Mike Carpenter grew up in the heartland, Columbus Ohio that is… the heart of it all. He is the oldest of his siblings and moved from Ohio to California in 1994. He has been married for 23 years and has 3 children (16,14 and 11). He graduated from Taylor University, a Christian Liberal arts school, with a BA in Christian Education… He wanted to be a youth pastor at the time. Yes, he considers himself a Christian and finds the idea of loving Jesus compelling and seemingly impossible. Feel free to hit him up on that sometime. He has multiple Microsoft certifications and spent 4 years teaching computers to the K-8 generation as his prelude to entering the IT industry. He has since been in this industry for nearly 20 years and recently sold his own 14-year-old IT company to briteCITY.
If you ever need someone to know the reference to the movie quote you just said, Mike Carpenter is your guy! I asked Mike a few more questions about briteCITY and his life…
How long have you been with BriteCITY? I’ve only been here just a little over a year and already it’s too long 😉
What do you do for briteCITY? My official title is IT Team Manager, which basically means I help ensure that the team of IT Professionals assigned to me are cared for and on task for achieving their primary objective: to provide timely, personal and knowledgeable responses to their clients day-to-day IT requests. Unofficially, my title cannot be shared … J
What is your favorite part of your job? As a parent I often find myself reminding my children about the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER, YEAR after YEAR, all while trying not to lose my patience, part of my job is just like that with those I oversee… Oh, my favorite part J … hands down it’s the company culture which stems directly from the leadership.
What is one thing that makes briteCITY great? It’s desire for greatness within the company while not idolizing work as the end all of life.
What is the weirdest job you have ever had? In High School, I was a telemarketer for a waterproofing company. I would call through 100’s of numbers and ask homeowners if they have ever experienced dampness in their crawl space 😉 or basement. There were a few times, especially towards the end of our shift that some of us would leave hilarious voices messages… probably would have gotten us fired if they knew about it.
Where is your favorite place to be? With my family on some adventure; last year we took a trip to Arizona and Nevada visiting Zion, Grand Canyon, Arches, Bryce, Hoover Dam and more… AMAZING!
When you aren’t working, what do you love to do? I love to laugh and make others laugh. I also enjoy a good Whiskey with some good friends while discussing the meaning of life or God or even quoting silly movies.
What does leadership mean to you? Equipping others to be successful which often comes through serving them
What is one thing you couldn’t live without? If I’m being serious, contentment (which is a moving target often times and not often attained).
If you could have a different job for one day, what would you want to do? Be a tour guide for some butterfly pavilion… seriously what could actually go wrong that day?
What is your favorite Book, Movie & Song?
- Book: The library of books that make up the Bible … there isn’t anything that comes close to identifying the nature of humanity or reality better (grab a whiskey with me and lets chat some time).
- Movie: Holy Grail / Schindler’s List / 300
- Song: Faded (Alan Walker) / Stressed Out (Twenty One Pilots) / U2 (Joshua Tree Album)
Apple or Android? Apple
