Episode 13: The Applications & Benefits of Hyperconvergence Infrastructure

MATT RUNK

Vice President, Sales Mid-Atlantic

Matthew Runk, Vice President, Sales Mid-Atlantic, leads a regional sales team focused on the technology needs of our clients. Matt started with Presidio as an Account Manager and has since held numerous leadership positions. He has more than 25 years of experience in technology sales. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Shippensburg University and an MBA from Temple University.

BRIAN MAGGIACOMO

Vice President, Strategic Accounts/Media & Entertainment

Brian Maggiacomo is the Vice President of Sales, Strategic Accounts/Media & Entertainment, at Presidio. Brian has over 25 years of channel experience supporting the global, enterprise, public sector and commercial markets. Prior to joining Presidio in 2012, Maggiacomo was Vice President of Sales and partner at BlueWater Communications Group from 2006 until it was acquired by Presidio. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree of arts in political science from SUNY Cortland.

The people are very important here – our people drive our business.

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Meet Rob P

United States

What is a lesson that you’ve learned over the past few years?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the last two years is to take a step back sometimes and just reflect on what’s going on, what the situation is, and then the people and everybody involved in that situation or the business in general. It is important for me to take a step back and just reflect internally, how am I doing? Is there something I could be doing better? How can I help out my team better? How can I help out my business better?

What is Presidio’s culture like?

The people are very important here – our people drive our business. We work with a variety of people overcoming difficult problems and complex situations. Working through these challenges, you bond and become more of a family with everyone instead of just coworkers.

What’s energizing you in your work right now?

The people driving our success, and of course my own team, they’re amazing. I’m proud of things I’ve accomplished here, but I’m more proud of the things that they’ve accomplished here. I love seeing them grow. I love seeing them meet their career goals and I love seeing them be successful. With some of the great feedback I get from our customers, it makes me makes me feel like a proud father.

What is your superpower and how does it align to your work here at Presidio?

I’d have to say empathy. That’s empathy with our customers and understanding what they’re going through to help us drive them to their successful outcomes. It is important to have empathy and understanding of what they’re trying to go through so that we can help them.

The people are very important here – our people drive our business.

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Meet Eric B

United States

What keeps you at Presidio?

That culture is what keeps me at Presidio. Developing friendships, and learning about new technologies is also a huge reason I stay at Presidio. Many businesses don’t necessarily develop the latest technologies because they have budgets to consider and existing business to run. At Presidio, you learn the latest technologies as soon as they’re available, and you can then apply them to other customers over time, spreading that knowledge and eventually becoming seen as a subject matter expert in a specific field you’re passionate about.

Presidio encourages education in both technical and managerial skills, helping you become not just a better engineer but also a better person.

What energizes your work right now?

Artificial intelligence, especially in data center solutions, is what energizes my work right now. I want to understand how we can drive more of our customers to invest in data center solutions for artificial intelligence, not just to sell hardware but to enable their business through machine learning technologies.

We have entire teams in India specifically that can help businesses drive business intelligence, which will ultimately drive their revenue higher. This, in turn, leads to more data center solutions that they need. It’s very exciting

Do you have any special hobbies or talents?

I am a scout master for two troops, one that is all girl and one that is all boy. I think it is important for young people to learn about their community and strive to give back. It is equally important to learn about other cultures around the world. It’s a great way to learn how to lead. I have leveraged some of the skills and knowledge I learned through leading a scout group in projects here at Presidio.

Sometimes it seems as if there are more solutions than problems. On closer scrutiny, it turns out that many of today’s problems are a result of yesterday’s solutions.
— Thomas Sowell

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Meet Syd S

United States

In your personal life, what is/are your hobbies and why are you passionate about them?

I am an avid cyclist. I have been riding since my college days. I ride rode, mountain, and most recently – gravel biking. I have ridden in the deserts of Botswana, hills of Bosnia-Herzegovina, isles of Greece, shores of Europe and now seek out the trails of the United States.

How do your personal hobbies translate to the work you do at Presidio?

