For the past year we have been talking to Mike Reyher about joining the team at Architel. We are pleased to announce that Mike joined the team on Monday and will serve as Vice President of Operations.
Mike started his career while still in school at Kansas State University selling and repairing computers for local shops. He also founded K-State’s first computer user group. His first job in the real world was selling phone systems on the streets of Dallas, TX. But he was soon drawn back to the computer business, taking a job with Soft Warehouse and bringing hardware products and computer assembly to their mix. He ended up building a nation-wide service organization as Soft Warehouse grew into CompUSA. During his eight years with CompUSA, Mike served as Vice-President of Product and Technology, instigating and managing CompUSA’s relationships with major brands such as Dell, Apple, Compaq, and Seagate and collaborating with the leadership of these companies to develop their large-format retail strategies and implement them first at CompUSA. Mike also developed and managed CompUSA’s private brand, Compudyne, and it’s unique build-to-order logistics and overseas relationships.

1n 1995, after helping drive CompUSA from a nine-person shop to a 9,000-employee, billion-dollar category killer, it was time for the next thing. The Internet. After leaving CompUSA, Mike became a partner in WorkFlow Designs, a consulting and training company specialized in developing knowledge management and collaborative business applications on the Lotus Notes platform. Mike guided WorkFlow’s experience and capabilities to the larger emerging audience on the Internet, helping companies like Nortel, McKinsey and Company, Anderson Consulting, Texas Instruments, and others build communities of customers, partners and suppliers. In five years, WorkFlow Designs grew to prominence within the IBM/Lotus business partner community through its advanced solutions and training. WorkFlow was acquired by IBM’s largest nation-wide business partner in 2000.

After the acquisition, a former client and Broadcast.com executive asked Mike to co-found Stick Networks. He served as its Vice President of Product Development. Stick Networks developed a next-generation wireless device platform for 2.5G networks and carriers to deliver a compelling, flash-based experience supporting voice, email, chat, and browsing, pioneering and patenting several key aspects of future wireless networks and experiences.

Following Stick Networks in 2002, Mike was named Vice President and CIO of DataStarUSA (another former WorkFlow Designs client) developing and implementing its e-business strategy to become the nation’s largest and most capable technology infrastructure deployment network.