This week’s “Under the Hood” employee spotlight features Matt Spada, Lotame’s MIS Administrator. Matt has been with the company for several years now, and continues to be a “jack of all trades” for his peers. Some days you will see him in the office helping with laptop configurations, other days he will be on call working on our servers.
Tell us about your current position at Lotame. What is your day to day like here?
My official title is MIS ADMINISTRATOR but that doesn’t fully encapsulate what I do. I’m responsible for the internal infrastructure and systems that enable our whole team to effectively get their work done. My day to day changes, well…day to day. Some days it’s making sure all our servers are patched and our data is backed up correctly. Other days it’s configuring laptops and accounts for new hires. And some days it’s saving folks from hardware failures while also researching the latest tech to better serve our customers. Everyday brings new challenges.
It seems like your team is constantly on call. How do you cope with the strange hours?
We cope with the odd hours by supporting each other as a team. And having the flexibility that working at Lotame offers is a huge help.
How would you describe the environment here at Lotame?
In one word: OPEN. Open to ideas. Open to thoughts. Open to trying new things.
What is one piece of advice you would give someone new to the marketing technology industry, specifically in your field of expertise?
This answer isn’t just for my position and I think holds true for us all: Work with the tools that your customers are using them. Put yourself in their place and experience things as they do not how you THINK they do.
What is your favorite part about working at a company like Lotame?
Flexibility. Not being pigeon-holed into a specific set of duties has enabled me to grow professionally in ways that I have not been able to at other companies. Also, having an official ‘Fun Czar’ in the MD office is AWESOME.
You have been with the company for a while now. What are some key changes you have seen in the industry, and specifically, our company since you have been here?
The move to ‘the cloud’ has been a massive shift in the technology industry. Almost every system that I’ve used and managed in the past has moved to this business model. Lotame’s move into AWS is a big change that will benefit our customers in dramatic ways.
Where is the coolest/most interesting place you have travelled?
A little over ten years ago I was lucky enough to travel to Italy with my family. We went to many of the big cities. That was very cool. But what was even better was we found the town were my grandfather was born and raised. He used to talk about a white, angelic fountain in the town. It took some searching but we found it. We lost my grandfather the year prior and standing in front of that fountain, looking out over the plateau and down to the olive trees below… I’ve yet to see a landscape that’s affected me in the same way.
Tell us something we don’t already know about you.
Many folks already know this but I love giant robots. I have since I was a kid. Transformers, Gundam, Mazinger Z (AKA Tanzor Z), Robotech, etc. Some folks collect games or sports memorabilia. I collect giant robots.