Name: Ray Borg
Title/Employer: Sr. Director of Global IT / Interwoven, Inc.
Age: 45
Education: BS ISM
Tenure in IT industry: Over 25 years
First ever tech job: Communications operator at IBM
Current role:
I oversee the IT and facilities group world-wide for Interwoven, Inc. I have over 32 people report into me from our headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA to geographical regions around the world. I'm ultimately responsible for the support of the infrastructure and computing environment, the networks locally and in-between sites, security and collaboration with our internal and sometimes external customers.
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What's been your best job and why?
I think my best job was at Union Pacific where I was director of IT. I had a staff of 22, supported 35 remote sites and collaborated on some major projects with peers at UP Tech in Omaha. We had such a great team and it was always wonderful to see us put our minds together to develop solutions.
What do you think is the number one non-IT skill tech professionals need today?
By all means effective communication and critical thinking skills are the most important.
What do you credit your career success to?
I had a VP from UP that was a straight shooter. He was just a little above my age, but I certainly learned how to put on the appropriate mind-set for the audience at hand.
What are the top three skills a high-level IT manager needs today?
Communication, critical thinking and collaboration.
What's your favorite IT resource site and why?
I enjoy CIO and Information Week. Good articles, pretty relevant in today's time and place.
What is the best career advice you've ever received?
Listen well and work well with management. You're part of a team, not a one person-do-all shop or savior.
What's the top advice you'd give to a new IT staffer?
Communicate and collaborate within your teams and your customers. Be on the same page.
What would you advise someone looking to find the type of role you currently have?
Work hard. Speak well. Meet with your customers and your staff often and then more often!
What is the one career decision you would change if you could?
Know when to move on to the next opportunity. One should know when you've accomplished what you wanted at a position and or company.
If you had the choice to jump into any other job, tech or non-tech, what would it be?
The medical field. I was studying to be a vet and then got a cool job at IBM to help put me through school. They lured me into the computer field. It's been good for me!
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