12 October 2022
Jed Ayres, chief executive officer, IGEL Technology
What was your big career break?
In 1995, I was studying for an MBA and living in San Francisco when a family friend got in touch. He was the president of AmeriData Technologies, a large computer reseller, and he needed an IT savvy intern for the summer to work on migrating their whole paper-based product catalogue to the Internet and introducing order tracking.
The catalogue listed everything they sold like PCs, monitors and peripherals along with pricing. It ran into literally hundreds of pages.
As a courtesy, I went to the interview but turned them down as I really didn’t fancy working in their offices in nearby Sacramento. I’d also just got a job at Perry’s - one of the coolest bars in town which I thought would be much more fun for a young man new to the big City. He wouldn’t let me fob him off though and called back and said, “No isn’t the answer, I’ve got you lodging and you’re taking this job”. So, I ended up doing both – weekends at the bar and weekdays at AmeriData. I then joined the company as an inside sales rep when I graduated. The business was subsequently sold to GE Capital Services in 1996 and, by aged 24, I was managing a $60 million branch which was the most successful within what became GE Capital’s IT Solutions business.
Who was your hero when you were growing up?
My grandfather on my mother’s side was a huge influence on me. He spent over 40 years working in the San Francisco education system and was Superintendent of the Middle Schools. Not only that, but he ran one of the largest apple farms in West Sonoma County where he ultimately retired. He was smart and hardworking so I got my work ethic and insight into leadership from him. He taught me nothing great is done alone and always about building, empowering and recognizing the team you’re working with.
What would you do with £1m?
I’d invest in tiny homes and create a community of them. In the USA, we have a housing crisis like the UK and need a lot more affordable places for people to live. So, tiny homes are all about quickly manufacturing low-cost buildings in a factory to a high specification which is much more environmentally sound and sustainable than building onsite. I’d then want to use solar panels or ground or air source heat pumps for power to reduce carbon emissions.
Where would you live if money was no object?
Honestly, I love where I live which is in the Mount Tamilpais area of Marin County – famous as this is where mountain bikes were invented. It’s north of the Golden Gate Bridge on highway 101. My backyard is 46,000 acres of open protected public space.
Which law would you most like to change?
America has a problem with guns and pretty much anyone can buy one, even high-powered assault rifles with a magazine. There are just too many in circulation and too many deaths. My 14 year old son has to have active shooter drills at school which is shocking. We have to do better. That means changing the law and using technology to register and track guns and their owners more stringently.
The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
It has to be the Rolling Stones. Why? They’re still rolling after 60 years! They’re also the first famous rock band I saw in the early 1990s when they played at the Oakland Coliseum stadium.
If you could dine with any famous person, past or present, who would you choose?
I’d love to meet Barack Obama. He’s someone with incredible intellect, he’s a great orator and leader and came to the presidency through a different route to most, starting out as a community organizer in Chicago before going into law. He’s a similar age to me and loves basketball – which I do too – so I’m sure we’d have a lot to talk about. I’d take him to International Smoke, a restaurant near IGEL’s offices which serves wood-fired steaks, ribs and seafood. It’s part owned by Ayesha Curry, the wife of the National Basketball Association mega star, Steph Curry, who’s scored the most 3-point field goals in NBA history at 3,117.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
My mother once said to me, “Leave things better than you found them.” I’ve always tried to do that in relationships, in business and with friends and family. Living by that maxim, you’re always looking to help others and the world at large, what we at IGEL call a ‘servant heart.’
If you had to work in a different industry, which one would you choose?
Hospitality. I love being around and serving people. I actually took a four-year sabbatical away from the IT industry - between 2002 to 2005 - and bought a hotel/restaurant called McCallum House in Mendocino on the northern coast of California, my hometown. There’s a story here, too. When I was 15, I got my first job there as dishwasher. Twenty years later, I bought the business and the chef that hired me was still there and became an employee which was wonderful.
