Chuck Tomasi Bio

Hello,

My name is Chuck Tomasi. I've been in IT for over 20 years starting out as a service technician for a ComputerLand store while still in college. I have been at the same ($1B) electronics company since 1988 and a cornerstone of our IT since 1989. Our company is mostly electronics manufacturing, but includes a subsidiary for engineering. I work for the engineering side of the house. Earlier this year I made the jump from Sr. Systems Admin/Architect to IT Manager when my boss was let go. We are still neighbors and good friends. I have five direct reports (in the local office) and three indirect reports - two in the U.S. and one in Malaysia. I am responsible for taking the vision, objectives, and priorities from the Sr. Management Team and translate those in to projects for the IT staff. This includes hours allocation and time tracking, high level project management, and all the functional management details (hiring, firing, reviews, O3s, etc.)

Something of interest about my work environment; we have a corporate IT department that handles all the ubiquitous technologies (email, network, phones) and the engineering IT group that addresses the specific needs of engineering. We have tired an integrated/unified approach in the past, but it left the customers feeling like they didn't get the priority they deserved. 97% of our revenues come from manufacturing so it's no wonder they get most of the priority on IT issues. This is precisely the reason I was brought on board in 1989. Working with separate groups has its own challenges and we're still re-working the relationships and responsibilities from my predecessor. One thing I can thank my former boss is that he gave us some excellent training based on David Allen's "Getting Things Done Fast". He also gave us the tools to implement that strategy which has made our group function very well.

I graduated with a BS in computer science from Northern Michigan University in Marquette Michigan in 1987. Although I'm no longer a software developer, I still have an affinity to create software solutions for work and home from time to time. I would say I was once a High-C, but have since learned to express my "I", "D", and "S" more effectively. Good luck trying to pin me down now! If I get a chance, I'll figure out my score.

I have been married for 18 years to the same wonderful woman I met in college. To make things interesting, she also works in IT at the same company (more in the business/finance side). This situation has advantages and disadvantages. We have two wonderful daughters (11 and 13) who are beautiful and intelligent, but I could be biased. We enjoy our family time together by taking one major trip a year and doing things like downhill skiing as a family.

I am also a podcaster. I was bitten by the bug in late 2004 and have since branched out to add three shows of various genres. Gmail Podcast is a show get tips, tricks, and hints about Google's mail program in a short format. Technorama takes a light hearted look at all things tech, science, and sci-fi, with special interviews and original comedy. Freestyle is my my audio blog. And the soon to be released Radio Yesterday - Old time radio shows. I have one more in the works to learn (and teach) Mandarin Chinese with one of my co-workers, but technology is not cooperating with us yet. My podcasts are at http://www.chuckchat.com/. I have also written a few articles for Podcast User Magazine (http://podcastusermagazine.com) and will be presenting at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo September 29/30, 2006. The podcasting hobby has kept me busy, but also provided me with some great connections in my field and leads like Manager Tools podcast.

Manager Tools has been a definite plus to help me get started and I look forward to leveraging them more to give my career a boost. Thanks Mark and Michael!