Walk us through your CIO path. How did you decide to pursue a career in technology?
I started this journey in the mid, well sometime in the past. Right out of High School, the path I selected was Computer Science and I stuck with it ever since. During college, I worked for a Fire department where I logged all the incidents in a DataBase application called DBase. Right after college, I went into an Accounting Firm as a Novell Network support technician. That building I worked in is directly across the street from where I work today. Kind of ironic, as they are one of our competitors in the field of accounting. I worked in Law firms, Insurance/Banking, Medical, and manufacturing, so I have a diverse business background which helps me throughout each day.
Chief Information Officer, Meaden & Moore
Tell us about your company. Speak to the industry, the size of the company, and the services provided to your customers.
I work at Meaden & Moore, a professional services company that has been around for 103 years strong. We focus on Accounting, Tax and Auditing Services, Forensic Accounting, and Employee Benefit Planning. We also dabble in ERP and Professional Development Services. We are about 250 people strong, have offices in 9 cities in the States and 1 in London, and 4 affiliates in Canada. For our size organization, we are unique with the number of offices we have and the regions we cover.
What are your top 3-5 priorities as CIO in your organization?
Ongoing priorities include people development, securing the environment, and engaging in collaboration. There are so many more priorities, but the top 3 are listed above.
How do you decompress from your role as a technology executive? What do you do for fun?
Family has always been at the top of the list on the decompression side and the fun side. I have the best supporting cast anyone can ever ask for. Included in the cast, is first and foremost, my wife. Following, I have 4 beautiful daughters who are in careers that do not include Technology, thank goodness. I have been upping my game on reading, I read more books last year, 6, than I have read in my entire life, well, not technical books that is. So, I am reading these days. I also like to sketch. Starting in 2020, I have sketched the “Muppets”, exotic cars, and this year, I am sketching Light Houses. At the end of the year, I send them over to a printing service and put them all on a metal frame, and give them to our girls.
List your top 1-3 books that you would recommend for a technology leader to have on their bookshelf/Kindle.
The first book I would recommend is a simple read, it is called Holes by Louis Sachar. There was a movie about the book, and it has a good storyline that can be used every day. The second book I would recommend is called Before You Leap by none other than “Kermit the Frog”. Another good story that is simple to read.
Can you share a specific quote that is a source of inspiration for you as a leader?
There are so many to select, but one comes to mind, that might not be inspirational to some, but it is to me, in a way. It is from “Marvin the Martian”, “Oh, drat these computers. They’re so naughty and so complex. I could pinch them.”
Please share a recommendation or testimonial on the benefit you see as a member of this CIO Professional Network.
There are so many great reasons to become a member of CIO Professional Network, but the main reason I selected it was because of the following
- Engagement
- Encouragement
- Great Content
- The Best Supporting Cast, and you know who you are!!
- Collaboration
- Knowledge within the Network
