Rochester wouldn’t be known as a technology-focused city without the contributions and commitments key pioneers have brought with their innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. As part of recognizing those who are making a significant impact on Rochester’s reputation, the Rochester Business Journal published a Power 50 Technology list, composed of those leading innovative companies, incorporating new tech into highly complex work, providing expert support to other companies in the community, championing local start-ups, and more.
Making the list (which wouldn’t be complete without him) is Mindex’s President, Marc Fiore! As part of this honor, the Rochester Business Journal interviewed Marc, giving him the opportunity to share more about his journey as a leader in technology:
What do you enjoy most about your role?
The most enjoyable part of my role in my leadership position is to empower our employees. First, I focus on leading employees to discover their strengths and develop their skills. Then, with great satisfaction, I watch them use these skills to solve our customers’ business needs.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve dealt with over the past year?
COVID immediately changed the landscape of running a business. First, we had to go from 100% onsite to 100% remote, and now we’re running very well with employees either working one of those or working a hybrid arrangement. Understanding what worked best for the company and each employee was a massive project. Ensuring that we found the correct balance while keeping our company’s desired culture was challenging.
What has been your organization’s biggest success over the past year?
During the pandemic, we took the opportunity to step back and seriously consider our employees, products, and services to decide what is the most important direction for us. We employed an outside consultant to help leaders create a detailed, focused strategic plan. We also invested heavily in our employees with benefits, competitive pay, and work/life balancing opportunities to promote the Mindex culture. The reset and sharing of our strategic plan coupled with the investment in our employees led to an incredibly passionate employee base that is eager to grow this company.
What do you see as the biggest changes in the technology industry over the next year?
Cloud technology. Most companies have started, or are about to begin, their journey to the cloud, either lifting and shifting their current infrastructure to the cloud or modernizing their applications to run more efficiently in the cloud. In response, we created a Cloud Services Division and have become an AWS Advanced Tier partner. We provide the services to assist other organizations through the journey, and as we’re on that same journey with our own software product, SchoolTool, we know how transformative it is.
What community organizations do you support as a volunteer and why?
Mindex employees have supported community organizations for years through our annual charity selection. Each year we ask our employees to nominate a local charity close to their hearts and tell us why and how we can all help. We then promote this charity and attempt to get all of our employees behind it. Personally, I donate to St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center and the United Way for COVID assistance to Rochester residents. In addition, Andrea, my wife and Mindex treasurer, volunteers on the Disaster Action Team for the Red Cross. We both find it truly rewarding to give our time and support to these worthy organizations.
It is folks like Marc, and the other leaders on the Power 50 list who continue to raise the city of Rochester up, and are paving the way for future generations to explore a career in technology and want to call the ROC their home!
To learn more about the RBJ’s Power List program, and to read about the additional inspiring leaders who joined the Power 50 Technology List with Marc, check out the full article here: https://rbj.net/2022/04/29/rbjs-power-50-technology-2022/