Staff Profile – Fernando Arriola, I.T. Manager

How long have you been at Young Centre and tell us a little bit about what you do.

I started 3 years ago. My first day was during the cabaret festival weekend, so it was a crazy day to start.  That day I met with my predecessor and I had a brief tour of the building and how the IT department was configured. From that day, I started working to bring our entire technology infrastructure up to date.

My work is basically providing technology tools to all my co-workers to make their daily tasks as fast as possible. These tools include the computers, the internet service, email and more.  Additional to all these, I look after our business engine called Tessitura.  Tessitura is the software that provides the platform to all our patron related services, including ticket sales and donations. With all the information generated in Tessitura, my job is also to provide hosting and web access from our customers to our websites. We currently have 3 main websites to accommodate the needs for Soulpepper and Young Centre patrons.

What has your job consisted of lately?

Recently we had the migration of our email server to Exchange 2013. This new configuration is helping users on their daily work by providing new tools to set meetings and reserving resources.  It also improves the web interface access, that now gives more storage and calendar options for users that connect remotely.

Simultaneously we implemented Endpoint protection as our malware protection software. This new software is very important to the IT department because we now have an improved console to monitor and resolve security issues such as a virus or spyware threat.

When you’re not at work, what are you doing? 

I like being outdoors, and my main interest is biking. Unfortunately I can’t ride my bike to work because I don’t live close enough but every weekend or summer afternoon I like to go for a ride on any trail. I prefer an off road trail inside the woods, but any waterfront trail is always appreciated.

Just recently I got my sailing license, so this is a new activity that I’m trying to master. I try to sail at least once a week, if the weather is good enough.  The weather is a major factor for sailing, too much wind, no wind, or thunderstorms could cancel my sail. I have a great time when I’m sailing. It’s very relaxing and takes my mind away from everything else, since I have to be very focused on what I’m doing at work. Regattas are the most exciting events on sailing, not only because you put to the test all your skills but because there will be a lot of traffic around you, so even right of way rules come into place. And above all, there are some great views from the lake that makes it a bit more special.

What do you love about being a part of the staff at Soulpepper?

It’s great to be part of this creative group of people. Everyone is always trying to excel on their area and that makes Soulpepper/Young Centre the great place it is. Being surrounded by all this art and culture brings the best of everyone and pushes the team to strive for higher goals.  Above all this, what I like the most of being a part of this organization is how we all affect thousands of people in a positive way each year by bringing entertainment to our community.