Terry Lee – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
The great outdoors has been a lifelong proving ground for Terry. Thorough planning, mental discipline, and attention to detail are imperative for successfully achieving the greatest satisfaction whenever fishing, hunting, or snow camping with his family.
The Mississippi native utilizes these attributes at their highest level when working with Naia customers. Proper preparation and anticipating obstacles eliminate serious pitfalls. Avoiding dangerous shortcuts eliminates needless risk. And just as Terry enjoys the hiking and vistas on the way to a final destination, with Naia he finds the creative solution development journey almost as satisfying as the successful final deployment.
His inspiration for Naia came about in the 1990s during a successful career at JD Edwards, where he witnessed the detrimental financial effects of packaged, monolithic solutions sold to unsuspecting customers. Unable to change the large scale corporate mindset of one of the giants of the software industry, Terry decided to dedicate his professional life to small and mid-size enterprises most in need of affordable, personalized solutions to their evolving business needs.
Terry applied his technological expertise and knowledge of incremental, sophisticated processes to create Naia in 1998. An avid observer of the natural order of change and the improvement possible in the process, he applies that principle when partnering with customers. Orderly change that maximizes performance results in positive growth.
“Being an entrepreneur is part of my DNA,” says Lee. “My fulfillment comes when a customer obtains a ROI from our products and services. And since our customers are realizing the American dream just as I am, I understand and enjoy every aspect of working with them.”
The former college football player has an affinity for both the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Alabama, where he earned multiple degrees in accounting and data processing. Whether it is a perplexing business challenge or an unexpected outdoor encounter, Terry is well-equipped to understand, confront and satisfactorily resolve any situation he encounters.
Troy Carroll – President and Chief Operating Officer
Smoothly merging ideas and concepts into plans and action are everyday disciplines for Naia’s COO, a Naval Academy graduate. Troy approaches a Naia project as he does his video production, with meticulous attention to every detail, merging each element with the next while concentrating on both the immediate component at hand as well as its effect on the entire project. No jarring transitions and no wasted resources result in a product that meets every objective – and is creative and satisfying as well.
Shaping a customer’s software solution is a similar process.
“We absolutely understand that our customers need timely solutions that can be integrated with their existing processes so there is minimal or no disruption to their operations,” Troy says. “Our specialty is just that. We have an adaptable team with extensive experience, trained to rapidly deploy working software that will generate genuine return.”
Team work and accountability come naturally to Troy, who gained field and management experience at Global Rental (ALTEC) and Wells Fargo before joining Naia.
“Software projects fail when there is a disconnect between what is happening on the ground and the expectations in the executive board room. We deliver results that can be readily evaluated by top management,” adds the Microsoft certified (MCP, MOUS) executive.
While personally producing a successful customer project ranks very high on Troy’s satisfaction list, the birth of his daughter took all honors in the category.
Tommy Cox – Chief Software Architect
You might think that serving a match-winning ace in a level 4.0 USTA tennis tournament would be a career highlight for Tommy. He has a different idea. “For me, everything started when a homemade boot disk successfully booted my PC to Linux, which at the time few people had even heard of. It connected me to an entirely new future.”
What a future it is.
Hooked on the leading edge of Internet based software development, Tommy demonstrated adaptability, adding his own database connection pooling to early versions of Java/Linux and WebSphere, creating scalable high traffic ecommerce sites. Tommy in the early 90s pioneered Internet management of what became 5,000 providers for 30,000 sales accounts generating\ nearly $1 billion in revenue.
Creative, rock-solid solutions are embedded in the Homewood, AL product’s nature, and he particularly values his relationship with Naia customers.
“This customer relationship is very different than what is typically offered by software vendors. It’s based on trust and an appreciation for what both Naia and the customer bring to the equation. Naia technologies, management and processes improve a customer’s business and impact the bottom line without disrupting the key components that make the customer’s business succeed.”
Henry Louviere, Jr. – Advanced Network Architect
The foundation upon which a house is built should be strong, reliable, functional, and allow for improvements and additions with little or no reconfiguration of the basic structure. Henry is a firm believer in this concept being applied to the infrastructure management of Naia customers, whom he enjoys taking through the subsequent steps of solution implementation and system management.
What does Henry like about Naia customers?
“Their commitment to improving the bottom line by investing in agile technologies and processes.”
Henry should know. With 15 years of technology implementation and leadership experience gained working with Equifax, ChoicePoint, CompuCom, Fidelity Information Services, and NorthStar Communications Group, he sports as much or more front-line experience as anyone in the business. Certifications from Microsoft (MCSE), Cisco (CCNA), and Citrix (CCA) give the A+ certified University of Louisiana graduate impeccable credentials.
Julian Brook – Development and Support
Having a future Hall of Famer as your go-to utility player is a luxury most teams never experience. Whether it hybrid or COBOL and legacy, customer systems benefit from Julian’s nationally-acclaimed expertise.
Julian has honed his various skills not only in his eight years at Naia, but during a career that has included programming languages development for the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, and United Data Centers/Tymeshare. Proficient in most programming languages and operating systems, Julian is a certified ICCP Data (CDP), Computer (CCP) and Systems (CSP) expert.
His mastery of the concepts of computing and interconnectivity have led to his being named to the governing board of the Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP).
Working with wood, leather or old radios satisfy his creative urges. When he needs to get outdoors, Julian goes SCUDA diving. Customers find his zest for life and unwavering competency a comfortable mix.
Valorie Smith – Deployment and Operations Assistance
The hub of a wheel gets little glamour as it distributes energy to the spokes and rubber that ultimately drive a machine. Efficient collection of information and timely distribution of resources to meet customer needs is just as critical at Naia, where Valorie provides project analysis and executive support to the management team.
While calm, professional and methodical when dealing with assignments within Naia, Valorie has been known to quite loudly encourage her sons at Little League and travel-ball baseball games.
Frankie Cambre – Business Analyst
Critical, constructive analysis of the problem at hand, evaluating existing customer resources and providing innovative yet prudent solutions sets Frankie apart from other business analysts.
“Naia’s way of thinking closely mirrors my own personal philosophies. I’m methodical, detail oriented and like to get things done right the first time,” says the Naia veteran from Springville, AL.
Aside from some memorable projects assisting Naia customers to significantly grow their business, he also applies his patient, methodical, creative capabilities while fishing. Frankie’s most enlightening experience was learning that his golf game needed work after attending – twice – the Masters golf tournament.
Steven Lee – Support Desk and Software Verification
Who is better to provide immediate and accurate response to customer needs than a person who has tested, evaluated and configured the subject software. Familiar with tried-and-true solutions, Steven can also clearly think on his feet – a skill proven while living, hunting and fishing in Alaska before moving back to the lower 48.
The Mississippian worked as a production manager for JVC Disc America prior to joining Naia, and enjoys spending time with his two teenagers.
Naia certifications, languages and expertise include: Microsoft (MCSE, MCP, MOUS), Microsoft Solution Developer, Microsoft Database Administrator, Microsoft .NET Framework, IBM WebSphere, APICS (CPIM), ITIL Foundation v.2, Cisco (CCNA), Citrix (CCA), Novell (CAN), A+,C#, J2EE, ICCP Data (CDP), ICCP Computer (CCP), ICCP Systems (CSP), Dell, SQL Server, DB2, ISAM