Q&A with Jay Martin

By Jim Stafford

Published: September 16, 2007

Jay Martin's journey to Oklahoma City as site director for the Dell Inc. campus here began not at Dell's Round Rock, Texas, headquarters but in a dairy barn near the Canadian border in upstate New York.

Martin grew up on a dairy farm where he had to pitch in on the milking chores twice a day throughout his teenage years.

"What I find interesting in talking to people, they usually have a preconceived notion of what my background probably is, and when I tell people that I grew upon a farm and was knee deep in dirt and hay all day, that is usually pretty surprising for them,” Martin said. "It's a little bit of a different path, but I firmly believe that having that experience — I started working in the barn when I was 12 and got done when I was 17 and at 18 left for college — it sets you up for success later on and puts a work ethic in place and shows you what a real hard job is.

"Every job I've had since then has been easy.”

Since Martin, 36, left the farm, his path to Oklahoma City included stops at Georgetown University, where he earned his undergraduate degree, and Duke University's business college for a graduate degree. Then it was on to a career with Dell that has taken him from Texas to El Salvador to Oklahoma City.

Martin was named site leader for the fast-growing Oklahoma City campus in January. He recently discussed life on the farm and at Dell with The Oklahoman. Here are excerpts of that conversation:

Q: How did a boy who grew up on a farm with all the chores end up at Georgetown and then Duke University?

A: I had the opportunity when I was about 11 to spend a year in France. My family had emigrated from France in the '50s, so I had the opportunity to go live with my family in France and learn the language, etc. That really opened my eyes, I think, to what was possible out there in the world. I ended up as an undergrad at Georgetown University. From there doors kept opening, and I stepped through to see what was on the other side.

Q: Were you a computer nerd growing up?

A: I don't know if I was a computer nerd; my wife would say that I was a nerd in general. I had an Apple IIe growing up with the dual disc drives. It was something I got away from until I was 26, 27, and really didn't go back to it. But I would say that I'm definitely a technology junkie. My wife says I have the perfect job because I get good discounts on products.

Q: You interned at Dell in 1997 then came to the company full time in 1998 and have moved around quite a bit, working in areas such as finance, corporate sales, mergers and acquisitions and on to El Salvador to start a sales center there. How did Dell fit your plans after earning your graduate degree?

A: For me it was a good choice coming out of business school because I was looking for an organization that I could have multifunctional experiences in without having to change companies. I could go to marketing, sales, finance, operations, and mergers and acquisitions.

Q: What was El Salvador like as a country to live and work?

A: It was a fantastic experience. My son was 3 when we went there. So he went to prekindergarten and kindergarten in El Salvador, and he was the only English-speaking student in the class. He learned Spanish, and we have a lady who comes in a couple times a week to keep talking to him. Now he's learning to read in Spanish. If nothing else, it has given him that language skill early on. That's fantastic. We got to travel all through Honduras. If there are Mayan ruins in Honduras, we saw them. Any two rocks that had fallen apart, we were there and got a picture of it. We traveled all through Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Q: How does the Oklahoma City campus fit into Dell's business structure?

A: (Dell) Oklahoma City is an exciting place, especially when you think of its history and the very short time it's been here. It was started three years ago and was envisioned to be 250 seats of overflow capacity, essentially. What it has come to be over the last three years is pretty exciting, because it has moved from something that is very tactical to something that is extremely strategic to the company. The fact is that we now have four support operations here. If Oklahoma City were not to be here Dell would have a hard time operating each day.

Q: What's your biggest challenge as site leader?

A: Continuing to manage the growth. I've only been here six months, seven months, and just during that time we have grown almost 25 percent just from a people standpoint. Just managing that growth every day, making sure that we have the right facilities, down to the food we serve in the cafeteria. But from a higher level, making sure we are going out and attracting the right talent and making sure that people know that we have tremendous opportunities. It's a daily fight.

Q: What are your interests away from the Dell campus?

A: Right now my hobby is renovating my house. We bought a house in Nichols Hills that was built in 1937, so we've been demolishing and refinishing the whole first floor. My wife bought it, and she has a great eye for style and layout. Unfortunately, I get stuck with most of the work. That's really taken up a lot of time right now. I've become a good plumber and plasterer and stuff like that.

Q: So what's the coolest Dell technology you have in your home?

A: I think the coolest thing I have is a Dell plasma TV connected to a Dell media center PC so I can record television shows and stream them wirelessly either to my computer or my television. I have everything I need right there. That's the neatest thing. My wife probably wouldn't agree; she thinks it's the most annoying thing.

Q: What magazine would you pick up first: Sports Illustrated or PC Magazine?

A: I would probably pick up Sports Illustrated first, especially if there is an article on the (Dallas) Cowboys or (Georgetown) Hoyas.

Q: How did a boy from upstate New York become a Dallas Cowboys fan?

A: My mom was from Athens, Texas, down near Tyler. She met my dad at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls and they moved to New York when his hitch got done. I've got a picture of me when I'm about a year and a half old with a T-shirt on that one of my uncles from down there sent me. It was a little Roger Staubach T-shirt. From Roger Staubach through Danny White on up I've been a Cowboys fan ever since I can remember. I'm taking my son down to see the Cowboys and the Packers in November. It will be his first time in Texas Stadium. I said it will be kind of a religious experience.

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