In the time Dre Armeda spent with Sucuri, he turned a two-person part-time hobby into a multi-million dollar, 30+ employee company. When Armeda left the company he helped found, he didn’t provide any hints as to where he was going.
Three months after leaving Sucuri, Armeda has been named the Vice President of Operations for WebDevStudios. Brad Williams, co-owner of WebDevStudios and Armeda were kind enough to answer a few questions I had regarding the hire.
Interview With Dre Armeda and Brad Williams
What does the Vice President of Operations for WebDevStudios do?
Brad Williams – The Vice President of Operations is a new role at WDS and our first Executive position outside of the original Partners. WDS has been growing quite a bit this year and we knew it was time to start expanding the leadership team. Dre brings a wealth of knowledge and a ton of experience to WDS, specifically around building a very successful distributed company. Some of the primary responsibilities for Dre include business development, improving operational efficiency, marketing, and even sales. Roles at WDS are always evolving, so I certainly expect Dre’s position to really evolve and be defined over the next few months.
In some instances, businesses can ruin friendships. How did you two factor that into the equation before making the hire? Will the fact that you’re now co-workers have an effect on your personal relationship?
Brad Williams – When we started discussing the possibility of Dre Armeda joining WDS, this was the first item we discussed. We knew from the start that we had to look at this from a business perspective and not because we are close friends. The last thing either of us would ever want would be to ruin the friendship that we have. Dre Armeda is a perfect fit for WDS, not only in the business sense, but also our company culture. We work hard, and play hard, and no one works and plays harder than Dre Armeda!
Out of all the possible places to work in the WordPress ecosystem, why did you choose WebDevStudios?
Dre Armeda – There is certainly a long relationship there with the leadership, the company, and the team. Brad Williams and I of course are the co-hosts of DradCast and have even presented on the topic of security together in years past at WordCamps. While part of Sucuri, we successfully worked with WebDevstudios in various capacities. The direction of the company, and the culture is very much inline with where I want to be, and where I want to go. Along with that connection, our long relationship, and the experience I can bring to the table, I think the decision was easy.
Do you look at this as a long-term (2-3 year) position?
Dre Armeda – One of the key points we talked about as we started looking into the possibility of working together was exactly that. We were looking for a long term situation and we’re excited about what the future brings!
What lessons or experiences did you learn with Sucuri that you’ll be able to apply to improve WebDevStudios?
Dre Armeda – The position will encompass a broad range of responsibilities and oversight ranging from organizational and business development, to talent development and strategy. I’ve had the great opportunity to work in these areas over the past five years as I helped build Sucuri into the successful organization it is today.
I am very passionate about better serving our audience by expanding global reach and I’m certainly excited about increasing overall organizational efficiency through resourcing, process improvement, and business development. I really enjoy helping implement strategies to scale organizations efficiently and ultimately the lessons I have learned from my experience at Sucuri definitely align with the forward vision at WebDevStudios!
What Was Once A Joke Has Become A Reality
Those who know Williams and Armeda have joked that the two would some day work together but it was always a joke. Now, it’s real and it will be interesting to see how it works out. Based on the interview, Armeda is committed to the company for the long-term, something that’s not easily accomplished when hiring remote workers. Does this move surprise you or did you see the writing on the wall?
Wow, huge news. Congrats to WDS and to Dre!