This alumni spotlight was originally shown in the November 2007 IEM Newsletter.
Novembers featured IEM alumnus is Robert Pedigo, Command Housing Privatization Manager for Booz Allen Hamilton in Honolulu, Hawaii. In his role at BAH, Robert has responsibility for managing all aspects of housing privatization for USAF MAJCOM HQ staff; advising bases and MAJCOM staff on policy changes, reviewing the privatization program within the Command, creating staff packages promulgating policy and addressing specific privatization issues, participating in source selections for PACAF base housing privatization contract awards, and coordinating with bases and HQ Air Force.
While not currently working in a technology related field Robert’s life was still profoundly impacted by his experiences in the IEM program. I had the pleasure of interviewing him this month, via e-mail of course. That reminds me I need to talk to Dale about my travel budget.
IEM Newsletter Editor (INE): What attracted you to the IEM program? (You were in the first class right?)
Robert Pedigo (RP): (Yes, I was in the first cohort: 2000-2002)
At the time, I was working as an IT consultant for an international firm with an office in Birmingham. With a background in electrical engineering, I felt I had a firm engineering basis for IEM, but I needed more information technology-related knowledge to be more effective at my job. I didn't realize at the time how much of the curriculum would be devoted to entrepreneurship, but this turned out to be the most valuable part of the program for me.
Also, the schedule was ideal for a working professional, and that attracted me to the program as well.
INE: How do you feel going through the program changes your outlook?
RP: Learning the "entrepreneurial attitude" really shakes up a traditional professional's viewpoint. After learning about the market and how to research it, writing a business plan, and presenting that plan to real venture capitalists, I realized that I can start a business myself. I'm not destined to try to grow up in a traditional firm, always striving for senior management positions and maybe one day becoming a CEO. I can be a CEO right now, in a company built with my own two hands. Even though I'm still employed in a traditional consulting firm, I keep looking for that one great idea from which I can grow a business of my own. In the mean time, I continue to hone my skills in business development, marketing, and consulting so that when I do take that leap, I have the confidence to do it right.
INE: What prompted the move to Hawaii and moving away from the IT field?
RP: After the dot.com bubble burst, IT jobs became scarce in the Birmingham market for awhile. My firm laid off thousands of employees, including me, and they eventually got bought by a rival. In the immediate aftermath of this chaos, I fell back on my engineering background to find a job that uniquely combined my engineering and consulting skills. While the work I do now doesn't involve information technology, per se, the skills and knowledge I built in the IEM program have come back to benefit my work in many ways. For example, I seem to have developed a keen eye for business trends, stemming from the market research we did in IEM. I also tend to have a knack for developing out-of-the-box solutions that my military clients don't seem capable of, because of their very focused training on purely military solution sets. And on the corporate side, my experience writing business plans has allowed me a good measure of success in turning opportunities into funded contracts.
Why did I take an assignment to Hawaii? Why not???
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This alumni spotlight was originally shown in the October 2007 IEM Newsletter.
The featured IEM alumnus for August is Gil Ramos. Gil is employed with AT&T as a staff manager in the Gulf States Construction and Engineering organization. In his role as staff manager he focuses on compliance reporting for Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This is a new role, which he began on July 1, 2007.
When he is not working his daytime job Gil works on his website, meets with a small group of entrepreneurs within AT&T, and works on two business plans. Gil hopes of one day launching an idea as either his own online business or a jointly owned business with his small AT&T group.
In his spare time, Gil enjoys playing chess, classical guitar, and going for a run at Jemison Park with his wife, Ruth.
Besides his work on designing business plans, graduate studies have given him the sober realization that educated individuals are responsible for assuming leadership roles within their communities. For Gil that means being involved in church with strategic goals and sharing with others what he has learned. More particularly, he is involved in a ministry that coaches people financially with cash flow problems.
Thinking back to his time in EE 691, he was challenged with the question of investing himself into goals that he will cherish during his twilight years. One year later some of those goals are beginning to materialize.
