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P R I V AT E B U S I N E S S J ason Smylie determined his career path at age 13. "My area of focus was computer science, and my dream was to become a video game programmer," said Smylie, who attended high school locally at Advanced Technologies Academy and has a degree in computer science from UNLV, with a minor in math. "While I was going to school I got an internship for Bechtel, which ran the Nevada Test Site for the Department of Energy, and when I graduated I ASON MYLIE got the opportunity to stay on as a software engineer. I started to develEXECUTIVE V.P., CHIEF op a passion for business, so Bechtel INFORMATION OFFICER AND was kind enough to pay for my MBA CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER with a focus on new venture management." CAPRIOTTI'S SANDWICH SHOP Armed with business knowledge, J S technology know-how and an entrepreneurial spirit, Smylie and his best friend began knocking around the idea of starting a business of their own. "We'd been eating at Capriotti's Sandwich Shops all through college and fell in love with the food, so we finally started saving up money and opened a Capriotti's location in 2005," Smylie said. "By 2007, we had three, and I left Bechtel and started to formulate a deal with Capriotti's to acquire the company, so we bought the brand and are now the franchisor as of Jan. 1, 2008. At that point, the stores had no significant infrastructure – some stores still had old-fashioned cash registers – and the franchisees were hungry for technology to propel them forward." As executive vice president, chief information officer and chief marketing officer, Smylie brought Capriotti's not only into the information age, but also at the forefront of cutting-edge technology. "Most significantly, we've built the infrastructure from the ground up, putting in systems that make the shops more efficient," Smylie said. "We have a food cost and P R I V AT E B U S I N E S S B BRUCE WILCOX CORPORATE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY R&R PARTNERS ruce Wilcox puts his analytical love for math, science and logic to excellent use as corporate director of information technology for advertising, public relations, marketing and public affairs firm R&R Partners. "Since joining the company as director of information technology 10 years ago, I can honestly say that not a day has gone by that I have not looked forward to coming to work," said Wilcox, who has a degree in computer science from the University of Southern California and previously worked in Los Angeles as a software developer. "I loved writing code because you either get it wrong or right, and I loved the feeling of getting it right." For the past decade, Wilcox has WITH FEWER THAN E M P L OY E E S labor control system where managers and operators can get real-time business intelligence, we have an online ordering system in place, and we're using iPads for training and management." In addition, Smylie was one of the pilot users of Google Glass technology — a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display — having won a contest on Twitter. The company has successfully utilized Google Glass to record its training videos, which has allowed the company to cut down on the number of staff required to produce them. "Google Glass is pretty cutting-edge stuff, and we're one of the few out there who has it," said Smylie, who has also worked tirelessly to increase the Capriotti's brand's social media presence. "We have a fantastic social media following of about 60,000 fans on Facebook and 12,000 on Twitter. Also, in January I was named the second most-social CIO on Twitter in the world by the Huffington Post, which was pretty flattering." — By Danielle Birkin WITH MORE THAN applied that same approach to successfully growing R&R's IT infrastructure, which has allowed the company to not only grow in terms of numbers and offices, but to also better serve its clients. Although R&R Partners has grown from four to eight offices and a total of 290 employees — with 175 in Las Vegas — since Wilcox joined, the size of the agency's IT department has remained fairly steady, with a current team of just five employees, including Wilcox. "Our information technology department is centrally located in Las Vegas, so there is no IT staff in other offices," Wilcox said, adding that the IT team can fix most computer problems by means of remote access. "This doesn't mean we don't have to get on a place every so often, but as far as efficiencies and cost-savings go, we're basically able to support everybody from one location." Wilcox also developed and implemented an in-house file-management sharing system that allows employees, clients and vendors to share large files to a central website. Prior to writing the application and bringing that 100 100 E M P L OY E E S functionality in-house, Wilcox said the site was hosted by a third party. The new system saves the company some $80,000 per year. Wilcox also implemented MPLS connectivity among all eight R&R offices across the company WAN, which has resulted in better network efficiency and also lowered telecommunications costs. "We've also done some significant server room virtualization," Wilcox said. "We used to have a dedicated file server — a piece of physical hardware — for every application. We were able to condense from 26 file servers into six physical devices, which saves money and cooling and power and space." Wilcox has also started a virtual desktop pilot program with about 30 employees, and anticipates rolling it out to the rest of the company in the first quarter of 2014. "Employees can use whatever device they have, and it will load their profile," Wilcox said. "These days it's B.Y.O.D. — bring your own device." — By Danielle Birkin PUBLIC BUSINESS W GARY ALU SECURITY ANALYST NV ENERGY 8A hether it's for streamlining internal operations or making the customer experience better, business owners must constantly weigh new technology options. NV Energy is no different. But at the core of each app development or online initiative at the utility is Gary Alu. The IT pro's primary goal, however, is not to make sure customers are happy with how a new technology works. His priorities are a little more personal. As a security analyst, Alu's job is to safeguard both employee and customer information. When, for example, a new app is developed, Alu tests it to make sure the company's data isn't be- ing compromised or exposed to cyber thieves. "Privacy doesn't exist. That's the approach I have to take," he said. "If there's a motivated actor who wants to gain access to your information, there's little we can do to stop them....That's why it's really important that we try to keep customer information safe whenever we do something new." Alu, with the support of his employer, even takes his messages about safety and security to valley youth. He is involved with the ISC2 Foundation, otherwise known as the Safe and Secure Online initiative. Locally, the program partners with Clark County School District and pairs technology experts such as Alu with middle schools. To date, Alu has spoken to more than 20,000 CCSD middle school students about how to protect themselves online as well as how to behave appropriately in social media channels. He talks about how posts, tweets and photos follow students through the years and after high school. If some- one is careless today, a little research by a human resources person a few years down the road could yield a no-call for what looked like a promising job application, he says. He also talks about cyber-bullying. "Kids ask me if I've ever been bullied and I tell them, 'My name is Francis and I have red hair. So yes I've been bullied,'" he said with a laugh. "But it didn't follow me home like it can for you." The information he passes along to middle schoolers he's happy to share with adults. In today's professional world, LinkedIn pages and other social networking tools, depending on your field, are a necessity. But done carelessly they could establish a negative online image and even expose private information. "Everything we do leaves a digital footprint. It's awareness plain and simple. You have to manage your digital identity," he added. — By Brian Sodoma | VEGASINC | 20 13 TOP TECH EXEC AWARDS 2-12_VINC102813_TOPTECH.indd 8 10/23/13 4:43 PM