A Priceless Experience

Having earned a degree in mechanical engineering, Tim has been a man on the move ever since graduation, visiting 74 countries and 49 states in his 46 years of life. Along the way, he’s built a prestigious career in software technology, forged from a collegiate experience that might not have been possible for him without the scholarship support he received.

Hailing from Alcester, South Dakota, Tim grew up on a small dairy farm, throwing himself into every opportunity available at his high school: athletics, academics, FFA, 4H, and serving as a Boys’ State governor. He excelled in programming classes, fostering a love for all things computer science and engineering. A first-generation college student, Tim set out for South Dakota State, enrolling in as many math, computer, and engineering classes as he could pack into his schedule, in addition to a full roster of extracurriculars. 

“SDSU was going to be a place where I could continue to learn and refine my leadership skills, which I knew would be important to me from an early age,” Tim recalls.

A turning point occurred when he accepted a student internship with IBM in Rochester, Minnesota, for course credit, putting the rest of his semester on pause. During his internship, Tim became acquainted with Kevin Moe '88, and Tim’s bright ambition and unwavering tenacity caught Kevin’s eye. Tim would later be awarded a scholarship from Kevin, allowing him the financial flexibility to fully focus on academics. 

Following graduation, Tim maintained a position at IBM for the next 18 years, gaining experience in a number of executive leadership roles. Next, he served as the CTO and Head of Technology for Thomson Reuters Tax and Accounting Division until 2018, when he pivoted to Executive Vice President and CTO of the NCR Corporation for four years, specializing in financial and consumer transaction technologies and fraud monitoring. Today, Tim spends much of his time abroad in the United Kingdom, where he works as COO for a startup recently purchased by Visa called Featurespace. Despite his frequent travels for work, Tim calls Atlanta, Georgia, home, where he lives with his partner, Marci, and his son, Witt. Even with a jam-packed schedule, he still factors in trips back to South Dakota for visits to the family farm and his alma mater. 

At the heart of Tim’s career path is a fervent desire to make life convenient for customers through intuitive and innovative technology. “As I grew in my leadership, I became a big fan of a massively transformative purpose and answering the question, what motivates you? What drives you?” Tim explains. “For me, that’s building technology used in everyday life.” 

Tim attributes his success to his family and countless mentors throughout the course of his life, all of whom pointed him in the direction of the career that suited him best and positioned him to shine. With the funding of his scholarship endowments through gifts of appreciated stock, he aims to do the same for Jackrabbit students. In Tim’s eyes, a career starts long before graduation, and there’s no substitute for real-life experiences when it comes to following a passion.