November 13th, 2009
McCoy's Strong named tech exec of year

STAFF REPORT

The Austin Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) recognized McCoy’s Building Supply Senior Vice President and CIO Dennis Strong as its 2009 Information Technology (IT) Executive of the Year.

AITP made the announcement last month at the InnoTech sixth Annual Austin CIO Summit.

AITP selects senior information technology executives in the Austin area based on their creativity, innovation, leadership and the impact their work has made on their organizations.

“This award is an important aspect of giving back to the technology community in Austin,” said Scott Foster, President of the AITP Austin Chapter. “The winners showcase four examples of incredible work being accomplished in Austin.”

Founded in 1927, the San Marcos-based McCoy’s has evolved from a small, one-store operation in Galveston into an expansive regional building supply retailer with stores located throughout five states and annual sales in excess of $600 million. With their headquarters operations moved to a new location in July, Strong and his team had to design, build, and move the company’s data center, which houses all of McCoy’s point of sale, website, financial and communications data. The transition was successfully made without any service interruption to McCoy’s 83 store locations.

“It’s gratifying to be recognized by AITP,” Strong said. “This is really a testament to what McCoy’s is able to accomplish as a company. We have a great corporate culture, and my team works hard to deliver technology solutions both internally and to our ‘born to build’ customers.”

McCoy’s rolled out a variety of new services on its website, mccoys.com, during 2009. Customers can view product availability at their local stores and create materials lists for their building projects —customized quotes with 24/7 access to personalized pricing. For even faster service, customers can e-mail their quotes to their local store teams, where those quotes wait in McCoy’s point of sale system, ready to complete their transactions at the time of purchase.

Strong was awarded the IT Executive of the Year for the private sector. Other award recipients included: Eric Hungate, CIO for the Texas Association of School Boards, for his work in the public and nonprofit sector; Joshua Baer, founder and CEO of OtherInBox, for his work as an Information Technologist; and William Hurley of whurleyvision, inc. for his community leadership.