Brandon Bailey

BizLab's Director of IT, Brandon Bailey, sees his position in the company as a chance to redefine common perceptions of what an IT department should be.

"In a lot of businesses, IT is reactive," Brandon says. "I don't like that. I want the IT team to see how information is flowing within the company and actively anticipate the problems our employees encounter. Only by being more engaged with those that use our tools can we hope to maximize the value we provide."

As a graduate of the US Naval Academy, Brandon displays a great deal of leadership in his work. Before joining BizLab, he managed two divisions at an ink manufacturing plant. "All the ink ran through my hands, and I was responsible for everything except loading the mills," he says. Brandon also spent two years as a traveling consultant for a Chicago-based company that creates budgeting and financial modeling software. But constant business travel was hard on Brandon, especially after his son was born.

When Brandon's wife decided to pursue her PhD at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, he took the opportunity to look for a job that would allow him to spend more time with his new family. After several interviews, BizLab was lucky enough to bring Brandon on board as Sterling Satellite's Business IT Manager, a position created especially to utilize his wide range of talent. In just eight months, Brandon's skills and foresight earned him the Director of IT position for all of BizLab's internal businesses.

Brandon's home life largely revolves around spending time with his wife and three-year-old son. When asked about his son, Brandon muses on the way his life changed after becoming a father by quoting a touching lyric from singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton: "You ruined everything in the nicest way." In his down time, he enjoys reading novels and listening to music from artists like Augie March, Pavement, The Clash and Wilco.

Besides earning his Bachelor of Science at the US Naval Academy, Brandon holds a master's degree in computer science from Western Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.