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Sacramento IT Director Advocates For The Power Of Sweat Equity

Being able to foresee a need in a particular area and applying oneself to obtaining the education to fill that need is an invaluable tool that would behoove many young men and women today. It's a skill that Joe Trusty used early on in his career to set himself up for becoming one of the best directors of internet technology in the country (currently ranked TOP 24 according to LinkedIn.) Currently working as IT director for Premier Pools and Spas, one of the nation's largest swimming pool contractors, Trusty spearheaded and successfully revamped the face of their company's website that resulted in an increase in online traffic by leaps and bounds. Trusty's day-to-day includes maintaining and actively improving all online properties owned by Premier Pools and Spas.

SAC-Tech
(Photo Courtesy of Joe Trusty)

What does your job entail?

"My position at Premier Pools and Spas as IT Director has several overlapping areas of responsibility that also relate to marketing. My chief responsibility is managing all online web properties (websites, domains, advertising), web servers, email systems, internal CRM and repository and providing data analysis and reporting for the CEO and Executives.

During my first year here, I was responsible for a complete overhaul of the public facing website. Their old website lacked lead conversion opportunities, detailed integration with analytics, call tracking and reporting. I oversaw a top down initiative to completely redesign the website with an emphasis to let our products really shine. Creating huge expansive photo galleries of our pools that fill the entire page, along with multiple conversion opportunities on every page - saw an increase of 60% in traffic this year and 130% increase in conversion."

What parts of your job do you enjoy most?

"I love creating solutions to real-world business problems. Having a bird's eye view at so much data on the back-end gives me the distinct advantage of being able to custom tailor solutions for my company based on sound business logic and less guess-work. I love that I get to bring Silicon Valley level tech to the pool industry, and that in effect, we're upping the bar for the rest of the country."

What was your education history like?

"I'm probably one of the few IT Directors working for a multi-million dollar company without a computer science degree. I'm a graduate of Baruch College in New York City with a bachelor's in business."

Has your education helped in your profession?

"I believe it gave me the tools I needed to self-educate, and that self-education is a lifelong process. In order to stay relevant and be dominant in your field, you need to be constantly focused on where your industry is going as a whole and ready to see the next curve in the road."

Any advice for someone seeking a similar career?

"Immerse yourself and don't be afraid to take risks, especially when you are just getting started. Sweat equity is a word that newcomers shouldn't be afraid of."

Paulo Acoba is a California native raised in the Bay Area and living in the Central Valley. He enjoys distance running, cycling and grassroots motorsports. He holds a degree in management from the University of California Merced. Paulo has been writing for Examiner.com since 2012 and covering the Fresno area.

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