Like cycling, there are times where you are alone and times when with a group. So, you must either grind yourself up a hill or down a long, winding road on your own, or there are times when you have assistance from the group, who encourage you and can even “pull” you by riding in front and providing a wind break.

Do you have any goals you are working towards this year? Either personal or in your job?

I have reach one already. After 30+ years serving our great nation, the United States, in a military capacity, I, Colonel Shinn, retired in June 2023. My next goal is to be there and give away my daughters on their wedding days; so far, one down and one more to go. I figured the weddings would be enough for this year.

What is a quote that you live by?

I have a few and drove my Soldiers and family crazy with my colloquial sayings. But I suspect I really have two I live by.

Be Bold, Be Brief, Be Gone: which translates, be confident in what you are saying and know the facts to stand by them; speak succinctly but specifically when presenting your topic; and do not seek accolades of your accomplished speech on your topic but move on as any compliments or questions will follow.

Sometimes it seems as if there are more solutions than problems. On closer scrutiny, it turns out that many of today’s problems are a result of yesterday’s solutions. –Thomas Sowell

Make sure to understand the long-term ramifications of the choices and decisions one makes today. We humans, most of the time, want to solve the problem immediately, but the immediate may be the detriment of the distant. As a PM, I always need to understand how the potential decisions I make affect the future efforts to reach the goal.

Syd Posing with his wife

Being in a project management organization is a perfect fit for someone who loves to plan and pay close attention to detail. I love working with people and understanding the full scope of a project down to the smallest details.

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Meet Nikki B

United States

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

I enjoy the people I work with and learning all about the different applications and processes behind the scenes for Presidio. I appreciate the opportunity to create and improve internal IT processes for my team and help drive change within our organization.

What is it like working at Presidio?

“If you learn something new every day, you can teach something new every day.” – Martha Stewart I am lucky to learn new things daily here, which makes my job so exciting. I share that knowledge with my team, and we work together to update and improve our processes.

What is energizing your work right now?

There are so many new initiatives that the different teams want to do to improve their processes to serve our customers better, and this requires help from the IT team.

What is your superpower?

I am an over-the-top party planner. I love creating decorations and all the little touches myself. I own way more décor than I would like to admit. Pick a theme; I probably have a bin dedicated to it.

How does your superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

Being in a project management organization is a perfect fit for someone who loves to plan and pay close attention to detail. I love working with people and understanding the full scope of a project down to the smallest details.

Whether it’s a dusty old pair of cross-country skis or a state-of-the-art data center running mission-critical apps, there is always something new to learn and optimize.

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Meet Bill O

United States

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

Presidio acquired the successful local VAR I was working for and welcomed me into the Presidio family with open arms.  This move provided me with countless opportunities to learn new skills, meet new thought leaders, and expand my reach to new customers around the country.  Best of all, Presidio is one of the few “engineering first” IT solutions providers in the marketplace today, which is one of the things I love about working at Presidio.

What is energizing you and your work right now?

The biggest mystery for most of our customers is how to intelligently migrate their workloads to the various public cloud providers.  Considering there are now 7 “R”s to cloud migration, I don’t blame them!  My biggest focus right now is learning how to help customers migrate as cost-effectively as possible to the public cloud where it makes sense and modernize their on-premises infrastructure for everything else.

What’s energizing you in your work right now?

The people driving our success, and of course my own team, they’re amazing. I’m proud of things I’ve accomplished here, but I’m more proud of the things that they’ve accomplished here. I love seeing them grow. I love seeing them meet their career goals and I love seeing them be successful. With some of the great feedback I get from our customers, it makes me makes me feel like a proud father.

What is your superpower/special talent?

I am a hard-core cross-country skier. I recently became a PSIA-certified cross-country ski instructor at the Loppet Foundation, one of our local nonprofit outdoor adventure centers.  I teach private and group lessons to new and developing skiers from December through March while competing at a half dozen Midwest Nordic ski races.

