Meet Aaron Phillips, VP of Sales/Marketing

Aaron Phillips is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at FastServers.Net. Known simply as "AP," his days begin at 5AM sharp. Each day starts with five to six cups of coffee. "Ingesting several cups of coffee is a great way for me to get my caffeine fix." Prior to FastServers.Net, Aaron was an operations manager for a local ISP. He also trained students on Microsoft products as a Microsoft Certified Instructor. "Now I spend my days leading our team of Sales Engineers. And I am constantly working to develop new training programs, marketing campaigns, and promotional materials. Part of my daily routine includes getting our website ranked high in the search engines for just about any keyword we choose." He has been extraordinarily successful at achieving high rankings in Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

Aaron regularly attends the Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago and Toronto. "I enjoy learning all the latest techniques and concepts behind search engine technology. Just as I do with our own line of products such as the Dell PowerEdge dedicated server, I spend as much time as I can learning every facet of the technology behind search engines." When Aaron's not working on the FastServers.Net optimization related features, you can find him diligently working on plans for the next HostingCon event. "As a member of both the Hosting Con Advisory Board and the Advisory Board, I intend on helping to build the most successful HostingCon event to date. HostingCon 2007 will be the best."

Playing golf, camping, and hanging out with friends has become a significant part of Aaron's free time outside of the office. "Golf is something I just started playing. I may be new to the game, but it won't be long before I'm playing competitively, at least with friends." He said he plans on playing golf at least one time a week with Terrance Bush starting this summer. "Terrance has a country club membership so we don't have an excuse not to go." Aaron told us Terrance belongs to the La Porte City Golf Club and has only nine holes. "Yes, that's right, only nine holes. But for a town of 2,500 people, 4 horses, 8 dogs, 1 grocery store, and 12 chickens, this is a pretty big deal. You can probably count on Terrance making my family attend Good Ole LaPorte Days this summer!"

Aaron recently returned to camping and fishing after a long hiatus. "My son Grant and I had our first camping trip this year at Backbone State Park located here in Iowa. We braved the weather, raccoons, building of fires, and attempted to make some popcorn over an open fire." He told us the end result of the trip was 24 hours of wet clothes, a very small fire, and burnt popcorn seeds. Aaron and his son have plans to return to the camp site this year with new skills. "I like Backbone State Park because it has caves, trout fishing, lakes, and it's where I camped as a child. We will return this year with a new set of camping skills. It should be a lot of fun for the family."

One of Aaron's favorite television shows is the HBO series Entourage. "I started watching the show the first season and haven't stopped." His favorite character on the show, Drama, reminds him of a prior friend and looks like Matt Dillon. He has yet to figure out why Drama looks like Matt Dillon. How long will it take Aaron to figure out that Drama is played by Kevin Dillon? Could Kevin be Matt's brother? "The show is great except the wait time between seasons. Just as I start to get into the show, it ends, and doesn't start again for another 3-6 months later!" Aaron said he has tried many times to quit watching the show, but as each new season starts, it draws him back in for another round.

An avid video game player, Aaron enjoys playing on his favorite console, PlayStation 2. "When I am playing a game I become distant and lose myself in the game. My wife and son cheer me on as I sit down for hours and play until I have mastered each level." Aaron told us that he started out playing Shadow of Rome and beat it after two months. "Since Shadow of Rome is story based, like most of the games I now play, my family enjoys watching every move I make during game play. Whenever I have free time, they beg me to play! I guess that's the call of duty as a father." After Shadow of Rome, Aaron played Price of Persia, Devil May Cry, and finally his favorite, God of War. "Gaming has become a family event. They force me to play. Sometimes I have to play for at least five hours straight before they have had enough." Keep on playing Aaron, we support you.

If you take a peek at Aaron's iPod, you will see a list of many genres of music. "I am a regular fan of hip-hop and country music. My all time favorite group has to be Run DMC." He said he grew up listening and owning all of Run DMC's music and continues to listen to it to this day. We questioned Aaron on how he can go from listening to hip-hop to country. "For many years I opposed the country music movement. I often laughed at how people listened and enjoyed it. But over the last couple of years, a secret country listening cult got a hold of me and now I can't stop listening to it." His iPod has songs from Kenny Chessney, Alan Jackson, and Toby Keith. And of course, one of perhaps a lot of people's favorites, Jimmy Buffet.

A couple of times a year, Aaron and a group of his friends get together and play poker. "We play a lot of variations of poker including 3-5-7 (one of my favorites), Beuford (Kings and Little Men), Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple, Chicago, Omaha Hi/Lo, and of course, Texas Hold'em." Although his original fascination with Texas Hold'em is what got him started, Aaron said it's the variations of poker that keep it challenging. "For example, in Crazy Pineapple you get three cards instead of two cards and after the "flop" you get to discard one. 3-5-7 is another game I really enjoy as it takes both skill and nerves of steel."

Aaron told us about a vacation he once took to China after receiving an offer in his mailbox. "About seven years ago I opened my mailbox and got a flyer claiming I could go to China for under $1,000 per person. After reading the junk mail I showed it to my wife and jokingly asked her if she wanted to go. She immediately said yes. Two hours later I had the tickets secured. We were all set for a March trip to Beijing, China for ten days of oriental fun." He told us the trip was an outstanding experience. "I saw the Great Wall, ate a lot of Chinese food, and spent a day in a township which included meeting leaders, touring schools, and roaming through the suburbs." Aaron said besides the temperature being ten degrees or lower during his trip, he had a good time. "Who says direct mail doesn't work!"

The aforementioned Terrance Bush is one of Aaron's best friends. "Prior to FastServers.Net, he was my boss and then we became good friends. We have been friends for almost ten years." He said outside of the office, they hang out, often playing golf, cards, eating, and participating in family events. "His family has become part of our family. Whenever Terrance stays in town over the Holidays, you can find him at my house deep frying turkeys and spending time with our extended family." Aaron said his family questions him relentlessly if Terrance doesn't show up for a family event. "I have to respond stating that he left town to spend the Holidays with his real family."

We asked Aaron what he likes most about working at FastServers.Net. "The thing that I love most about FastServers.Net is the overall passion and commitment from everyone that works here. Our management team has had great success at picking a winning team that is hard working and cares about what they do." Aaron said the company is a purpose driven environment and the people that make up FastServers.Net know that what they do has meaning in the world.