Aaron Colcord

About Aaron Colcord

Over twenty or more years ago, I started the professional journey around technology that had started with an 8-Bit Computer, Commodore 64. I spent a couple years in the Army where I learned I had a real skill in technology. I have always had a passion for building technology, but quickly specialized into data. You never lose your original skills in coding such as java. But data always intrigued me. I have had many amazing personal journeys in technology including more than a handful of startups balanced with the deep large enterprises. Always pushing to become the craftsman in each role. I have never relented till I was able to tap some new powerful element about technology. I have the privilege of being a part of the technology movements that changed our world such as the mobile shift. I was one of the early pioneers helping my organizations shift to the cloud technologies and one of the earliest to start bringing in new technologies like Cloud, Databricks, Trino, and more. The simple reason was to build the innovative technology that could shift the world. I didn’t want to compromise with technology when we could unlock it to find its true potential. The most impactful element of this career has been sharing, educating, and encouraging others. When I became a leader, my focus was always on making the environment that I wanted to grow in. I always put the focus towards lifting others and my pride has always been the highly functional, creative teams that resulted. I lived ‘leading by example’ and brought those strong leader practices that were forged in the US Army (101st Airborne) forward by maximizing each employee’s development, potential, and pushing their craftmanship to the finest. We live in a golden time where those skills are all colliding. The data journey now requires these skills to help us unlock the next level in intelligence.

Experience

1. Director of Data Architecture & Technology

   Thrivent

   Apr 2023 — Present

Education

• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - School of Business Administration

  Master of Science - MS, Management of Information Systems

• Austin Peay State University

  Associate of Science - AS, General Studies

• Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Information Systems Technologies, Computer Science