How does superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

My passion is to positively impact people in learning new skills, refining their existing skills, and getting the most out of the equipment they have today.  Whether it’s a dusty old pair of cross-country skis or a state-of-the-art data center running mission-critical apps, there is always something new to learn and optimize.

Presidio has given me a long-term career and prospects for continued growth. Presidio provided, and continues to provide, me with the room to grow (personally and professionally) and develop through experience, education, and coaching.

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Meet Maria C

Ireland

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

Presidio has given me a long-term career and prospects for continued growth. Presidio provides me with the room to grow (personally and professionally) and develop through experience, education, and coaching. The management teams I have worked with take a genuine interest in your life, your experience with your colleagues and customers, and your career progression. 

What is it like working at Presidio?

No day is ever the same – the technologies, customers, and teams involved in projects I manage are constantly changing. It can be hectic at times, however, there is always a supportive environment, to discuss challenges and celebrate the wins, with peers or management.  

What is your superpower/special talent? How does superpower align to your work here at Presidio? 

Organization – I can organize any room or occasion.

I can think logically and quickly about how a schedule or plan should look, what information is needed, and how it should be stored so everyone who needs it has the access. Lists are my best friend. 

I‘m a hobby farmer…It’s like working in technology; it’s always changing. Every season there’s a new challenge or something new to forecast for.

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Meet Amanda B

United States

What is your superpower? How does this superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

I’m a hobby farmer. Farming is an adventure where you can have a lot of success and a lot of failures. The failures can either cost your family food or time, or money. I grow between 30 to 40 different crops on a very small scale, but managing all those different ecosystems is very challenging. Every year comes with failures. I’ve had to learn over the seasons what works best.

It’s like working in technology; it’s always changing. Every season there’s a new challenge or something new to forecast for. Is it going to be a wet or sunny year? Did we have a wet or dry spring? All these different factors come into it, and you must adapt.

Do you have a special talent?

I am a Smart Hula-Hooper. My hula hoop is an internet of things (IoT) LED hula hoop that creates light images while you’re using it. I use code to make the light modes and the remote control to change the settings. The hoop also gets software updates from the manufacturer when plugged into a PC.

What is the best career advice you have ever been given?

I had a sales coach who told me that I had the gift of gab and that I shouldn’t be afraid of it but rather that I should find power in it and use it to my benefit. Before in my life, I always feared speaking up, especially as a young woman working in tech. This advice helped me find my own and it helped me come into myself as a person and recognize that my opinions matter and what I say has value.

How do you view Presidio culture?

Presidio is probably my favorite company I’ve ever worked for. I think the reason for that is working at Presidio is kind of like watching words get written on a page while reading them out loud at the same time. So, you have input and output in the very same moment and that just creates this electricity and this vibe of everybody humming and buzzing.

Our team slogan is “do something great every day”. That is what I have felt since the day I joined.

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Meet Ramakrishnan H

India

What led you to Presidio?

Presidio hosted a local hackathon. They gave us a set of problems for us to solve and a time limit to see how many problems we could crack. The prize was an interview with the company. This challenge was a breakthrough, and many people like me were able to gain a foot in the door and provide meaningful contributions and skills. I was working for another company and knew, by participating in the hackathon, that I wanted to join Presidio.

What is it like working at Presidio?

I’m always challenged and I’m always on the lookout to learn new skills and find new things that I can do better. We are constantly receiving new opportunities to explore and there are endless opportunities. Our team slogan is “do something great every day”. That is what I have felt since the day I joined.

What is your superpower/unique talent?

I know the right questions to ask and every meeting I am in. This helps me immensely on finding the exact requirements for any given project. If it is for a customer working through pain points or a general call before I wrap up every meeting making sure I have asked the right questions. I have created a knack for asking the right questions over the journey of 7-plus years of experience. This helps me do my job much more efficiently.

Presidio has a variety of IT solutions and vendors. I never get bored working with only one technology/vendor. This opportunity allows me to continue to learn and obtain new certifications.

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Meet Vikki E

United States

Tell us about the road that led you to Presidio.

