It all started when…

This is my Origin Story…..

Where to start. I was a typical ‘nerd’ kid growing up in Texas in the 1980s. My first computer was a Timex Sinclair that I connected to a TV and wrote programs in Basic, saving them to an audio cassette recorder that I used to listen to Joan Jett and Blackhearts, my only cassette.
For christmas one year I received a Commodore64 and my programs grew from single pages, memory limitations on the Timex Sinclair, to graphical multi page programs, still written in Basic.

My friends and I played BBS games on the weekend or Nintendo Console games and I modded and hacked my Commodore until it no longer fit inside its cased, and dreamed of owning a real computer like an Apple Lisa 2. My aspiration through High School was to become an aeronautical engineer and design aircraft and eventually spacecraft.

After high school I joined the US Marine Corps, mostly to reset choices I had made in high school but also to teach me the discipline to do the things I needed to do. I served 4 years with distinction mostly in the 2nd Reconnaissance BN, 2nd Mar Div and during this 4 years met my closest and longest friend SgtMaj Jason Kappen. This was a formative time for me where many of my work practices and habits were formed. I look back on this 4 years with reverence and humility as I worked with some of the bravest and hardest working men I have ever met. I have oh so many stories, if you get me on a nice evening with a Romeo y Julieta cigar and a really nice single Malt Scotch and I’ll can tell some harrowing and entertaining stories, like one time…..

In 1994 I transitioned to civilian life and started school at the University of Texas at Arlington, pursuing an Aerospace Engineering degree.

I would like to say that I completed the degree and got to live my dream but as in all things life got in the way.

At this time I was working part time as a security guard at the Ericsson North American Headquarters in Richardson, Texas, when fate stepped in and a man that I credit with getting me into IT offered me a role in the IT support team. In truth without Larry Elder being willing to give a 22 year old uneducated, unskilled young man with no experience a chance I would not be writing this origin story at all. In all reverence I have to credit him in starting me down this journey.

Once in the IT support role the number of people I could name and list that had a profound impact on my direction in Information Technology would be extensive. I will call out a few:

• Patrick Lawrence

• Lew Hanicack

• Oliver Motes

• Karl Morgan

They really shared their wisdom with me and helped guide me on to the path that I took. As I moved from desktop support into Network Support and eventually to a Network Operations Center role at the Fidelity Investment’s Dallas Datacenter I found that I had knack for understanding networks and how they worked.

At Fidelity Investments I was given both the support and encouragement to grow as much as I could. I developed a keen interest in understanding everything to do with networking down to the bit level and why and how networks operate. I was very fortunate to both work for some really great people:

• Raymond Peltier

• James Davis

but also with a truly world class team that inspired and drove me to better myself. Fidelity Investments has always invested in technologies to stay ahead and the number of projects I helped and participated in was extensive. LANs, WANs, ATM, datacentres, network management the list of technologies and the opportunity to participate in training, albeit often I already knew the material, only stoked my interests.

After Fidelity Investments my career accelerated through several roles and companies where I made great friends and learned to push my skills. I learned so much from the people I worked with and for, and again the stories I could tell. I am not where I would be without these people in my life, but I also don’t know how to express or thank them enough:

• Jeff Hurley - who helped teach me about business within technology

• Kirk Goings - a close friend who helped mentor me

• Mike Bambic - who challenged me to get certified

• Steve Carlin - who showed me what great people management looked like

• Richard Harp - whose business directorship was what I have used throughout my career as a benchmark of good directorship

• Marty Barron - whose close continuing friendship is always a gift and whose incredible technical skills made me understand security better than ever before

• James Fields - who showed me the value of a diverse education and what true innovation looked like

• Kevin Johnson - whose friendship and technical guidance has allowed me to stretch my career outside of networks and if you follow closely may be one of the people I will be talking to on my podcast

The list could go on and on to Ceva Logistics, Perot Systems, Anthelio, Levi Strauss, and finally IBM New Zealand where I got to move to New Zealand. Throughout my career I have always moved upwards not in pay, role or responsibility, although that also happened, but more in support to engineering to architecture. Each time I felt I could see more of the ‘herd of elephants’ that is why we do technology, listen to my first podcast and I will explain about the elephants. Each time I moved I felt I had a better understanding of why the network existed and why technology decisions were made.

Then at IBM New Zealand something happened. Two individuals gave me a chance to lead an architecture project that was outside of the network area.

Darin Hobbs and Brian More had trust in me and together with Warren Shera gave me a chance to lead the IBM New Zealand cloud development project. I would like to say it was a resounding success but pressures outside of my control limited the success of the project, that maybe a double scotch story.

What the Cloud project lacked in success it more than made up for in reinvigorating my love of technology and the benefits that it can bring to business. I have now consulted with multiple government ministries, service providers and private companies. I have led development teams in both hardware and software development projects. Consulted as an Enterprise Architect and digital transformation and innovation projects that have led to me presenting at a vendor conference and to the creation of this website.

The last 5 years have seen me post videos about technology and innovation on the internet and start a whole new chapter in my career where I will be creating content to help business understand what innovation could look like and what it takes to get enterprise wide value from experimentation.

This is only the beginning……..

My roles

• Innovation Leader

• Technology Leader

• Disruptive Transformation Consultant

• Enterprise Architect

Previous Roles

• Cloud Architect

• Network Architect

• Lead Network Engineer

• Network Engineer