As James recently celebrated his 1-year anniversary as the CTO at RTA, we sat down with him for a quick chat to learn more about him, his background, and his interests outside of work.
I was looking for a good culture fit, and I was also looking for a seat at the leadership table.
I worked at Jiffy Lube from 1988 until 2000. I was actually still in high school when I started there. I advanced into management relatively quickly, but I had an uncle who always encouraged me to go for something technology related. I actually did like the few programming classes I took in school, but they were few and far between back then. When I was 30, I quit my job and moved into my mother-in-law’s house and went to school full time. My wife, who had been home-schooling our children, went back into the workforce at that time, too. So, it was a big change for our whole family. But I was able to finish my 4-year degree in 3 years.
My time at my previous company, Nextiva, I really learned how to engineer at scale. I was managing a lot of people, and a lot of different engineers and auxiliary roles. That position really taught me how to scale processes, teams, and software.
I enjoy working with the engineers. I was a software developer, so I tend to think like they do, and probably behave like they do, so I feel most comfortable with them. I really like seeing them going through experiences and learning. And I love growing leaders. Jacob (Turley) is probably the favorite part of my job, just seeing him grow and develop (as a new Engineering Manager).
I help fleets succeed by giving them tools to make their jobs more efficient — to provide them with the data they need at their fingertips. It’s all about making the right decisions, and they must have the right information to make those decisions.
I mountain bike a lot. I also have two grandsons that I spend a lot of time with, and I like to work on my motorcycle.
Fiji, by far. It was my 25th wedding anniversary, and I owed my wife a proper proposal. I actually proposed to her during an episode of Star Trek, during a commercial break. That was the original proposal. It was impulsive, but I never lived that down. I wasn’t down on one knee, there was no romance, no flowers, nothing. She still said yes, but I always knew I owed her this. So, she got a new ring, and I arranged a dinner at a place where the table was literally on the beach. I hired a local band to come over and play just for us, and I re-proposed right there. So that made it the best vacation. But Fiji is also great. The people are amazing, and the islands are obviously amazing – the water is incredible.
Dogs. We have a new puppy. Her name is Isabella, Izzy for short. She’s a lot of fun. But I’m definitely a dog person.
Grape Nuts. I don’t like any of the sugary ones.
My favorite Patrick Lencioni one is “Death by Meeting.” But I think “Great by Choice” by Jim Collins is my favorite one overall.