Continuing with our “Meet the Operations Team” series, it’s time to say hello to the professional services team (You may know them as the “project team”).
Led by our project manager, Steve Akers, our professional services team handles all the IT projects for our clients, which are defined as any changes to a network. Their expertise and attention to detail help ensure seamless project delivery.
As with most of our teams here at Innovative, you can find a mixture of new and established employees. The project team is no exception, with two of them being some of our longest-tenured Innovators and the other two being relatively new to the company.
Richard Hinsley
Nicknamed “The Rockstar” by project manager Steve, Rich has been at Innovative since 2010. He is the team’s go-to resource for complicated phone system and network engineering projects. He loves meeting new people and seeing how different businesses operate.
Outside of work, Rich enjoys hanging out with family, playing music, hiking, biking and climbing.
Justin Strahin
Nicknamed “The Gunslinger” for his ability to set up and deploy PCs faster than anyone, Justin primarily focuses on server builds and migrations. He joined the team in 2016 as a systems technician and is our resident expert in Microsoft Azure. Justin’s favorite part of working at Innovative is that every day is different.
“One day, I could be doing a server migration; the next, I could be installing networking equipment,” Justin said. “I enjoy learning new technologies with great people.”
When Justin’s not working, he enjoys listening to crime podcasts, playing Call of Duty Zombies and spending time outdoors.
Jay Searcy
Jay recently joined the team in 2022 as a systems technician. He spends a good portion of his time deploying new workstations, but the job doesn’t stop there.
“My favorite part of my job is the learning aspect,” Jay said. "I don’t go a day without learning new and intriguing skills and look forward to constantly improving client support.”
In his free time, Jay enjoys 3D printing and collecting firearms.
Leveraging Expertise for Success
Kudos to this amazing team for blending all their different areas of expertise together to get projects done. They’re a huge part of what we do at Innovative and are always up to the task when things get busy or hectic. Thank you, project team!
