Article posted on August 15, 2021
Meet Mark Shobar, senior sales director at Pearl Technology, and you’ll be impressed by his energy and love for working with customers. Mark will be the first to tell you he loves working “on the front lines” with customers, solving their technology problems in new and creative ways.
Mark lives in California and serves the western U.S., which includes states from Colorado to California, and works closely with our team in Central Illinois. His primary responsibility is to provide solutions to new and existing customers. Mark believes he can do that best by collaborating with the team at Pearl Technology.
“I love working with this team,” Mark said. “They are smart and dedicated—a group of great people. The best way I can deliver value to our customers is by collaborating with our team. Pearl Technology offers a variety of technological capabilities. By combining our expertise, we can offer better solutions and a more complete package than other companies.”
Though Mark has worked with Pearl Technology for less than a year, he believes the company is positioned for extensive growth. “Pearl Tech has worked hard to earn a leadership position in Central Illinois,” he said, “and we are working to establish the same kind of recognition on a national level. I see the opportunity to extend the value that we bring to the marketplace in other regions throughout the U.S. The customers I’ve talked to are reacting very positively to our capabilities and offerings. I believe this will fuel our growth as we become a national leader in the technology marketplace.”
“I have worked for large technology service providers that are very good and respected in the industry,” Mark said. “But they often fell short because they lacked the agility needed in today’s rapidly changing technology market. I really like the fact that Pearl is privately held, well-managed, and well-positioned to offer increasing value to new customers looking for an agile, responsive partner.”
That’s a big part of what drew him to join the team at Pearl Technology. “I appreciate our company’s ‘can-do’ culture,” Mark explained. “When your mission is to help customers solve business problems with technology, it really helps when your entire team is razor focused on delivering at a high level.”
In the past, Mark has worked with large companies that served a broad range of customers. “Through those experiences, I learned some valuable lessons that I am using to introduce Pearl Technology to new customers, and I am working to help find ways to offer more value to our existing customers.”
Mark has worked in technology sales for over 30 years. “Because of my background in sales, I am always thinking about the future, learning about my customers and how new technologies can help them. I don’t think about past achievements, but more about new challenges and opportunities. Three challenge areas I’m really excited about are cybersecurity, audiovisual (AV) solutions, and edge computing, which can be addressed in our data centers. These are areas where I see broad needs in the market and where we can offer businesses superior value.”
Mark shared a story of how he solved a client’s problem. “I worked with an aerospace and defense supplier that supports critical U.S. Defense programs. This supplier needs to protect highly sensitive information about the programs they support, so cybersecurity is top of mind. We helped them prioritize their cybersecurity improvement agenda and received very positive feedback on our advisement.”
Mark is also excited about the AV solutions Pearl Tech now provides. “I am learning more about these services and solutions. My background is IT—not AV—so I have a lot to learn. What really opened my eyes is how highly technical AV can be. There is a lot of science in designing these AV solutions, and our designers are some of the best in the business.”
“I’m blessed to share my life with Catherine, my wife of 27 years, and our two children,” Mark said. “I love sports and the outdoors. Heaven for me is camping in the Sierra Mountains with my wife and kids.”
Mark really enjoys working with his colleagues. He’s invigorated by learning of an IT challenge a customer is facing, knowing Pearl Tech can help, and collaborating with professionals on the team to provide the answer… it might be rooted in his love of adventure.
“My California roots date back to the Gold Rush, when some of my gold-miner ancestors made California home. It kind of fuels my spirit for adventure to think about that history.”
Does your business need help with cybersecurity, data centers, AV, or IT solutions? Contact Mark to discuss the possibilities.