I was on the customer side of Presidio for about 15 years, and during that time I was introduced to the Presidio Contact Center team. During my time working with that team, I was amazed at how professional and easy to work with they were. When I finished up my customer side contract role, I decided to interview with the Presidio team I had been working with, and I have been here for the past 7 years.

What attracted you to Presidio?

What attracted me to Presidio was the family atmosphere that Presidio embodies. On both my team and in the greater company, the culture is all about people helping people. You can always reach out to anyone in the company and know that they have got your back

What is a tech trend that you are excited about?

Right now, I am excited about AI. Both from what we are doing on my team and for personal use. There is so much potential for what AI can do. On my team, we are just at the very beginning of utilizing Google’s AI to improve analytics, and it’s really exciting to kick off.

What is your hobby and how does it apply to the work you do at Presidio?

I consider myself a teacher, I have always loved teaching. I was a preschool teacher, and I think that set me up for success at Presidio. I think if I can teach preschoolers, I can handle anything! I also was a lecturer at the University of Denver, and I taught project management as well as soft skills. It was always great to see people grasp those concepts.

One thing that I carry on in my role at Presidio from being a teacher is staying updated with the trends so I can be as much of an expert as possible in training my team. I find that I learn a lot from my team too, that’s what teaching is all about.

The people are very important here – our people drive our business.

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Meet Angela P

United States

What is a lesson that you’ve learned over the past few years?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the last two years is to take a step back sometimes and just reflect on what’s going on, what the situation is, and then the people and everybody involved in that situation or the business in general. It is important for me to take a step back and just reflect internally, how am I doing? Is there something I could be doing better? How can I help out my team better? How can I help out my business better?

What is Presidio’s culture like?

The people are very important here – our people drive our business. We work with a variety of people overcoming difficult problems and complex situations. Working through these challenges, you bond and become more of a family with everyone instead of just coworkers.

What’s energizing you in your work right now?

The people driving our success, and of course my own team, they’re amazing. I’m proud of things I’ve accomplished here, but I’m more proud of the things that they’ve accomplished here. I love seeing them grow. I love seeing them meet their career goals and I love seeing them be successful. With some of the great feedback I get from our customers, it makes me makes me feel like a proud father.

What is your superpower and how does it align to your work here at Presidio?

I’d have to say empathy. That’s empathy with our customers and understanding what they’re going through to help us drive them to their successful outcomes. It is important to have empathy and understanding of what they’re trying to go through so that we can help them.

The people are very important here – our people drive our business.

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Meet Roger G

United States

How did you end up working at Presidio?

I’m originally from Cuba. After moving to the US, I worked for American Express for a year and got the opportunity to join Presidio. I started working for Southern Company, one of our major clients. I found out about Presidio through a recruitment company. Overall, I was very attracted to the talent and technology at Presidio.

What is the culture like at presidio?

The Presidio culture is amazing and very diverse. We have had a number of acquisitions over the past couple years, which I think has really contributed to the culture. We brought in new talent and ideas and fostered a creative and collaborative environment.

What’s energizing you right now?

Becoming a new father. The past few years have been challenging for everyone, being a father is rewarding. Potty training my daughter recently was a significant achievement!

Tell us about your special talent or hobby.

Two of the hobbies I enjoy are video games and martial arts.

How do your hobbies translate to your work at Presidio?

The discipline from martial arts complements the problem-solving skills needed in my role. Building characters and gaining experience in video games parallels my approach to work. It’s about arming myself with tools and preparing for what is ahead.

Traveling gives us a chance to interact with different people. When you interact with different people and cultures, you pick up on the energy and learn new things.

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Meet Renukha L

India

How do you view Presidio culture?

Presidio treats its employees like family. They help us with our careers goal as well as our personal goals. If I have any issues, I can openly speak with my manager. There is also a great sense of work/life balance.

What is it like working at Presidio?

Here at Presidio, I can learn across different practices and upskill my knowledge. I can continuously learn and am encouraged to take on new challenges to enhance my skills daily.

What’s inspires you and your work right now?

