Full name: Ashley Phillips
Title: Director of Engineering & Operations
Company: EATEL
Age: 37
Hometown: Gonzales
Why do you do what you do?
First and foremost, I enjoy what I do. I get to work with the latest telecommunications technology at a company committed to being a technology leader. Second, I enjoy who I work with. To be surrounded by people who share your interests, goals, and sense of humor makes work all that more rewarding. As much time that we spend in our lifetime at a job, I couldn’t imagine being around people whose company I didn’t enjoy
What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
Bringing the Internet to my hometown, Gonzales, LA, has to be my greatest professional accomplishments. In late 1994, on a flight home from Florida, I picked up a PC Magazine. I read an article which speculated that it might one day be commonplace to get onto the Internet from your home (at that time, Internet access was only available on college campuses and large technology companies -- or your could access it through Compuserve or Prodigy). I asked for and was given the opportunity to build EATEL’s Internet business from the ground up. We started with four 9600 baud modems and a 56 kilobit circuit to Houston. In the nearly fifteen years since, that business has grown to one of the first all fiber-to-the-home networks in the nation.
What was your first job?
I started as CAD operator at EATEL the day I graduated from high school, and have been at EATEL ever since.
What is the best advice you've ever received?
My father always told me to be humble.
Who do you most admire in the local business community and why?
Robert Burgess, president of EATEL. He is first and foremost a genuine, caring, honest person. He lives up to his word, and it’s easy to follow someone you trust like that. Leadership from him derives from the trust and respect he earns from you.
If you could have any job other than your own, what would it be?
I’d love to teach high school Physics, Calculus, or Computer Science.
What is the greatest personal or professional obstacle you've overcome?
Our mom died unexpectedly while my brother, my sister and I were still in our teens. It left a big void in our lives when we probably needed her the most. We managed through those difficult times as best we could and have each led the kind of life that I think would have made her proud. I know she’s smiling down on her eight (soon to be nine) grandchildren.
What is your prescription for life?
Play by the rules.
What book are you currently reading?
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be? (Authors? Leaders?)
Glenn Dorsey, Phil Mickelson and Governor Bobby Jindal
Who would play you in a movie?
Peyton Manning.
What do you do to unwind?
Play piano - either classical pieces or some New Orleans jazz.
What is the most expensive purchase you've made for yourself?
I splurged on fully loaded new computer last year. 24” flat screen monitor, 1 Terabyte of disk space, killer sound system, the works.
What is your favorite weekend activity?
Golf
What's your favorite spot in Baton Rouge?
I enjoy being around the LSU campus. Either tailgating all day Saturday on game days, or running around the lakes.
How do you take your coffee/tea?
Never did like the taste of coffee. I take my caffeine cold – Diet Coke.
What is your favorite movie? TV show? Band?
TV shows: Family Guy, The Office, Big Bang Theory, Band/Artists: Harry Connick, Jr., Norah Jones
What is your favorite gadget?
Wii
What is something that you can't live without?
Could you imagine life with a remote control to your TV? I can’t.
If you could change one thing about Baton Rouge, what would it be?
Traffic
What is your greatest hope for Baton Rouge?
The success of Bobby Jindal for Louisiana
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