Meet the Team - Andrew Ripley
Posted by Lyndsie Ezell on Jun 22, 2021
ANDREW RIPLEY: DIRECTOR OF SALES
Born in Key West, FL, Andrew is a Conch Republic baby and lifelong Floridian. Andrew was raised in Bradenton, where xByte is currently headquartered, and first heard about xByte via a newspaper article that featured the CFO, Stephen Jaynes. Having worked in the tech industry after his service in the Marines, Andrew thought xByte would be the perfect fit to continue his career in technology.
Andrew joined xByte in 2011, and he will be celebrating his 10th year with the company. Starting as an enterprise account executive, he thrived working within a familiar market alongside a team of three others. Andrew had previous experience in the enterprise level space and had an understanding of the market. This was vital in his rise to sales management and then director of sales shortly after. Andrew's enterprise background not only makes him a vital asset to his team, but the entire company. Some of the things Andrew loves about xByte are the people and the family feel that has always been emphasized. At xByte, people are valued as individuals and heard at all levels within the company, rather than seen as cogs in a machine.
Being a part of a constantly growing company has driven Andrew to develop the mentality that nothing is ever done, and the word “no” should never be seen as an ending to a conversation or project. This allows him to focus on the things, however small, he can do, rather than be defeated by the things he can’t. This ties into xByte as a company, according to Andrew, with xByte’s biggest strengths being the flexibility, the ability to adapt, and the assumption that no challenge is too big. With the expansion of the company, Andrew looks towards the future and possibly one of xByte’ s biggest challenges; with such growth comes a limitation of resources – mainly staff. Andrew and xByte have grand goals but are confronted with limited human resources. It takes a special team of individuals to keep pushing the company and the industry. Finding and nurturing new talent is one of Andrew’s top priorities at xByte.
“I have never met another leader who sincerely cares for his team more than Andrew." – Ryan Brown, xByte Technologies CEO
5 Things about Andrew:
- Although Andrew does not consider himself a thrill seeker, he has been hang gliding, bungee jumping, sky diving, and pendulum jumping.
- Andrew was a theater kid and kept acting as an adult on stage. Maybe you’ve seen him in one of his theater performances.
- Channeling his acting skills, he can become a very convincing Guy Fieri look alike. He’s even been stopped in Las Vegas and asked for photos and autographs by unsuspecting tourists.
- For a few years, Drew was a professional beach volleyball player, and after that, a high school beach volleyball coach.
- If Andrew were to describe himself as a server, it would be an R940. It is a large and strong server that does not need a lot of frills to get things done; it just relies on its internal strength and power.
Memorable customer story
One of Andrew’s customers in the health care industry contacted him because they were having issues with servers they had purchased from another partner, and they were lacking customer support from the previous vendor. Because Andrew makes sure to be up to date with new technologies, he was able to present the customer with a new solution and explain how it would benefit their need for speed and availability. To ensure the customer felt comfortable with the change, Andrew set up servers for them to test in their IT environment. The solution worked so well, the customer came back and purchased 40 more servers.
On another occasion, this same customer called while Andrew was on a business trip to Las Vegas. The customer could hear the ‘Vegas vibe’ in the background and asked where Andrew was. Upon hearing that Andrew was traveling, he exclaimed, “Why did you answer?” To which Andrew answered, “You’re my customer and I’m always going to take your call.”
“Drew does an incredible job of supporting his team and providing great leadership. He always has their back, and his enthusiasm is second to none.” – Stephen Jaynes, xByte Technologies CFO
Reach out to Andrew if you have any questions about how xByte can help you or if you would like to join the team:
[email protected]
Office:(941) 312 - 7896
4614 19th St. Ct. East, Bradenton, FL 34203
Click here to meet the rest of the xByte Sales team: Meet the Team.