A Closer Look With…
Ed Benson — 2023 |
Austin | CIO
In your opinion, what makes Capitol Services a great place to work?
The People! Capitol Services has a great culture that promotes and cares about people and it comes across in all team interactions.
What’s something new you recently learned about yourself?
I am a “reefer”. We have had a saltwater tank for some years now, but you need to be in the hobby a long while before other reefers consider you a true “reefer” and now have made the cut.
What drains your energy really fast?
Boring speeches.
What TV show(s) have you binge watched?
Breaking Bad.
What is your role with Capitol Services?
CIO – Chief Information Officer.
What do you need more of?
Communication – I think communication can always be better, it is a challenge everywhere, so not unique here. I would say everyone has a great attitude to improve, which is great to be a part of.
What’s the best thing to happen to you this year?
Starting at Capitol has certainly been a great thing to happen in the past year. If you mean in 2024, then I would say visiting the Grand Canyon with my family – a fantastic trip.
What is your most used phrase?
Super fantastic!
What is a question you hate to ask?
Why didn’t you tell me sooner? (I don’t hate the question itself so much, but why it needs to be asked.)
What is something people do you feel is the equivalent of playing Russian roulette?
Using the same username / password for everything.
What do you need to learn to make time for?
Working out.
What trap do you keep falling victim to?
Working on something and losing track of time.
Karaoke: yes or no?
Hmm, with the right motivation…
What would be your dream car?
Can I pick flying car? If not, Lincoln Continental convertible.
If the world had an apocalypse, could you hunt for your own food?
Yes, no problem, build a shelter and all the other survivor type things.
What was something you dreaded doing that you ended up loving?
Learning Spanish. I used to struggle in grade school with Spanish and ended up being my 2nd major in college.
What aroma or smell makes you feel alive?
Fresh pine.
What are most people afraid of that doesn’t scare you?
Spiders.
What TV show really annoys you?
The Real Housewives of [pick a city].
What type of contest do you think it would be fun to judge?
BBQ…delicious.
If you had to design a playground for adults, what is one thing you’d put on it?
Ropes course, because it’s fun and great way to team build.
What do you do when you’re stuck in traffic?
Think, play the radio, sing!
Biff Jennings — 2024 |
Austin | CFO
In your opinion, what makes Capitol Services a great place to work?
The people at Capitol Services make it a great place to work. It is wonderful to come into the office and be greeted with a smile. I can tell that people genuinely like to spend time with their colleagues here.
What’s something new you recently learned about yourself?
I recently started participating in track & field for the first time in over 3 decades. I learned that I really like to challenge myself and compete. I also learned that losing a few pounds will make me go faster!
What drains your energy really fast?
University of Michigan football fans.
What TV show(s) have you binge watched?
The Bear (thanks to Jenn Woodrome for recommending it!), The Bridge, The Killing, Peaky Blinders, Slow Horses, and Masters of the Air.
What is your role with Capitol Services?
I’m the Chief Financial Officer. My role is to help the executive team manage resources, understand the drivers of profitability, and forecast our results. In addition, I communicate our financial performance to investors and lenders.
What do you need more of?
Sleep.
What’s the best thing to happen to you this year?
Joining the Capitol Services team.
What is something people do you feel is the equivalent of playing Russian roulette?
Smoking.
What do you need to learn to make time for?
See #6 above.
Karaoke: yes or no?
Yes, because I’ve Got Friends in Low Places.
What would be your dream car?
Audi R8.
If the world had an apocalypse, could you hunt for your own food?
Yes, easy for me because I tend to follow a plant-based diet.
What aroma or smell makes you feel alive?
The smell of an ocean breeze.
What type of contest do you think it would be fun to judge?
Shark Tank.
If you had to design a playground for adults, what is one thing you’d put on it?
A bouncy house.
What do you do when you’re stuck in traffic?
Listen to podcasts.
Faiz Ahmed — 2024 |
Austin | CGO
In your opinion, what makes Capitol Services a great place to work?
I’m impressed with the level of commitment we have here at Capitol. People truly care about making our clients happy. We also respect work-life balance, which is something you see less often in today’s business world.
What’s something new you recently learned about yourself?
I make really good apple pie from scratch!
What drains your energy really fast?
Negativity. I think it’s OK to bring up problems to your friends, family and colleagues…but I always ask them “OK, that’s good you’ve identified something that needs to be fixed…but let’s also hear your ideas for how to make it better.”
What TV show(s) have you binge watched?
I loved the Netflix show Dark. Watch it, it was so cool!
What is your role with Capitol Services?
I am the Chief Growth Officer at Capitol. And my job is pretty much what my title says – thinking of ways for us to grow Capitol Services. We have a wonderful history and a great story to tell. And I’m very excited for us to share it.
What do you need more of?
I have a sweet tooth, with a huge weakness for chocolate cake! I could always use more of that!
What’s the best thing to happen to you this year?
Joining Capitol in 2024 has been wonderful. But if you are asking about the last year, my son got married last summer! That was a wonderful life event.
What is your most used phrase?
I say this a lot, which can sometimes drive friends, family and colleagues crazy: “It is what it is.”
What is a question you hate to ask?
To my family “Whose turn is it to do the dishes?” (I breathe a sigh of relief when it isn’t me.)
What is something people do you feel is the equivalent of playing Russian roulette?
My kids are just starting their careers and their first jobs. Now with paychecks, I tell them to make sure they invest some of their earnings…but not in ‘fad companies’ that haven’t shown they can make a profit. Investing in those companies, I tell them, is like playing Russian roulette.
What do you need to learn to make time for?
Sleep! I’m terrible at it, as I always think “Well, there is one more thing I could do…”
What trap do you keep falling victim to?
I love to exercise in the mornings, but once I check my first email, time can fly by and next thing I know it’s 8:30a and calls are starting. Missed so many workouts this way!
Karaoke: yes or no?
Only if I’m by myself. =)
What would be your dream car?
Not so much cars, but a long time ago I used to have motorcycles and loved them. I’d love to get a Harley Davidson bike again one day.
If the world had an apocalypse, could you hunt for your own food?
Sadly, I think I’d starve.
What was something you dreaded doing that you ended up loving?
Believe it or not…the job I’m doing now. When I was a 25-year-old lawyer, I never ever thought I would get into sales. In fact, I dreaded then the idea of having to develop business to build my own practice. Well, amazing how things work out…I’ve been leading the growth efforts at companies for more than 20 years, and I just love it.
What aroma or smell makes you feel alive?
The fragrance of trees on windy, sunny, budding Spring day.
What are most people afraid of that doesn’t scare you?
Failure. I don’t love it, but I embrace the possibility of it fully. My failures have taught me much, much more than my successes.
What TV show really annoys you?
All hyper partisan news shows, on all sides of the political spectrum. They inform little, harm and hurt a lot.
What type of contest do you think it would be fun to judge?
Food tasting contest, especially if it is a pie contest!
If you had to design a playground for adults, what is one thing you’d put on it?
The same things we do for kids – and NO electronics at all. (Phones at the door.) Let’s all just get on the swings.
What do you do when you’re stuck in traffic?
I call my mom to chat. I love doing that. She’s still teaching me.
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