We are thrilled to announce a momentous occasion at COLSA as we proudly promote Joe Bennett to the esteemed position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) within our organization. Joe’s dedication, expertise, and commitment to excellence have been instrumental in shaping the technological landscape of our company.
Joe started with COLSA in 1997 as a member of the corporate IT helpdesk team and eventually worked his way into a system engineering position. In 2001, he made the difficult decision to leave COLSA to work for a large manufacturing company as a systems engineer supporting a large, global network of about 20,000 users. Following a three-year tenure there, Joe came to the realization that he desired to transition back to COLSA. Returning to COLSA in 2004, he decided to transition to the contract side. “I started as a systems engineer building and supporting high performance computing (HPC) clusters and eventually became the operations manager responsible for the entire environment.” By 2009, the contract was coming to an end and Joe began to seek new employment. With an opening in the IT department, COLSA offered him a position and he gladly accepted. By 2011, he became the operations manager and a few years later was promoted to Director of IT.
With the new role of COLSA’s CIO, his goal is to focus on leveraging existing and new technologies to provide more effective information management to support the growth and needs of the business. Joe says that due to his lengthy tenure with the company and serving in various positions over the years both within corporate and on the contract side, “I have a unique understanding of the various processes, applications, departments and people we rely on every day to be successful.”
When we ask Joe why he loves working for COLSA, he says, “Simply put, because of the opportunities COLSA has provided. I’ve never felt ‘pigeon-holed’ or stuck in a certain role regardless of my title or tenure with the company. At every stage of my career, COLSA has provided me the opportunities to grow and work doing the things I enjoy.”
As we embark on this exciting journey of growth and innovation, we are confident that Joe’s strategic vision and leadership will play a pivotal role in advancing our information technology initiatives. Join us in congratulating Joe as he takes on this role, steering our company towards a future marked by technological advancement and success.
