PAUL OLSTAD

Recommendations from LinkedIn

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"Paul managed Shavlik SaaS initiative. He was able to start up a team which became essential to the organization and to the aquisition with VMware. I was the project manager to the engineering teams including Paul's team. During that time Paul was able to set up a very dynamic, smart, fun to work with team. The team was able to deliver with high quality of a high pace timeline. When time came to change process and follow more structured methods, Paul was able to work with his team through the change time and gradually as a team they were able to get into very structured cadence that allowed them to grow and hit more strategic goals. Paul is fun to work with and cares about his team as well as the organization overall goals/direction, I would welcome the opportunity to work with Paul again in the future." — Mohammad Odeh, MS, MBA, Project Manager, VMware, worked with Paul at VMware

 

"Paul does great job of managing a geographically distributed team to produce new generation of web and mobile user interface for EVault. Despite an aggressive schedule Paul manages to keep the working environment fun - his management style allows engineers to learn and grow without feeling micromanaged. I find that his most surprising quality is how much he is involved in every project he is part of. Paul is not only part of requirements gathering and design of the system, but he also drives deployments, acceptance testing and works with clients to ensure their needs are met.This kind of leadership by example hugely improves team motivation." — Sebastian Kozlowski, Technical Architect, EVault, a Seagate Company, reported to Paul at EVault

 

"Paul has a unique ability to keep a workplace lighthearted and fun yet extremely productive. If a crisis would ever arise Paul always could put it into perspective and knew a solution could be found. He is a manager who had high expectations but didn't micromanage. I consider my time working with Paul a highlight of my career. And it was great to see Paul and the team he assembled build VMware Go from scratch to the successful project it has become." — John Cavalieri, Senior Member of Technical Staff, VMware, reported to Paul at VMware

 

 

"When Shavlik Technologies made the decision to enter the SaaS business, we went out in search of someone who could help lead our development efforts. The decision to hire Paul was a critical move in terms of rapidly advancing our development efforts. Paul has a vast amount of knowledge as is pertains to web app development, he's well respected by his peers and team...and is a great all round individual." — Dave Eike, Director, SaaS Sales, VMware, worked directly with Paul at VMware

 

 

"I have worked with Paul for around two and a half years. In that time, I have seen him grow a small team of developers into a highly skilled software engineering team with a culture unlike anything I had experienced before. Paul knows how to keep a team motivated through keeping people interested in work and getting the employees to enjoy being with the people that they work with. Paul is very good at adapting to the ever changing software situations that arise during the development cycle. Paul also is very considerate of his employees and knows how to calculate an appropriate amount of work for each development cycle. I would highly recommend Paul for any technology related management team." — Brandon Lehner, Software Engineer, VMware, reported to Paul at Shavlik Technologies

 

 

"Paul is easy to work with and just a pleasure to know. He is smart, diverse and can attack an issue from many different directions due to he varied background. Paul is not a lot of flash, he is a lot of substance." — Ed Peek, VP WW Sales, Shavlik Technologies, worked with Paul at Shavlik Technologies

 

 

"I collaborated with Paul during the creation of IT.Shavlik.com, a SaaS, web-based application for managing IT assets in small companies. Paul led the effort to define the offering and I provided the marketing content and provided input on look and feel of the application. Paul is creative, inventive, and driven to find solutions. His command and understanding of web-based technologies is the most comprehensive that I have encountered. But more importantly, Paul has vision to see emerging technologies and plan for their incorporation in current projects to extend the life of fast moving and rapidly changing, cloud-based applications. I also had the ability to witness Paul's sales and marketing side during major trade shows including VMworld where he demonstrated, displayed, and discussed IT.Shavlik.com and also VMware Go. As an intensely technical person, Paul has the rare capability to take complex ideas and concepts and break them into byte sized pieces for consumption from high level executives to lowest level techies. Paul understands priorities and is able to shift his priorities and those of his team as corporate goals shift and change direction. It would be my great pleasure to collaborate with Paul again." — Nancee Melby, Director of Product Marketing, Shavlik Technologies, worked with Paul at Shavlik Technologies

 

"Paul and I worked together at Park Nicollet. At the time Paul lead our software development team. I enjoyed working Paul and was disappointed to see him leave for another opportunity. Paul is an excellent leader, very accomplished developer, and thoughtful decision maker. He and his team developed and deployed excellent software we still use today." — Andrew Tessier, Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture, Park Nicollet Health Services, managed Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services

 

"I really enjoyed working with Paul at Dow Jones. Paul has a rare mix of technical understanding along with a natural ability to work with and manage teams of people. I brought a lot of issues to Paul and I always felt comfortable knowing that everything would be resolved quickly. I hope we will have the opportunity to work together in the future." — Steve Geiger, Product Manager : Wall Street Journal Digital Network, Dow Jones, worked with Paul at Dow Jones

 

"Paul is an excellent diplomat. He understands what he is asking of his people and of others and readily assumes his fair share of responsibility and of the work. Paul regularly interacts with the Group I belong; he never uses his title or throws his weight to get things accomplished. He is very receptive to new ideas and always keeps the options open." — Mike Dupris, Systems Administrator Consultant, Dow Jones / Marketwatch, worked with Paul at Dow Jones

 

"Paul was a great manager to work for. He's very affable and capable and I'd gladly work for him again in the future." — Steven Schmidt, Sr. Application Developer, Park Nicollet Health Services, reported to Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services "Paul is a brilliant technical manager. He builds an atmosphere of innovation and staff loyalty." — Tony Boerbon, Sr. Director, Park Nicollet Health Services, managed Paul indirectly at Park Nicollet Health Services

 

"Working for Paul was a great experience for me in my career. He took care of business yet was a personable and professional manager. Paul seemed to have a knack for managing many projects simultaneously and remembering the myriad details concerning the projects. On a personal level, he could relate to each team member and extract the best from them in a positive manner. He was willing to take time out of his extremely busy days if any of us needed his time. And lastly, I must say that his dedication to his work (and this field of work) was apparent and a bit infectious." — Nop Chayabutr, Application Developer, Park Nicollet, reported to Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services

 

"Paul was a true partner in helping me with HR promotional projects related to employee recognition programs. His can-do, solutions-oriented approach helped me achieve my objectives every time without fail." — Jody Saffert, Employee/Labor Relations Specialist, Park Nicollet Health Services, worked with Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services

 

"I worked with Paul at Park Nicollet where he was instrumental with implementing our first LMS (Learning Management System). He supported the LMS post go-live which was instrumental since there were many upgrades and solutions to be delivered. I appreciated the way Paul would be able to translate very technical information to me in way I could understand. His humor and positive spirit always made it a joy to work with him." — Jill Jurgens, Technical Learning Manager, Park Nicollet Health Services, worked with Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services

 

"Paul was great to work with. I am one of the fortunate people from a department outside of IT who had the chance to work with him on a variety of Web projects, and always felt that I was considered part of the team. I appreciate his talent and creativity. Paul was always very approachable and never hesitated to take the time answer questions and offer support and suggestions. I knew when Paul was personally involved in a Web project, it would be a success." — Maryann Esh, Sr. Coordinator, Web Production, Park Nicollet Health Services, worked with Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services

 

"Paul is an excellent person to work with on cross-functional and interdepartmental teams. While at Park Nicollet he often offered valuable development support and suggestions regarding website projects to numerous departments across the organization. He is good at managing his staff and takes the time to learn their strengths and interests in order to assign them appropriate projects. It was great working with him at Park Nicollet." — Dustin Page, Senior Web Design Specialist, Park Nicollet Health Services, worked with Paul at Park Nicollet Health Services