Traveling gives us a chance to interact with different people. When you interact with different people and cultures, you pick up on the energy and learn new things. These are life lessons no one can teach us. I visited a globally renowned theme park on a recent vacation to France. I was inspired and energized by the beauty of the park. When developing applications, I always ensure they are fully functional and, above all, visually appealing.

Presidio is a place where people are super energetic. It keeps you on your toes, and it’s super exciting to be among the team. There are always opportunities to grow and explore.

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Meet Vimal P

India

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

I was really looking for a new kind of challenge and for a company where I could show my impact. I came from a larger organization and couldn’t see how I impacted the company and what we did.

What is your superpower/special talent? How does it align with your work here at Presidio?

I love watching documentaries, following geopolitics, reading about diverse topics ranging from history to psychology and, most importantly, spending time with my family & children.

Being aware of the person on the other side of the conversation makes me think, feel and help them by whatever means I can. This has helped me build relationships with clients and the Presidio family. Reading on diverse topics has also enabled me to see things from different perspectives, look for opportunities and think long-term.

How do you view the Presidio culture?

Presidio is a place where people are super energetic. It keeps you on your toes, and it’s super exciting to be among the team. There are always opportunities to grow and explore. Another important point is the leadership is accessible and there to give feedback and help you continue to evolve.

When there’s an emergency, I typically will jump in. This really ties into being there for our customers when the worst happens.

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Meet Dave T

United States

What do you do at Presidio?

I get to meet with our clients to talk to them about cybersecurity, where they are today and where they need to be.

What drives you personally?

I was in the Marines for a long time, so I have always had a responsibility to act. When there’s an emergency, I typically will jump in. This really ties into being there for our customers when the worst happens. They must feel that comfort knowing they have somebody who does this for a living, they have somebody right here that knows exactly what is going to happen for the next six weeks while we handle this situation.

Our video crew caught up with Dave at our Global Exchange event to find out what he likes best about Presidio culture and the superpower he brings to Presidio.

Playing drums is a lot like working through projects, in that, you must have coordination between your own tasks as well as play in concert with your team/band. Only then will you be able to make great music or get seamless failover for your application workloads across DCs.

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Meet Steve D

United States

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

I was drawn to Presidio for its vast exposure to top engineering talent as well as a wide variety of new technology solutions. These same things keep me engaged along with the satisfaction of being able to truly help our clients.

What is energizing you and your work right now? What drives you?

The love of learning how things work. This is especially true with new technologies that I can lab up and experiment with to see how they can be used to solve a business challenge.

What is your superpower/special talent?

Music! I am a drummer and come from a very musical and artistic family. I have been on tour across the U.S. and Canada playing in previous bands and was even out on a month and a half long tour.

How does superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

Playing drums is a lot like working through projects, in that, you must have coordination between your own tasks as well as play in concert with your team/band. Only then will you be able to make great music or get seamless failover for your application workloads across DCs.

Life at Presidio is fast-paced, interesting, and full of great challenges. There is room to learn and grow, to really hone my skills on large project delivery.

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Meet Nate G

United Kingdom

What is life like at Presidio?

Life at Presidio is fast-paced, interesting, and full of great challenges. There is room to learn and grow, to really hone my skills on large project delivery.

What’s energizing you and your work right now? What drives you?

The opportunity to work on new technologies and working with customers to move to modern architectures. I love looking at the big picture and finding ways to optimize and modernize customer’s infrastructures.

What is your superpower/special talent?

Whenever I am not working, I enjoy being active and outdoors. I am a qualified rock climbing instructor and run a National Climbing competition. I also mountain bike, snowboard, ski and surf if the weather if good enough.

How does superpower align to your work here at Presidio?

I feel that the common thread between these activities is developing a skill through hard work, persistence and patience. These sports have also taught me how to assess risks and how to approach a difficult situation with a clear head and focus.

I am energized to bring new solutions and see growth in cloud delivery, which is the trajectory we want to be on for our customers.

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Meet Doug G

United States

What path led you to Presidio?

