While in college it became evident that a profession as a Southern Rock guitarist was not a realistic part of my future. Even with that knowledge, had I been able to carry a tune I probably would have chased a dream which would not have been. This realization was motivation to ensure I focused on finishing my degree so I could have a profession that would provide some level of financial stability. As a result the guitar became an outlet for relaxation and stress relief, for which it has served me quite well.A degree in Business Management combined with a formal technical education provided the platform to allow me to develop a very broad background in the Information Technology field, now having worked in the industry for over 38 years, 36+ (Apr 2021) of them at Cleco. My background includes working with mainframe technologies including IDMS Cobol programming, Quality Assurance, MVS systems programming and VTAM/NCP programming. I have also had the opportunity work as a unix administrator with a focus on PeopleSoft infrastructure, with exposure to network (LAN/WAN) support as well. In 2013 I returned to where it started for me, applications programming, as the manager of our Applications Management Services group.The opportunity to return to the world of applications support resulted from a reorganization driven by an effort to outsource most of our internal infrastructure support functions to an external service provider. Previously all Information Technology functions related to infrastructure was maintained in-house. The outsourcing effort has been one of the most educational experiences of my career. In July 2019 i had the opportunity to lead the Digital Portfolio Services function which encompasses the administrative functions of our technology department.In August 2020 I was presented, and accepted, the opportunity lead our Mobility and Telecom teams, which takes me back to leading in a technical environment.In March 2021 I accepted the opportunity to lead our very talented and capable Cybersecurity team, which is a new world to me!My decades at Cleco was very fulfilling since I enjoy working with people, making new contacts and developing relationships with others in the Information Technology field. I was most fortunate that Cleco afforded me the opportunity to perform many aspects of Information Technology work in a small town environment, for a company which is, in my opinion, the premier employer in the area.