Emerging IT Services Franchise Hires New Director of Information Technology and Learning & Development Manager
Christa Edwards, Director of Information Technology
Gina Baker Santiago, Learning & Development Manager
(CARROLLTON, TX) January 24, 2023 - NerdsToGo®, a total solution provider for computer and IT services provided by franchisees who locally own and operate locations across the US, announces Christa Edwards as the new Director of Information Technology and Gina Baker Santiago as the new Learning & Development Manager.
NerdsToGo acts as the IT department for small to medium sized businesses and individual residential customers. With the sector’s long-term growth and viability combined with the best-in-class franchising experience, Propelled Brands acquired NerdsToGo in 2020 with the goal of growing profitability for existing franchisees and dramatically increasing the number of franchisees.
Christa Edwards: 25 Year IT Veteran
Christa Edwards is a 25+ year IT veteran who began her career as a Help Desk Analyst, working on a technical path that included such roles as Network Technician and Systems Administrator. From there, she began her technical leadership and Cloud experience at Capital One, where she led the migration of the first finance portfolio of applications into AWS. She was also a member of the Change Advisory Management Board which was responsible for reviewing and approving all changes within the production Environment.
After Capital One, Edwards started her experience in building scalable Global Managed Service Practices. She has worked with SaaS providers to help build scalable engineering teams and has owned Site Reliability, Platform Engineering, and Incident/Change/Problem Management.
“The Managed Services aspect of this role is what drew me, since I’ve been focusing on that within the last five years of my career. I absolutely love managed services, customer interaction, sales and solutioning,” said Christa Edwards. “This role is a culmination of everything I have loved from past roles all combined into one exciting opportunity.”
“Christa is a highly competitive go-getter, and with her MSP experience and other process and technology experience, we knew she was the ideal candidate to join the team,” said Jim Howe, Brand President of NerdsToGo.“
Gina Baker Santiago: Former Franchise Owner & Long-Time Consultant
Gina Baker Santiago joins the NerdsToGo corporate team after running a successful NerdsToGo location in Bellevue, Washington over the past three years. She has built a strong team and created repeatable processes and many training components to improve efficiency.
Prior to that, Baker Santiago successfully ran her own consulting company where she worked with many clients such as Salvation Army, Windemere, and NerdsToGo - Bellevue. Her background in leadership, training and operations at both Disneyland and Starbucks, combined with her NerdsToGo experience, made her an ideal candidate to take on this challenging new opportunity.
“I love how NerdsToGo takes pride in being an approachable, transparent and people-focused brand that offers an elevated tech solution. Providing support to other franchisees in my network was something I focused on, meeting with owners monthly to collaborate and share,” said Santiago. “This brand has made great strides, and I’m excited to help propel its success. My favorite part of growth is building the next piece, delivering it and implementing it to make everyone’s life easier.”
“By bringing Gina onboard as the leader of our training initiatives, we will benefit greatly and can amplify her impact across the network. With her experience in a top-performing NerdsToGo location and other industry leading organizations, as well as her incredible ‘can do’ attitude, the sky is the limit for what she can provide our franchisees,” said Jim Howe.
About NerdsToGo®
NerdsToGo is a growing IT services franchise brand that provides a simple path to overcoming the pain points and complexities of technology. Friendly and approachable Nerds offer solutions for efficiency and security for small to medium-sized businesses, as well as the individual who needs help with personal computers, devices and home networks. As a Managed Services Provider for business, the Nerds can assess, design and support IT networks while providing remote support and vendor management.
To learn more, visit NerdsToGo.com. Follow the brand on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/nerdstogo/mycompany/, or Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/NerdsToGoComputerService/. For information about the NerdsToGo franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson (mark.jameson@propelledbrands).
.jpg)