Congratulations on receiving the 2019 AAMVA Chair’s Award. What is the secret to your success?

Early in my career, my technical background helped me in developing solutions that addressed business needs in a very effective manner. But as I moved into management, the key to my success has been my ability to surround myself with competent people and empower them to help me achieve my vision and that of the organization.

What are your current goals for your organization?

The primary goal of our organization is to provide IT solutions to our members and other stakeholders that are reliable, secure and responsive — at a reasonable cost.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

The accomplishment I am the most proud of is to have built pretty much from the ground up an IT organization of 120 IT professionals who are competent and dedicated to our mission. When I started at AAMVA, the organization had just started to set up the network and the first IT solution (CDLIS). Since AAMVA did not have any IT staff at the time, the project was outsourced to IBM Information Network for the deployment of the AAMVAnet network and to EDS for the development and management of the CDLIS system. I realized when I arrived that in order for AAMVA to own the intellectual property of CDLIS and future systems to come, we would need IT staff in-house with the proper expertise to develop and maintain these systems. Today, we still rely on external IT resources, but in a support role rather than providing core functions.

What transportation issues are you most passionate about?

I am very interested in the development of automated and connected vehicles. I find the progress made in this area to be fascinating and probably the most promising area for improving transportation safety.

Are there any things that keep you up at night in regard to motor safety?

From a parochial point of view, what concerns me is ensuring that our systems are providing accurate information to our members to allow them to take the appropriate action either to issue or suspend a driver’s license or to issue a title to a safe vehicle.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I like to travel abroad with my family. And when I am not working or traveling, I like to play tennis and ride my motorbikes.