Meet Brian Edwards, director of information technology at Scantron Technology Solutions (scantron.com).
Tell us a little about your business. – Scantron Technology Solutions provides technology solutions and managed services to customers nationwide. Our focus is managed IT, managed print, hardware support, and project services for SMB, mid-market and enterprise customers. Our vision is as simple as this, to ignite achievement and growth with our expertise, technologies, and commitment to service.
How did you get started in the business? – When I was working for a computer reseller, I got experience with hardware, software, and networking. I also had several part-time programming jobs and database work. I continued to be exposed to a wide range of technology and industry as a result of working at a consulting firm, and I eventually started my own company. I developed software, did system integrations, managed infrastructure projects and provided business intelligence and virtual chief information officer (vCIO) services. I’m grateful for my consulting experience and the opportunity to learn about different businesses, what makes them tick, and how they deliver value to customers.
Tell us a little about your family. – My wife Megan is my best friend and a prodigious reader who can always recommend a good book. Our daughter Lucy plays volleyball and basketball and our son Henry is a swimmer. Otherwise they are typical teenagers! Our pets include dogs Gus and Norm, and the rabbit is Snowball. We have close relatives, shirttail relatives, in-laws and out-laws scattered across Nebraska and, for those less fortunate, other states.
What is your favorite quote or the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – The poem “If-” by Rudyard Kipling is probably too long at four stanzas to include here, but I really like the themes of humility, integrity, and overcoming challenges. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, / Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, / And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!” There’s a lot more to it, check it out online.
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – I believe it is starting a business and running it for twelve years. The experience I gained working with diverse organizations at all levels was the most important reward and it is something I’m able to leverage in my current role at Scantron.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally? – Growing the business, innovating, and delivering value – these are all challenges our customers also face. A motivated, talented team is a critical component of achieving these goals and needs to be a top priority for the organization, something that we’re always working on.
What is your favorite movie? – Tin Cup – every time it’s on I’m pulling for Roy McAvoy to win the US Open.
If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be? – Optimist. It’s not always possible but I will search far and long for the silver lining or win-win outcome.
What is your favorite book or the last good book you read? – We built a Little Free Library in front of our house and it gets a lot of circulation from both kids and adults. I found a book someone had left in there, Virgil Wander by Leif Enger, and really enjoyed it – a tale set in small Midwestern town about rebuilding and moving on.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – (402) 861-7549; brian.edwards@scantron.com; scantron.com.