Staff Profiles
At FastServers, Inc. we are as proud of our team of outstanding individuals
as we are of our product offerings. Without our staff, FastServers
would simply not be the industry leader it is today in both offerings
and customer service. We have many reasons to be proud of each member
of our company. Having based our personnel in Iowa, we're fortunate
to be able to rely on the work ethic and great values that have been
instilled in every one of our team members since childhood, reflected
every day in their stellar performance. We are also excited to have
an extremely diverse and unique staff. Long workdays and nights are
a regular portion of the lives of each staff member, but so are late-night
parties, fishing trips, boating, golfing and other sports, gaming,
skydiving, DJing, and much more. Our staff brings a whole world outside
of computers and the daily grind to this company. We'd like you to
get to know a more personal side of each of our staff members and
are pleased to present the FastServers, Inc. 2007 Biographies!
Matt
Doyle
Director of Operations West
Matt Doyle came to FastServers.Net with perhaps the most all-around
experience. First let's discuss his educational background, an extensive
one we might add. Matt holds a BS in Psychology and a BA in Russian.
He also has several MCSE certifications including Windows 2000. Also,
he has completed his coursework and dissertation for an MS (Master
of Science) at the University of Liverpool and was awarded an MS in
IT in July of 2006. However, he did tell us what it was like going
to school in the UK. Of course, we had to ask the obvious - what was
it like going to the University of Liverpool?
[Read Full Profile of Matt Doyle]
Brandon
Ewing
Network Operations Administrator
Brandon Ewing is the Network Operations Administrator at FastServers.Net
directly. He is responsible for most of the FastServers.Net back-end
systems that help our entire team stay organized and operate efficiently.
Utilizing his impressive PHP programming skills, Brandon is capable
of developing and managing systems that create intense productivity
within the company. "One of my most advanced systems developed here
at FastServers.Net is the Server Management Portal tied directly into
the Pentagon interface." He said the system is one of the many tools
that differentiate FastServers.Net from the competition.
[Read Full Profile of Brandon Ewing]
George
Nelson
NOC Administrator
George Nelson is the FastServers.Net Chicago facilities Network Operations
Center Administrator. Yes, it's a long title, but with three data
centers, we have to specify the facility where George works his magic.
No, he doesn't do any magic tricks, but he does install servers, manage
inventory, deploy network hardware, troubleshoot operations issues,
and plans for future development of where servers will be located
in the Chicago data center.
[Read Full Profile of George Nelson]
Tim
"Flip" Hass
Server Support Engineer
Tim Hass is a Server Support Engineer at FastServers.Net. One of the
few employees to earn a double major, Tim graduated from the University
of Northern Iowa with a degree in both Physics and Russian. Like other
techs FastServers.Net, Tim said science and engineering has always
been interesting to him. Regarding Russian, he explained how a few
hours [classes] here and there could eventually earn you a double
degree. "A year of studying Russian, at the college level, does not
give you the ability to really speak the language. It has a steep
learning curve, so I decided to take a second year." After Tim's second
year studying Russian, he was given an opportunity to study in Moscow
for a summer. He said that summer in Moscow, plus a few more credit
hours back at UNI, earned him a second degree in Russian.
[Read Full Profile of Tim "Flip"
Hass]
Prescott
Kulow
Director of Operations East
Prescott "Scott" Kulow is Director of Operations for Chicago at FastServers.Net.
He has been with the company since November of 2004. A graduate of
the University of Northern Iowa, Scott earned his degree in computer
science with an emphasis on systems and artificial intelligence. "Artificial
intelligence is an exciting field. The possibilities with AI are endless."
He said it could be used for everything from fun stuff such as games
and simulations to the real "betterment of humanity" things such as
handling dangerous jobs, medicine, and space exploration. We think
artificial intelligence is cool too, Scott. Question - will machines
take over the human race?
