At 721 Logistics, our strength has always come from our people. Our Employee Spotlight series is our way of giving you a chance to know the people behind the emails, calls, and decisions that keep our operation moving.
We ask each employee a set of questions about their role, what they’re learning, what drives them, and who they are outside the office. The goal is simple: to recognize the people behind 721, who work hard for you!
Here’s today’s spotlight!
Mike Stewart- Lead Software Developer, IT Department
What is your title and give a brief description of your role and how long you’ve worked at 721: I’m a developer here at 721 coming up on 10 years here. I work on applications to help the workflow of the office like Qbot and Docsort. We’re always looking for ways to integrate third-party systems that were never meant to be integrated with.
What is your favorite part of working at 721? Being a part of a critical but pretty niche industry. There’s always a new challenge or new customs regulation, etc. that pushes you to think outside the box.
What’s something you’ve learned from a colleague (past or present) that changed your perspective or work habits? I learned I need to put more value and time into my personal interests and goals, it makes my work habits more efficient when in work mode. Also learned we all get stressed out the same but vary in the way we each handle it.
What is a goal you are currently working on? (Personal or professional) A personal goal I’m working towards is getting a few acres of land to build up into a homestead/mini farm. I continue to work on being healthy even though its trial and error sometimes. Professionally, my goal is to continue evolving applications I work on to help the company grow and work with more data efficiently.
What are some of your hobbies? Aside from tech stuff like coding and working on Linux setups, I try to get outside and away from the screen, whether it’s just walking around somewhere, hiking, or checking out live shows. I used to play a lot of guitar but will still pick it up here and there. I don’t do it nearly as much as I’d like but I camping is something I always really enjoyed.
What’s something you’ve crossed off your bucket list and what’s next on the list? Nothing real notable has been crossed off but aside from building the homestead I would really like to drive out to the southwest and roam around in the desert and mountain areas.
What are you currently reading and/or watching? I think I spend more time being indecisive on what to watch while browsing around. All the shows I loved are long past over. I did just finish season 2 of House Of The Dragon recently. Usually, I end up watching a lot of Youtube. Everything from people repairing/building stuff, podcasts, to ancient ruins.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? It didn’t come from any one person but think for yourself and stand on your own two feet.
What’s something about you, you think people would be surprised to know? I’m not sure, I think I’m a pretty basic person with a few niche interests. I like super spicy food and eat lemons regularly.