Patrick

Vice President of Enterprise Information Technology and Infrastructure, Information Technology

Tell us about your job. What do you do?
I am the Vice President over Enterprise Information Technology and Infrastructure. This includes Desktop Support, Server Hardware, Storage Systems, Data Center Administration, and the Network Operations Center (NOC). I have four Directors that report up through me that manage all of these areas.

What’s made you successful in your career here?
I believe what has made my teams successful was consistently delivering what was asked for by our customers in a timely manner. I have been very fortunate to have many talented people reporting to me throughout my career at West. I have also been fortunate to have reported to several different managers over the years, who have mentored me and given me good direction.

What do you love about your job?
The diversity of our business keeps things exciting.

What’s the best thing about working here? What makes you proud to work for West?
West is a growing company with plenty of opportunities. We have not even come close to reaching our potential in this business.

I am proud to work with my peers and the supporting staff. They are very talented and full of energy.

In your opinion, how is working at West different that working at other companies?
West is an aggressively growing company. There are a lot of tenured employees here who have been promoted up through the organization over the years. This represents great career pathing, which a lot of companies today don’t pay enough attention to.

What are the most valuable life lessons you’ve learned while working here?
Hard work, paying attention to detail, and listening to your customer does pay off. I have also learned to be a better communicator, which, in turn, has made my job much more productive.

What would you tell someone who was thinking of beginning a career with West? What does it take to succeed here?
I would tell them that West offers opportunity with great career pathing. All it takes is the will and desire to want to move ahead.

What three words would you use to describe your job?
Challenging, Opportunity, and Reward.

How did you take advantage of the training and development opportunities West provides? What did you learn and how have you applied it to your career?
West provides an entire range of training just within the company. I have taken advantage of several of the Management courses, including the Corporation Management training. West also provides training outside of the company with vendors such as IBM, Red Hat, Cisco, and Microsoft. Many of our staff have attended training with each of these organizations and many more.

How has West’s management team shaped your experience? What kind of support have they provided you? What has been most valuable about your interaction with the management team(s)?
I have worked for several really great managers throughout my career with West. I was able to learn a lot from each of these individuals on how to strengthen my management skills whether it is communications, dealing with employees, or taking care of our customers. Each manager was able to give me guidance on how to be successful.

Now that I am a Vice President, I feel it is my job to make sure my staff receives the same kind of mentoring that I did, so that they can be as successful in their careers.