[Read Full Profile of Prescott Kulow]
Andrew
Howard
Server Support Engineer
Another great hire at FastServers.Net, Andrew Howard is one of
the elite server support engineers at FastServers.Net. He is also
actively involved in the development and maintenance of the company's
monitoring system. "It's a complicated system, especially since we
distributed the monitoring amongst multiple servers," said Andrew.
"And I love wrapping my mind around it. I had prior experience with
the monitoring software when we first started using it, so I've been
very involved with the development and maintenance of the software
ever since," he said. For those of you new to FastServers.Net, you
can utilize Andrew's monitoring system for all your servers. It's
built right into Pentagon and is available at no charge.
[Read Full Profile of Andrew Howard]
Wade
Weisbrod
Data Center Engineer
Wade Weisbrod is the Data Center Engineer at FastServers.Net. His
daily duties include provisioning dedicated servers, performing server
upgrades, and planning on-site activities for the company. When he's
not racking massive amounts of servers (and we mean massive amounts
of servers), you can find him diligently organizing inventory, maintaining
the server build room, and keeping all the network wiring tight and
tangle free. Wade's our Midwest data center technician and he thinks
it's the best facility on the planet. "It's awesome having the data
center downstairs from my office," he said. "It makes
troubleshooting and fixing issues much easier with all the servers
only a few feet away. Everything here [Cedar Falls DC] is in working
order, which is really nice."
[Read Full Profile of Wade Weisbrod]
Chase
Ewing
Server Support Engineer
Chase Ewing is one of the Server Support Engineers at FastServers.Net.
A consumer of caffeine in large doses, usually through Mountain Dew,
Chase gets his caffeine from just about any source he can find. "I've
tried them all. Sodas, energy drinks, mints, even caffeinated soap
(Tingly!), but nothing beats good old Mountain Dew." Currently he's
attending the University of Northern Iowa, working towards his Bachelors
of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. "I believe
the extra math courses couldn't hurt my CS knowledge so I'm going
for it." His main areas of concentration include Operating Systems,
Networking, and Administration.
[Read Full Profile of Chase Ewing]
Greg
Kuiper
Server Support Engineer
Greg Kuiper is also a Server Support Engineer at FastServers.Net. A graduate
of Purdue University in Management Information Systems, Greg spends
his days making sure customer issues are resolved quickly. "It's my
job to make sure that our customers' support requests are handled
in a timely manner. Whether responding on the phone or through the
ticket system, I do everything I can to ensure that our customers'
managed server solutions are functioning properly." Greg said one
of his additional daily tasks includes managing the FastServers.Net
internal documentation system. "The internal documentation systems
provides a central location for resolutions to technical issues each
of us face at any point during our shifts. It's a great addition to
the framework we have established in the technical support
department here at FastServers.Net."
[Read Full Profile of Greg Kuiper]
Zane
Bowers
Server Support Engineer
What do creamed corn, bad science fiction movies, and FreeBSD have
in common? They all make the personal likes list of Zane Bowers, a
member of the FastServers.Net server support team. An obvious
optimist, Zane even has his own algorithm developed to classify bad
science fiction movies. In addition to movie watching, when he is
not hard at work supporting FastServers.Net customers, Zane is
contributing to FreeBSD ports and maintaining a photographical
archive of his life experiences.
[Read Full Profile of Zane Bowers]
Jeff
Timpe
Server Support Engineer
Jeff Timpe joined the FastServers.Net server support ranks in
September of 2007. He is also currently working towards his MIS
(Management Information Systems) degree at the University of
Northern Iowa. Jeff brings past customer support, help desk, and
systems management experience to the Tech department. In prior
employment engagements, Jeff worked with databases and supported
cable television and internet cable modem customers.
[Read Full Profile of Jeff Timpe]
Dan
Samp
Server Support Engineer
Based out of our Iowa office, Dan Samp is one of the expert server
support engineers that assist customers, deploys servers, and solve
complex problems on a daily basis. Before joining FastServers in the
summer of ‘07, Dan worked as a purchaser for an electronics OEM
operation. Additionally, he provided help desk support for a local
cable Internet company. All the while, Dan was also working towards
his degree in Computer Science.