Feel free to contact Gil via e-mail at
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This alumni spotlight was originally shown in the September 2007 IEM Newsletter.
The featured IEM alumnus for August is Dan Retzer, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer for XcitekSolutionsPlus, LLC (XSP). In his role as XSP’s CTO, Dan is responsible for all technology operations, which includes the Software Development Lifecycle, Project Management, Product Management, and IT/Systems Management. Dan started with XSP five years ago and has been promoted up through the ranks from his original position of Development Manager to his current position.
When asked how he managed the transition from a technical manager to Managing Director and CTO, Dan admits, “I am fortunate that the goals of the company are in line with my personal and career goals. That’s the real secret…if your goals are aligned with your company’s, the two of you can grow together.” He also adds that the IEM experience challenged him to open his perceptions from the tactical responsibilities of a day-to-day manager to the strategic and abstract modes of thinking required of Sr. Executives.
Dan entered the IT field with somewhat of a non-traditional undergraduate degree – a BA in Technical Communication from Auburn University. Anyone that spends five minutes talking with Dan will find that he has excellent verbal communication skills and is an expert in his field; it appears that his undergraduate degree really paid off.
Dan completed the IEM program in 2006 earning his MSEE. During the program Dan developed the Service-Oriented Enterprise Engineering Lifecycle (SOE2L) - a lifecycle for managing enterprise-wide implementation of Service-Oriented Architectures. He co-presented the SOE2L at the Ninth World Conference on Integrated Design and Process Technology in July of 2006. Much of the SOE2L fueled the architecture of XSP’s latest product release – XSP™ V5, which is a Service-Oriented platform engineered specifically for global financial markets and built around a flexible, service-based platform.
Dan’s passions outside of the office include cultivating (unsuccessfully) a golf habit, cycling, and indulging in online mayhem via Xbox Live. He is a huge Auburn fan and attends all the games, carrying season tickets for many years. Dan loves to travel with his wife and plans on striking it rich when he vacations in Las Vegas later this year.
Even though Dan has poured much energy into his career and into the XSP product, Dan’s family remains his primary focus. Dan and his wife have two children: Carmen, their six year old daughter, and their son Phillip, who is three. No matter how hectic Dan’s office life becomes he is home every night and weekend to spend time with his family. “You have to maintain a balance,” Dan says, “Without a balance between career and family, you have dissonance. This dissonance can really impact you as a person. Any good manager will tell you that you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of the people around you.”
Feel free to contact Dan via phone at 205.439.5771 or by e-mail at
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Join Dan on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/dretzer |
This alumni spotlight was originally shown in the August 2007 IEM Newsletter.
Brian Rabon is a software professional with a passion for people. His love for the human side of software development has lead to his extensive research in the areas of requirements gathering and user interface design. In addition, Brian’s passion finds him immersed in the fields of project management and leadership. His greatest satisfaction is derived from seeing projects and people achieve their full potential.
Currently working for Infinity Insurance Companies , Brian is a Programming Team Leader. In his role, he directs the work of nine developers to accomplish the strategic objectives of the Information Technologies department. He also spearheads an internship initiative and can often be seen at job fairs around town.
Brian holds a masters degree in Electrical Engineering, Information Engineering and Management, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His undergraduate degree is in Computer Science from Auburn University, where he did a concentration in Management. From his studies, Brian has been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and is always on the lookout for bright, new innovative ideas.
Brian’s life epitomizes the phrase, “work hard play hard”. He spends his weekends kayaking Alabama whitewater and mountain biking. Brian also holds a third degree black belt in Taekwondo and loves competing in power breaking competitions.
In addition to Brian’s athletic hobbies, he also enjoys the craft of homebrewing. He loves to share his artfully handcrafted beers with friends and family. Brian also enjoys seeing how others make their own beer, and frequently vacations near micro breweries. He is a member of the Birmingham Brewmasters homebrew club and one day dreams of opening his own brewpub.
Join Brian on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bmrabon. |
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