Gainesville, FL (April, 2011): For three years, Thad Bydlon (MS ISE 1978) put his OR education to work with AT&T Bell Labs. “I was using hard-core OR technologies,” explained Bydlon, but “education was framing (me) to be a critical thinker.” He put this to use, broadening his career with a move into finance with ARCO Oil & Gas — a company he stayed with for 19 years, including significant time in Russia and Venezuela. When the firm merged with BP, he knew it was time to move on, catching on with smaller firms Telecomputing, Volo Communications, F4W, and now, TEAM International, all as CFO. Bydlon and TEAM International CEO Matt Moore addressed students in the Sales Engineering Seminar about career paths, choices and sales. TEAM International provides firms with IT solutions. Bydlon and Moore met when TEAM was providing services for F4W. They have also joined in the venture Bridge Capital which provides funding for start-up firms. “Bridge is our opportunity to pay it back,” said Moore, noting that firms need three things: people, facilities and cash, and the third is generally the hardest to acquire.