[Read Full Profile of Dan Samp]
Steven
Anderson
Director of Inside Sales
Steven Anderson, a recent promotion granted him the role as Director
of Inside Sales at FastServers.Net. This born and raised native of
Sandwich, IL oversees the Inside Sales Team. Yes, we said "Sandwich,
IL." Steven enjoys telling his famous joke about the town between
Plano, IL and Sandwich, IL. "It's a fictitious town and a local joke.
Plano and Sandwich are five miles apart (I have lived in both towns).
The brunt of the joke is a fake town in between Plano and Sandwich
called Baloney. Get it? Plano... Baloney...Sandwich," said Steven as
he laughed hysterically. Come on, you know that's funny! We laughed
to when we heard the joke.
[Read Full Profile of Steven Anderson]
Shane
Reisner
Enterprise Sales Engineer
Shane Reisner is one of the Elite Sales Team members at FastServers.Net.
He's a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa. And he's got character,
lots of character. Known simply as "Big Worm" since his freshman year
in high school (how long ago was that Shane?), the 6'3" no nonsense
kid from Iowa tells the story on how he earned his nickname. "The
nickname was given to me during my freshman year in high school by
my fellow teammates on the football team," said Shane. "The main reason
is that as a freshman in high school, I was 6'3" and weighed 300 pounds.
I was a big boy to say the least, hence the nickname - Big Worm."
So yeah, Shane's still tall, but doesn't quite weigh 300 pounds anymore.
He's too busy closing deals with some of his favorite vendors. And,
he drinks Slim Fast daily. We're joking.
[Read Full Profile of Shane Reisner]
Geri
Pettis
Account Representative
Geri Pettis is one of the members of the FastServers.Net Sales
Team. A true Chicago native, you can often hear Geri discussing her
favorite aspects of the city. "Some of the most beautiful aspects
of Chicago are the Lakefront and the Skyline. You can only really
enjoy the Lakefront and Skyline after all the snow has melted and
the temperature rises above 50 degrees!" she said. We often hear our
Chicago office employees talking about how beautiful the city is with
its skyline and sandy shores. But Chicago is not the only city Geri
likes to discuss around the office. She's always talking about how
much fun she has when visiting Atlanta, Georgia.
[Read Full Profile of Geri Pettis]
Monmini
"Mo" Kabre
Account Representative
Monmini Kabre, we call him "Mo," is a Account Representative at FastServers.Net.
There is something extraordinarily unique about Mo. He reads, speaks
and writes five languages! Most of his studies growing up were in
French as he was a native of Ivory Coast, which is a country just
off the southern coast of West Africa. "Since Ivory Coast was colonized
by the French, I grew up speaking and writing everything in the French
language," said Mo. He also spent four years studying German and lived
in Hamburg, Germany for a while. Mo is fluent in reading, speaking
and writing English (we know first hand!). Other languages he can
speak and write include Gouro, Mossi, and Shwahili!
[Read Full Profile of Mo Kabre]
Danelle
Little
Administrative Assistant
Chicago born and raised Danelle Little, the FastServers.Net Chicago
Headquarters office manager, keeps the company's multiple office locations
connected, phone calls routed, mail sorted, and handles just about
every other office duty imaginable. She's been with the company since
July of 2005 and has seen the Chicago office staff double in just
under two years. Danelle told how much she enjoys her job at FastServers.Net.
One of the most exciting perks of the job is the free lunch the team
gets every Wednesday. Yes, it's on the company's dime (and time) too.
"Not many companies provide free lunches, especially those in the
hosting industry," said Danelle. "I totally think it's motivating
and rewarding for the company to provide us with free lunches. I really
appreciate the fact that they care about their employees enough to
feed us on a regular basis." Do free lunches make the team happy?
You bet it does.
