J Michel Metz

	Web site: http://jmichelmetz.wordpress.com
	Twitter: @DrJMetz
	LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmetz/

I am currently an R&D Engineer for the Office of the CTO for Cisco, working in Advanced Storage and Storage Networking, but have a broad and eclectic background of both academic, corporate, and industry experience.

One of the great things about working in the OCTO is the ability to work at ground zero of technological and human development. You get to work with some of the best and brightest in the industry, talking about the magic and power of what technology can do, and yet filter it through the nature of how people actually use that technology. You get to work with Executive Management to grow the company through the use of those technology resources, and, ultimately, establish a technical vision that leads all aspects of technological development.

I live for that intersection of the practical and the theoretical; striking the balance of research into the new and exciting and the well-tested and reliable. There is a knife-edge excitement of being the trusted advisor to department heads in a fashion that supports the culture, mission and values, while still keeping a finger on the pulse of adaptation and change. After all, it’s no good to do research on leading edge technologies if you can’t appropriately make determinations on the probability of actually implementing them.

What’s next? Global domination! (Well, at least the global domain). While I love working on storage systems, networks, and solutions, it’s important to realize that there is a greater purpose and a more significant meaning, here. Everything is related to everything else, and understanding that technology for its own sake is not nearly as important as the impact and influence it has on people – both those who build it, and those who use it.

I strongly believe in the ability for people to do great things when given the right tools and technology, and it has become my mission to guide that technical vision to improve the lives of the people I work with and the constituencies they serve.