I was part of an acquisition, so my journey here was a little different. Presidio was one of our key partners, so it was a natural fit for us. My old company was all about the cloud, but now we can bring In a complete suite of services and capabilities for our clients.

What’s energizing you these days?

I am energized to bring new solutions and see growth in cloud delivery, which is the trajectory we want to be on for our customers. We get to see so much more of Presidio now after the acquisition. We get to provide greater value to our customers and engage more with all of our teams.

What is your superpower?

My superpowers have evolved over the years. Right now, I am focusing on being a manager and listening to the people reporting to me, my peers, and our customers and sellers. Focusing on management and collaboration are my superpowers right now.

Never has technology been so closely integrated – from carrier to cloud services, to app developers, to infrastructure service owners. The silos of the past are collapsing and just like the succession of life in nature, new growth is all around us.

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Meet Paul G

United States

What is energizing you and your work right now? What drives you?

I am energized by the generational shift we are currently undergoing. Never has technology been so closely integrated – from carrier to cloud services, to app developers, to infrastructure service owners. The silos of the past are collapsing and just like the succession of life in nature, new growth is all around us as the decentralized nature of work and personal life creates new technology paradigms.

Tell us about a tech trend you are excited about.

I am currently very excited about human-machine interfaces. AR and VR are starting to mainstream, and I think we will see direct brain interfaces commercialized in the next two decades. I am equally excited about the expansion of freedom throughout the world with technologies such as block chain absorbing political power that used to be held by nation states.

What is your superpower/special talent?

My superpower is the ability to dream big and manifest that dream into a practical reality. I brainstorm in VR, model in CAD, test my ideas with AR, and work with both new and classic tool sets to pull things from the virtual world into the real.

How does superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

I use this superpower for woodworking at home, but the same type of ability is fundamental to providing value for my customers. Instead of envisioning a piece of furniture trapped in wood, I can see a future for their businesses where technology alleviates the pain and pressure that comes from operating the technologies that drive their businesses.

See Paul G’s superpower at work below.

Here, everybody is looking for the best possible solution for the customer and making it as innovative and scalable as possible so the solution can be leveraged for years to come.

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Meet David H

United States

How is life at Presidio?

The culture here is as different as day and night from all the other previous roles I’ve ever had. Our culture at Presidio is about work-life balance.

What’s energizing you and your work right now? What drives you?

Everybody’s passion at work is really what energizes me. Everybody is looking for the best possible solution for the customer and making it as innovative and scalable as possible so the solution can be leveraged for years to come.

What is your superpower/special talent?

I did a small stint as an amateur MMA fighter. That experience alone, just being in a ring fighting, takes confidence. It gives you the boost in life to break through barriers you think you have.

Tell us about a tech trend you’re following.

The tech trend I’m really into right now is automation, especially when it comes to like cloud technologies. Being able to take the mundane things that engineers are used to doing day by day and being able to deliver that faster, more efficiently is exciting.

Photo: Dave H. back in his MMA fighting days.

Presidio has a variety of IT solutions and vendors. I never get bored working with only one technology/vendor. This opportunity allows me to continue to learn and obtain new certifications.

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Meet Andrzej Z

Ireland

Tell us about the road that led you to Presidio.

I arrived in Ireland in 2007 and worked as a chef for six years. I moved, completed IT courses, took an IT internship in the financial sector, and obtained a junior sysadmin role in the same company where I interned. Three years after, I joined Presidio.

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

Presidio has a variety of IT solutions and vendors. I always enjoy working with more than one technology/vendor. This opportunity allows me to continue to learn and obtain new certifications.

What is life like at Presidio?

Fun and rewarding!

What is your superpower/special talent?

Apart from doing IT after work, I play guitar and I’m a qualified pastry chef.

How does superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

My superpower gives me confidence in my abilities! Presidio also hosts bake-off charity events couple times a year where I participate.

Working on a car’s restoration – it is all about paying attention to detail, learning new skills, and not being afraid to take something apart so that you can put it back together better than it was. Those are all skills you must have to be successful in IT.

