Colleague Spotlight: Vicky Bruns

Meet Vicky Bruns, Manager of our ConnectWise Marketplace and Vendor Specialist teams. Vicky was recently nominated as a 2022 CRN Channel Chief for her valuable contributions to our company and the IT industry. It has been my pleasure as her manager to work with Vicky and watch her grow, support her colleagues, and make a true difference at ConnectWise. I asked Vicky to tell me a little bit about her journey and successes at ConnectWise and what working here means for her.   

Getting started at ConnectWise 

What did you do before joining ConnectWise?   
  
I moved to Tampa in my mid-20s to go through The University of Tampa’s business graduate program. Moving to Tampa Bay from a small college town was a breath of fresh air. Having access to beaches, some of the best sports teams around, museums, and a vibrant community seemed like a dream come true. After receiving my MBA and Master’s in marketing, I became a business banker. There I met my husband then came to ConnectWise at 30 years old. A friend of mine and ConnectWise colleague referred me here, and I haven't looked back since!   

Being a ConnectWise colleague 

What different roles have you had with the company?   
  
I officially started my tech career at ConnectWise as a business development manager. It was initially challenging to get into the mindset of generating so much activity per day, but I was surrounded by like-minded peers who were driven to succeed and helped give me the support and feedback that I needed to do well in the role and eventually grow into my next position on the Ecosystem team.   
  
After three years of business development, I transferred to what was previously called our Vendor Alliances team, which our CEO, Jason Magee, created when he first came to ConnectWise. That department is now known as the Ecosystem team. I started as a vendor manager, working with vendors that we resell and helping our colleagues to position and support those vendor offerings that focused on business efficiency and compliance as well as network and security management. I've now been with our team for four and a half years and am managing our eCommerce marketplace and vendor specialist teams. Our department continues to grow, and it's been such a pleasure to work with our partners, vendors, and colleagues, in this capacity.    

I’m also co-host of our live monthly broadcast called Colleague Connect, which reaches our employees, now 2,600+ strong. I get the opportunity to interview ConnectWise leaders about key initiatives happening in our organization and beyond as well as present examples of how our guiding principles and core values are exemplified by our colleagues.    
  
What do you enjoy about working at ConnectWise?   
  
The camaraderie is palpable here, even while working in a fully virtual or hybrid environment. We're invested in the partner experience and are constantly striving to find ways to make it better throughout all levels of our organization. That's something that I'm extremely proud of.  

We also have great leadership programs (core leaders and LEAD) that help colleagues hone their skills and become the best servant leaders possible for other colleagues, partners, and our organization.   

What’s something about your job that makes you feel accomplished?   

Helping our partners to quickly find answers related to our third-party vendors who participate in our Invent integration program and are resold through ConnectWise. Our Ecosystem team is here to support them any way that we can. When we’re able to solve a burning issue for a partner, it makes our day!   

What’s something that you want people to know about ConnectWise?  

ConnectWise is a place where you can build your career. There are colleagues who have been here much longer than I have. We presented a slide on our April broadcast of Colleague Connect that listed the names of 45 colleagues who recently celebrated 15 years at ConnectWise—15 YEARS! That’s amazing, right?   

What’s a big win that you’re proud of?   

I was pleasantly surprised when ConnectWise nominated me as a 2022 CRN Channel Chief along with four other impressive leaders at our organization. I had a moment of imposter syndrome. Why was I being nominated? Was I good enough to receive this award? I’ve learned that when imposter syndrome strikes, you need to get out of your own way so that you can take ownership of your successes. Celebrate the wins when you can.   

And now for some fun!  

If you can have any superpower for 24 hours, what would it be and why?   

I’d love to be Aquaman for a day. I live near the ocean in St. Petersburg, Florida—think about how much trash could be collected from the ocean in 24 hours by a superhero who can breathe underwater and swim very fast! It would also be cool to swim with a pod of dolphins.    

What’s your go-to karaoke song?   

“Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain. I was a 90s kid from a small town—Shania Twain and Reba McEntire CDs were constantly on repeat in my house growing up.   

What’s one bucket list item you’re looking forward to?   

I want to go back to Iceland and see the northern lights with my son, Logan, and husband, Edin. I went in early 2020 before the pandemic and missed it as the weather wasn’t ideal. The nighttime sky should be dark and clear to see this phenomenon (going during the New Moon phase is ideal). Iceland is quite a magical place. There’s no other place on Earth that I can compare it to.