Employee Spotlight: Rasheed Mustakeem, Director of Implementation Services

Name: Rasheed Mustakeem

Title: Director, Implementation Services

QTS location: SUW

Years with QTS: 7+ years

What is your favorite part of working for QTS?

The people! I have made so many dear friends at QTS, and the friendships we forge here are unlike anywhere I’ve ever worked. That, to me, is the QTS “secret sauce” and source of our competitive advantage – the ability to collaborate and crowdsource creative solutions to complicated problems. The hallmark of Implementation has always been creating a Great First Impression, and working to accomplish that in cooperation with the industry’s finest data center professionals in TechOps continues to be the joy of my career.

What is a day in the life of your position like?

My day is usually spent making work better for QTSers, whether through improved processes, enhanced automation or increased communications. Partnering with other lines of business like Sales/Sales Operations, Finance/AR/Billing, Product Development/BSS, Marketing, Legal, etc. is paramount in my role, both to ensure a superior customer experience and accelerate revenue recognition for QTS responsibly, so much of my focus is on nurturing those relationships. My job today is more strategic than ever, so I spend considerable time working to streamline customer implementations – from booking to billing and every touchpoint in between. Under Adam Garrett’s leadership, Implementation Project Managers and Engineers continue to raise the bar for customer excellence, and I cherish the opportunity to support their consistent hard work by removing roadblocks and contributing to QTS’ overall digitization efforts.

What passions do you have within your position and QTS?

Over the last year-and-a-half we have begun to expand our capabilities within Implementation to assume a more prominent role managing internal projects, including IT infrastructure and new site builds, via Technology Engineering Programs (TEP). Under Chuma Obi’s leadership, TEP has assembled a highly-tenured team to provide program oversight for DCIM, Corp Network, Customer SDZ, Wifi, Telephony, A/V and other critical infrastructure through project management rigor and adherence to documented best practices. This new group has already enjoyed several early wins and is poised to accept increased PM responsibility as QTS grows and scales.

Tell me about how you are leading within QTS related to Diversity and Inclusion.

On behalf of many who have given countless hours to this initiative, we are proud to introduce Community in Action (CIA)! The spirit of CIA is rooted in the QTS Values of community, servant leadership and a bias towards action, and CIA's purpose is to enrich the employee experience for All QTSers by continuing to foster a diverse culture that encourages us to bring our entire selves to work. Whether it’s mentoring rising QTSers or strategizing with dedicated colleagues to position Community in Action for growth, much of my time is devoted to building a strong foundation for CIA in pursuit of our collective success.

What goals do you have for the future of the Diversity and Inclusion group, Community in Action (CIA)?

Through engagement, mentorship and service to our communities, CIA aims to amplify our employees' voices with teamwork and that undeniable QTS spirit of togetherness! In partnership with Women Inspiring Leadership (WIL), CIA will support professional development and other innovative programming of benefit to all employees, and sponsor events to raise awareness and collaboration around D&I. Our goal with CIA is to continue to make QTS the best place to work and ensure a diverse, inclusive workforce at all levels of the company. When individuals feel respected and included they are more creative, fulfilled and ultimately successful in their lives and careers, and my aim is bring talented QTSers together to have productive dialogues, support one another genuinely and find true meaning in our work. Please join the Slack discussion at #qts_community_in_action and contact us with any questions or suggestions.

What does a perfect summer day outside of work look like for you?

Taking a long walk, lounging by the pool, enjoying a good meal and ending the day binge-watching a good series or live sports on TV! Go Hawks #BelieveAtlanta, Braves #TrueToTheA and Falcons #RiseUp!