to sum it up is using technology to provide a great and robust customer experience. You know, we want you to come through Tampa, and you know, not just remember your visit at the beach or wherever you're going, but also remember that, Hey, we have break here, too.
[00:02:01] Jahn Karsybaev: Oh, that's super exciting. I I talked to a lot of CIO, CTOs of different companies, but so this is the first time, you know, connecting with someone who is in charge of, you know, the elevation, the airport kind of from that industry perspective. So I'm super excited. Tell us, so you've mentioned, you know, briefly around strategy and, you know, the need to continuously innovate.
I would imagine that's all, you know, at the core for you guys. As far as building and fostering that culture of innovation, you know, not only in it, but yeah. Organization in general. share with us any strategies or initiatives that you have in place that really help you kind of build that and foster that culture of innovation.
[00:02:46] Marcus Session: You know, it's interesting. The way you asked your question, you kind of said a very good answer that I think people need to think about. You said foster a culture of innovation, not just the team, but the
