Mike Barrett has a long history with ADD Systems. His story began some 36 years ago in a company that soon became part of ADD Systems. We recently sat down with Mike to reflect on his experience.
How long have you been with ADD Systems?
I started out in Michigan in the Automotive Industry for Electronic Data Systems as a Systems Engineer in 1986. Since EDS was a large company and had many accounts, my heartfelt desire was to move to Florida to be nearer to my parents. There was an opportunity with EDS on the Petroleum Software Systems account. Needless to say, I took that opportunity even though it was not in an industry I was familiar with. In 1999, ADD Systems acquired the account and I transitioned into ADD Systems whom I have been with since that time.
What did you initially get hired to do?
With ADD Systems I was already in a Supervisory role. As time rolled forward I was managing nearly 20 people in Development and Quality Assurance primarily with the PAMS application which eventually was phased out as part of our core product strategy. I have been in the eStore and Atlas world for the last 15 years and I truly admire the product we’ve built and the people who made it happen.
How has your job transitioned through the years?
As more people were being rotated in and out of the PSS account by EDS into the early 90’s, I grew into a Team Leader role. As other management was being pulled off the account, I stepped into more of a Managerial role. With ADD Systems wanting to modernize our legacy C-Store software application, Chris Kiernan and myself co-led a project to make that happen starting in 2007. We brought our first client live on eStore in January of 2010. I have been working on the Implementation and Support side of eStore and Atlas for several years since then.
What are some of your favorite memories?
One of my favorite memories was when we had a Sales meeting in Orlando and we all went out to dinner after meetings. The Orlando locals gave rides to the New Jersey visitors to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Somehow our Sales Manager at the time ending up being a passenger in my 2007 Pontiac Solstice which was a two-seater and very uncomfortable for anyone over 5’8”. Our Sales Manager was about 6’2” and 300+lbs and he could barely get in! When we were driving into the parking lot, the Sales Rep’s were outside waiting and all broke out in laughter when we pulled into the parking lot. He literally looked like he was in a fetal position and had to be pried out of the car! What a trooper!
What are your plans for retirement?
Sleeping in and being able to attend local happy hours J! Soon senior discounts! In truth, I love doing yard and landscaping work and I am going to be busy with that. If the stock market turns around at some point, I would love to travel to Europe and Australia. One day I would also like to take in the New York experience as I have never made it there.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your time with ADD?
I just want everyone to know that the Bott family is extremely kind and gracious in taking care of their employees. Back in the days when working from home was not common, they allowed me to relocate from the Orlando office to the Tampa area so that I could be close to my parents and assist them as they aged in their 80’s. I got to spend more time with them and I owe that to the Bott’s.
I will sincerely miss the people I work with and the team chemistry we have. My team has come through for me time and time again whenever a difficult circumstance arose. Thank you to them and thank you to our loyal customer base!
A Word From the ADD Family
The feeling is mutual. Chris Kiernan shared: “Mike highly respected the relationships with his coworkers and with all the clients. His care for others is one of his core values. Mike’s contributions have immensely helped ADD and our customers over the years.”
Rob Culbertson, COO and Senior VP at ADD Systems, agreed, “I want to thank Mike for all of his help over the years. Mike was in every way a professional, always willing to do what was best for the Customer and a great representative for ADD. We will all miss him greatly.”
And perhaps Susan Stetson, Application Specialist at ADD Systems, said it best when she shared that “With his retirement Mike will move out of the role of manager and into the role of lifelong friend.”
Congratulations on your retirement, Mike!
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