Doug Blackwell

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Doug Blackwell
Vice president, CIO, service delivery and operations
Burlington, Mass.

Title: Vice president, executive officer, CIO, service delivery and operations

Company: Lightbridge, Inc.

Location: Burlington, Mass.

Industry: Telecommunications services

Educational background:

B.A., Colby College, Waterville, Maine

MBA programs at Babson College, Wellesley, Mass. and Clark University, Worcester, Mass.

Executive MBA program, Columbia University, New York

Years in IT: 21 years

Experience:

1994 to present, Lightbridge, Inc.

1991-1994, vice president of operations, Thomson Financial Services, Boston

1988-1991, consultant, Nolan, Norton and Co., a strategic IT consulting division of KPMG LLP, Lexington, Mass.

1980-1988, senior information systems manager, Digital Equipment Corp., Maynard, Mass.

1978-1980, account executive, New England Telephone Co., Arlington, Mass.

Career advice: You are in charge of your own career. Do not depend on others to make a career for you. Use others extensively as sounding boards, to help open doors, for support, and feedback. Do not, however, expect them to manage your career. That’s up to you.

Best career advice you ever received: Make a plan, give yourself a timeline, and make a move to achieve your goals. In some cases that may mean taking a lateral move to another position to gain experience and to build a base for future advancement. Learn the basics before anything else. In other words, pay your dues.

Career challenge: Balancing the life of a consultant with family and home life. Being a consultant was great experience from a business standpoint, but it’s a very tough burden on the personal side.

Solution: I set a timeline that would give me the experience I needed, and then moved on to a position that involved less travel.

Last two books read: Cat & Mouse, by James Patterson; and Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, by Jon Krakauer

Family: Wife Marjorie, two children Laura (15) and Courtney (12), and Kayte the dog

Last vacation: A short 20th anniversary celebration to Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. Highly recommended!

Hobbies: Skiing, windsurfing, boating and beaching on Cape Cod, Mass.; spending time with my wife and children; active swimmer and runner

Guiding philosophy: Respect people, be honest, work hard and play hard, and try to keep an upbeat attitude even when the world is crashing around you (a system pun).