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Meet Tom L

United States

What do you do at Presidio?

I work with an exciting group focused on bringing new, diverse people into our world of IT and engineering while helping to increase the efficiency of our Presales organization. In addition, I serve as the Chairperson of the Presidio Distinguished Professionals (PDP) Program.

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

Everyone likes being part of a growing company and being able to do that with people you like to work with is what keeps me here. Many of the people that I work with have become friends outside of work. I’ve been given great opportunities here, and I always felt this company rewards positive, creative, and motivated people.

What is energizing you and your work right now? What drives you?

We are building a team of “early career” Presales Engineers who will become that next generation of senior superstars. We are recruiting talent based on attitude and aptitude and training them to help build their skills in all the aspects of technology that Presidio sells.

What is your superpower/special talent?

Outside of work, I am very active in the collector car world. I buy, sell, and restore cars – mostly pre-1972 cars, and most are pre-WW2. My oldest car is a 1912 Auburn, and I am currently restoring a 1959 Gemini Formula Jr race car.

How does superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

Working on a car’s restoration – it is all about paying attention to detail, learning new skills, and not being afraid to take something apart so that you can put it back together better than it was. Those are all skills you must have to be successful in IT.

At Presidio, we are storytelling and building a narrative. We are focused on helping customers achieve business outcomes.

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Meet Jake F

United States

What attracted you to Presidio?

My dad was previously a delivery engineer for Presidio and is now on the Inside Presales team. He told me, “Jake, this is a company where you can make your career, a company that is going to enable you,” and that’s how I got started here.

What’s energizing you and your work right now? What drives you?

Freedom. Right now, it is the freedom to explore innovative technology trends. I feel like a pioneer sometimes on the new frontier.

Our video crew caught up with Jake F. at our global Exchange event to find out what Jake likes best about Presidio and his superpower.

How does your superpower align to your work at Presidio

At Presidio, we talk to a customer, and at the end of the day, we are storytelling and building a narrative. We are focused on helping customers achieve business outcomes. My superpower is talking to customers and getting feedback to drive that narrative forward.

Tell us about the mental health matters Employee Resource Group.

I co-lead the Mental Health Matters ERG (Employee Resource Group). Mental health awareness is a topic that people want to talk to about, but it can be challenging to discuss. We all have a desire to talk about it (mental health). That’s why we have created this ERG – to serve as a common place where our employees could start the conversation, promote employee mental health and provide resources to aid in positive change.

Being up to speed with technology is a destination – my job is to help figure out the directions.

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Meet Leanna A

United States

What attracted you to Presidio? And what keeps you here?

I want to be able to support the local government, and I love being an IT Solutions provider. I was also inspired to join because my first and second levels of leadership were women, and my 3rd level was a person of color. I need to be able to see myself in a company.

What’s energizing you and your work right now?

My customers. I love knowing that I’m making a real difference in how we support my fellow Washingtonians. We can support them and make positive, REAL change.

What is your superpower/special talent?

Research! I call it “social media mining.” I’ve learned to research people/things/places ahead of time and learn SO MUCH. It’s really fun.

How does superpower align with your work here at Presidio?

I use this to understand my clients’ needs and who they are. It is important to know what drives your clients so you can be flexible to meet their needs where they are instead of pushing them to be where they SHOULD be. Being up to speed on technology is a destination – my job is to help figure out the directions.

Here’s Leanna showing off another superpower, being an aerialist.

Think, work and achieve. Whatever I want to achieve, I start by just thinking about it, and then I start working towards it and that will help me to achieve it.

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Meet Manish S

India

What is your fondest memory you have at Presidio?

We had this one event called ‘Presidio One’. I met many of my brilliant colleagues there, it was an event filled with both technical and fun events. At the end, we had a ton of great new ideas and had become closer as a team and as a Presidio culture.

In your personal life, what is/are your hobbies and why are you passionate about them?

I love reading books and writing poems and articles. I have published my collection of poems in book form. Apart from this, I also love to share my knowledge with tech communities, and create YouTube videos and blogs to spread tech knowledge.