[Read Full Profile of Danelle Little]
Miguel
Villegas
Account Representative
Miguel Villegas is truly a dynamic character. One of the members of
the FastServers.Net Sales Team, Miguel has an extensive
and variety of hobbies. He is a 2nd degree black belt
in Hapkido and practiced the art from the age of five to twenty years
old. He was a part of the Mid West Circuit tournament system in Chicago,
and as he got older, moved over to the AKA nationals. "When it comes
to performance and events, my strongest focus was on fighting," said
Miguel. "My talent in fighting may be due to the fact that I am
small-framed, extremely fast, and great with my legs."
[Read Full Profile of Miguel Villegas]
Ray
Powell, Jr.
Data Center Engineer
Ray Powell, Jr. is a Data Center Engineer at FastServers.Net. Ray
spent the last six years working on his Bachelor of Science and Master's
degrees in Computer Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology
(ITT). Upon graduation he worked briefly for a company that developed
document imaging, processing, and archival software. Now he works
the night shift in the Chicago, IL data center.
[Read Full Profile of Ray Powell, Jr.]
Joshua
Hoppes
Server Support Technician
Joshua Hoppes is one of the latest additions to Server Support Technicians
team at FastServers.Net. Currently attending the University of Northern
Iowa, Joshua has plans to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree
in Computer Science. Joshua said he really enjoys the friendly atmosphere
at FastServers.Net. "Each one of my co-workers is someone whom I can
easily approach and talk to about work related as well as outside
interests." When he's not at the office monitoring the status of servers
and the FastServers.Net network, you can find Joshua playing some
of his favorite first person shooter games.
[Read Full Profile of Joshua Hoppes]
Scott
Aylward
Server Support Engineer
Scott Aylward is a Server Support Engineer at FastServers.Net. He
has earned several certifications including Cisco Certified Network
Associate (CCNA), COMPTIA A+, Network+, and the Help Desk Institute
(HDI) Customer Support Specialist certification. His extensive background
in web development and experience in customer support, led him directly
to FastServers.Net. Prior to working at FastServers.Net, Scott primarily
worked in PC and end-user support for two organizations - Hawkeye
Community College and Viking Pump. Scott says he enjoys working the
late shift, but it doesn't allow him to get out and participate in
outside activities.
[Read Full Profile of Scott Aylward]
William
"Bud" Sims
Server Support Engineer
William Sims, known as "Bud" around the office, is a Server Support
Engineer at FastServers.Net. Bud has returned to the company for a
second time. Prior to his return, he worked for Classified Ventures,
the organization that owns Cars.com, Apartments.com, and Homescape.
"I worked in the corporate infrastructure department as a networking
engineer specializing in Linux." He said his job was working more
with the internal infrastructure, but he did learn a lot about network
security, backup and SAN, disaster recovery, and data center management.
"I was offered a chance to work with Solaris and Linux in an
Enterprise environment. That experience alone gave me a new
perspective on the hosting industry."
[Read Full Profile of William "Bud"
Sims]
Josh
Mattson
Server Support Engineer
Josh Mattson is one of the latest additions to the FastServers.Net
support team. As a new Server Support Engineer, one of his daily duties
includes keeping an eye on Nagios (the FastServers.Net monitoring
system) to make sure critical services stay up and running. "Since
I am still new, I haven't been able to work on more complicated issues."
Josh said the most challenging part of his job requires him to have
all the correct and current information from other techs. "There could
be another person working on a server that's causing a critical alert
to go off and I wouldn't want to reboot a server someone else is working
on." Don't worry Josh, we have tight processes in place to keep things
running smoothly.
[Read Full Profile of Josh Mattson]
Nick
Shreders
Server Support Engineer
Nick Shreders is one of the latest additions to the FastServers.Net
support team. As a Server Support Engineer in Chicago, Nick's primary
tasks include researching and fixing servers that could have a multitude
of issues and monitor customer equipment connections to help prevent
any issues before they escalate. What's more, Nick has all good things
to say about the company's atmosphere. "The work environment here is
great. It reminds me of my old job in Kansas - laid back, yet we
work very hard to make sure everything is up and running properly."
[Read Full Profile of Nick Shreders]