About Me

My name is Chris, and professionally I am an IT hat wearer. What does that mean? That means that I often work on small teams (sometimes it is just me), so I typically cover multiple roles that may normally be more than one person at a much larger company. Is it stressful? Sure, it certainly can be, but I personally enjoy it.

I decided to start this site as a place to gather my thoughts on things I have learned through my professional IT trek so that I can pay it forward to others. I’ve had some fantastic mentors during my career, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

Like some in this field, I haven’t had the most “traditional” journey when it comes to my career. A few highlights:

• I went to college to study music business and have a Bachelors in Business Administration (no computer science here folks)
• I worked at Apple retail in what I would call the heyday - Jobs was still at the helm, new products were dropping left and right, and gosh do I have some stories!
• My wife and I’s wedding photos were used in an Apple Keynote with Steve Jobs (see the photo below)
• I toured professionally in the country music industry for 5 years selling merch and as a tour photographer and videographer (44 of 50 U.S. states and all North American countries)
• I’ve worked at several hyper-growth startups
  • Some as the first IT hire, some much later on
• I’ve been laid off and collected unemployment
• I’ve had burnout so bad that I had to go to the emergency room

Thanks for reading. If you want to reach out, please email me at hello@manyhatsoftuley.com.