How do your personal hobbies translate to the work you do at Presidio?

My hobbies really help me get involved in the many initiatives at the Presidio. I love to write and have written several technical blogs for Presidio’s website, and I am currently volunteering for an India side blogging initiative. I love to accept challenges, which helps me in my project work. I love to take opportunities and work through them.

What is a quote that you live by?

“Think, work and achieve”, I live my life with this quote in mind. Whatever I want to achieve, I start by just thinking about it, and then I start working towards it and that will help me to achieve it.

Gratitude is the gateway to joy. I want my team to know I appreciate their contributions to our success.

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Meet Monica B

United States

What do you enjoy most about working for Presidio?

Hands down – the people!  Presidio has some of the best people in this industry within our organization.  I have had the fortune of making incredible connections at Presidio and working on remarkable teams.

How do you view Presidio culture?

Presidio has a great culture, and we are working to make it even better (together)! One thing I love about Presidio is that Presidio cares about the people that work here. We have a culture of people here who not only care but want Presidio to be the best and continuously make improvements to achieve that.

What’s a rule(s) that you live by?

There would be two. The first would be “Gratitude is the gateway to joy,” and the second is, “You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take.”

The gratitude quote – It is easy to get wrapped up in everything around you when there is always so much going on. I want my team to know I appreciate their contributions to our success as a business. I must also remind myself how grateful I am for everything I have around me.

The second rule is one that I am consistently adapting and learning to be braver and take my mom’s old advice….”The worst they can tell you is no…and if you are asking, you only have to gain and not lose.”

What inspires and drives you?

Making an impact. I want to make a difference. This is most likely because I was raised by a teacher. It’s hard for me to sit and do nothing. I want my kids to be proud of what I do (even when they don’t understand it). I love being a part of something bigger than myself and making contributions to help influence positive change for the future.

Life is all clouds. When a cloud comes in, good or bad, sit through it because it will change.

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Meet Angela L

United States

Why did you choose to work at Presidio?

Of all the places I interviewed, I know this might sound cliché… Presidio seemed like the happiest, most positive place. I got the impression the company is very team-oriented, and there are a ton of opportunities to grow personally and with the team.

In your personal life, what is/are your hobbies and why are you passionate about them?

I write young adult fantasy novels. As a parent, I often read the same stories my kids do! Reading was an activity that my son and I really enjoyed. There was one story I started telling him when he was very young, and one night I got to thinking, “What happened to the mother in the story?” So, I started writing it down. I shared it with my son, and he was so excited about it. Since then, the stories have continued, and now I have published five novels.

How do your personal hobbies translate to the work you do at Presidio?

I love creating stories that energize people and make them feel good. For my job at Presidio, when I can create something for someone on my team and it makes them smile, that makes me feel good.

What is a quote that you live by?

My husband and I attend silent retreats focusing on living in the now. Our teacher once said something that stuck with me. He said, “Life is all clouds.” When a cloud comes in, good or bad, sit through it because it will change. You can’t control a cloud up in the sky. You can’t grab onto it, change it, or force it into something it’s not. Mindfulness is letting go of the things you cannot control. Just like good and bad experiences in life, each moment is temporary. Live it, and let it pass.

Presidio has a variety of IT solutions and vendors. I never get bored working with only one technology/vendor. This opportunity allows me to continue to learn and obtain new certifications.

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Meet Alan H

Ireland

Why did I choose to work at Presidio?

I chose to work at Presidio because of their commitment to innovation and technology solutions. While my background lies in film, I completed my Masters in screenwriting in 2018, having worked in retail management throughout my Student life. Presidio’s emphasis on leveraging technology to drive business success resonated with me, as I saw an opportunity to apply my creative skills in a unique and meaningful way within the IT industry.

My hobbies and passion:

In my personal life, I am deeply passionate about filmmaking. I spend most waking moments outside of my day job working on my filmmaking, be it writing new scripts, chasing fundin

Episode 13: The Applications & Benefits of Hyperconvergence Infrastructure

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