You've Been Heard

Drew Stone is the Director of IT and Data Security at True Velocity Ammunition. Coming from a farming background, Drew didn’t have a normal path to IT as a career. Instead, he ended up blending agriculture and IT before moving on to government work, then back to agriculture, before finding his way to True Velocity.

Today, we get to hear all about how and why agriculture technology is surprisingly bleeding edge, how the collection of data affects agriculture yields, and the innovations that Drew witnesses first-hand in ammunition technology.

Travis Pierce is the Director of Information Technology at Tillamook County Creamery Association. Starting as a PC Technician in 1997, Travis has worked his way up throughout his long career to land in this leadership role. He has honed his cross-functional leadership skills over time and is well known for his skills amongst his peers. Travis graduated with an MA in Business Administration from the University of Oregon.

Travis is going to delve into the unexpected complexities in the dairy business, the importance of having good people and being good to them, and what makes for a successful digital transformation.

Jose Garcia is currently working as IT Manager for Datamark. Jose has been in the industry for over 20 years and, in addition to IT, he has extensive experience with project management. He also has a background in electronics repairs and possesses a love of finding out how things tick.

In this episode we get to hear Jose get into detail about his love of electronics and how they work, why you need to understand the bottom line of the business, and why it’s paramount to invest in education for your people.

Andrey Stryukov is CIO at CountBOX US and Information Technology Operations Manager at Lumen Property Management. A technology strategist and innovator with over 15 years of experience building products and managing end-to-end IT operations, Andrey is easily able to anticipate business needs.  With a hands-on approach and player-coach mentality, Andrey has built his career on collaboration.

Listen in as Andrey discusses implementing effective digital transformation, the need for inter-departmental collaboration and breaking down silos, plus what the future could hold for the digital transformation process.

John Lay is Vice President of Information Technology with Camping World and Good Sam. Since the 80s, John has worked in a variety of roles and industries from cable TV, to ISPs, to his current role. Throughout his career, John’s focus has always been team building and change management. He gets to experience this every day in his current position.

You’ll get to hear John discuss his long involvement in the IT space, why building teams is crucial, the ins and outs of communication along with its downfalls, and how to turn your negatives into positive motivators.

Mitch O’Dell is the Director of Information Technology at Shimmick Construction, working his way up from Computer Operator Lead. Starting off, Mitch was initially a military man and worked as a Computer Switching Systems Journeyman in the United States Air Force before returning to civilian life and continuing his IT career. Mitch also holds a master’s degree in Emergency Management from Arkansas University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

Join Mitch as he discusses how the military ties into construction and IT, why it’s best to have a human connection in problem solving, and what it’s like being a jack of all trades.

Stuart Smith is the IT Director at Medtronic. Stuart has been working at Medtronic for 22 years, climbing the IT ladder from Principal IT Project Leader to IT Director of R&D and Quality Systems. Starting out in economics and languages, Stuart came to IT in an indirect way, but has been with the same company since the beginning. Not only has he been learning his trade, but also how to get the best from people.

Stuart dives into the true job of the IT department in this episode, along with the difference between a nerd and a geek, the consumerization of IT, and how to help your department communicate to the business side of operations.

Chris Barnes is CTO of Operations and Strategic Services at Howard LLP. Howard LLP is a market leader in providing financial consulting, audit, assurance, tax, and IT consulting services to businesses across multiple industries. Though he didn’t get into computers until the late 1990s, with his first machine being a Zenith, this hasn’t held Chris back from success. He now has extensive experience with networking and bringing resources together.

We’re going to hear Chris talk about the necessity of understanding the values of where you work, leading without fear, and letting go of the decisions of others. Before all of that, Chris tells us about how he broke into the industry when the dot com bubble crashed.

Joshua Clemons is the Director of Information Technology at Transhield Inc. He has worked in IT since 2007 and has held roles as a technical consultant, desktop support technician, and senior network administrator. Now, he holds the position of IT Director at his company.

Listen to our conversation to hear Joshua discuss the intricacies of working with the military along with the extra precautions that must be taken, how to effectively gauge and implement KPIs, and what you can do as a team manager to increase effectiveness.