Career Profile: IT Director, Coolbrands International

Current role: I manage a team responsible for data communications and the server/desktop hardware and applications. My job includes introducing new technologies both in terms of applications and hardware, and refining and tuning the current infrastructure.

How did your find your current job? It's a funny story. Actually, where I work now found me almost 12 years ago. I had faxed my resume to a company I was interested in, and the person in charge there was a friend of the IT manager in my current company. My resume was forwarded to my then manager, who called me for an interview. I was hired three hours after I left the interview.

What's been your best job and why? I would not consider what I do as a job. All of the places I have worked have been great, although I would have to pick the position I currently have as being the most enjoyable. The reason I enjoy it so much is that every day I have the chance to improve myself, my coworkers and the company's operations every day.

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What do you think is the number one non-IT skill IT professionals need today? I believe the number one non-IT skill we can have is the ability to communicate properly with our clients. To listen to what they really want and work with them to achieve a successful goal.

What do you credit your career success to? I would credit my career success to the passion I have for my position. I'm always striving to lead my team to do their best to meet or exceed company goals.

What are the top three skills an IT leader needs today? The ability to communicate with your clients and colleagues; to lead your team to a successful goal, and planning and organization along with the ability to execute that plan.

What's your favorite IT resource site and why? Google. To me it's like the gateway to knowledge. If you can't find it there, it doesn't exist.

What would you advise someone looking to find the type of role you currently have? Try to experience as much as you can in the beginning and find out what really gets u going and run with it. I started as a computer operator, learned programming in two different languages, worked as a programmer, a systems analyst and then a senior systems analyst before my current job. At my current job I was asked what my passion was and then given the choice to move into the area I wanted. Not too many people get that opportunity.

If you had the choice to jump into any other job, tech or non-tech, what would it be? I'd be working on a tropical island somewhere. But actually I can't think of anything else I would rather do than the IT work, as every day is an adventure.

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