Hal began working at TekLinks in 2005 and has worked tirelessly to become our most highly certified engineer at the company. His engineering focus is environment assessments and analyses. Basically, you can think of Hal as the perfect combination of tech aficionado and business consultant. He loves to fix aging or broken environments by finding out what is keeping them from running as efficiently as they could. He and his team primarily work with our larger enterprise clients to identify points of failure, manage complex projects, and/or recommend next steps. While working closely with the client and their account manager, Hal and his team leverage all of TekLinks’ product lines to provide the best solution possible. At times, Hal even screens applicants for networking engineer positions that his clients have available.

Hal's many certifications include:

- 2 CCIEs
- EMC Cloud Certified Cloud Architect Expert
- VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
- ITIL
- CISSP
- Various other EMC certs

Education: Samford University, Georgia Tech, and Regis University (Denver, CO); Masters of Science and Computer Information Technology from Regis; MBA with a Focus on Management of Technology (Georgia Tech)

Hal Channeling the Dark Side of his Jedi Powers

Prior Work Experience: After receiving his undergraduate degree, Hal worked for BlueCross BlueShield for several years and moved to Colorado, where he served as a systems consultant in the IT department. While there, his various activities included working on rollouts for replacing computer green screens, managing the web infrastructure, and even building out the first BCBS webpage. He also worked for Flair Data Systems in Colorado as an IT consultant, conducting analyses and assessments for their clients as well as implementing large networks.

Now back in Birmingham, Hal doesn’t foresee moving out West again any time soon. “Our customers are great, I love working in Birmingham, and the work is good because it’s fun (for the most part) and challenging,” he says. “We have a good relationship with many of clients based on mutual trust and past successes.”

He and his lovely wife Rebecca live in the Hollywood area with their daughter Abigail (5 years) and son Samuel (7 years).

Fun Fact: Hal served as an Expert Witness in the ACLU v. AL Department of Corrections 2013 case. Hal testified (on behalf of ADOC) as to the cost, difficulties, and implementation of video conferencing solutions throughout the prison facilities for telemedicine purposes. Hal spent several weeks touring the maximum security facilities to evaluate the costs/challenges involved in such a large undertaking, underwent a nine-hour deposition with the ACLU, and spent days testifying in court.

Favorite Book: It’s tough to say: I read a few books a month. I really enjoyed Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis, and I highly recommend A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Favorite NFL Team: Denver Broncos (Sorry about that, Hal.)

One Person in History You’d Like to Meet: My grandfather. He was a farmer and builder from Texas.