Harry Folloder's first executive experience came while he was still in high school, when he started a network security consulting business that he later sold. Since then, the 35-year-old Folloder has worked in a number of tech and leadership positions, including one at his family's food services solutions business and another as president of his own company, Folloder Foodservice.
He became lead technologist with Advantage Waypoint when his company and several others merged in 2012; his position was elevated to the CIO title in November 2014.
Folloder says the entrepreneurial spark serves him well. "Technology is supposed to deliver everything," he says, explaining that he still seeks out opportunities where he and his IT team can bring new products online that fulfill unmet needs — just as any successful entrepreneur does.
He points to Waypoint's new Tradewize mobile app, launched last year, as an example.
Folloder says he heard a salesperson complain that he had lost a deal because he wasn't aware the contract was expiring. "I had this aha moment that technology could solve this," he says.
In response, his team created the Tradewize app, which automates the renewal process, requiring salespeople to take some action when an alert sounds. Folloder credits the app with speeding up the sales process and thus helping to better serve the company's customers.