The Anniversary Spotlight highlights an employee celebrating a significant work anniversary at UPMC every month.
For Chris Myers, it’s all about location. After celebrating 14 years at UPMC in December 2021, a simple walk down memory lane takes him to several different stops along the way.
When I first started in 2007 as a lead programmer, we worked over at the Westinghouse campus over in Churchill,” Myers said. “Then we were moved to the North Shore, and I was over there for a while. Then it was the U.S. Steel Tower.”
After several location changes in three years, Myers finally found himself at the UPMC Technology Development Center in Bakery Square – known today as UPMC Enterprises.
As one of the original employees of UPMCE, Myers has bounced around from project to project as they’ve emerged and evolved over the years. One project in particular that he’s been working on for the past several years is working with Arkos Health, an Enterprises portfolio company that features a suite of managed care and provider services that help enhance clinical and financial outcomes of health care providers.
“For the Arkos Health project, which I’ve been on since July 2020, we are mainly tasked with helping them to strengthen the software product that came with the mergers that ended up forming Arkos Health,” Myers said. “Most recently, we just finished moving that product to Amazon Web Services.”
Day to day, Myers – who currently works as a senior manager on the Engineering team – says his work is fairly status quo, but his current role has given him more opportunities to grow.
“In this particular job I’ve been a little more hands-on, so I’ve been actually helping out the engineers accomplish tasks that need to get done to help out Arkos,” Myers said.
As a senior manager, a large part of Myers’ role is leading a team. He claims that his leadership style is rooted in empowerment and trust, much like a parent stepping back from their child on a bicycle without training wheels and giving them the space to ride.
“I like to empower my employees to do their jobs, and if I were to meet that proverbial bus, I know they would still be able to continue doing what they’re doing without me being there,” Myers said. “For me, it’s about empowering my team to be able to do what they need to do without direct guidance all the time for me.”
After 14 years of dedicated work at UPMC – and 11 of them at UPMC Enterprises — Myers said he is proud of the work he gets to do every day.
“I’ve had a ton of jobs over the years, but I think Enterprises is a fantastic place to work,” Myers said. “The collaboration that happens amongst and within the teams is fantastic, and it’s a great working environment to be in and be a part of.”
When he’s not in the office, Myers said his passions include running and mountain biking. But when he’s in the office, he’s truly passionate about his work. He said that is thanks to the support he and his team members receive on a daily basis.
“I think UPMC Enterprises does a great job of providing a good working environment for their employees — very supportive, very nurturing,” Myers said. They really help you grow in your career, all while giving you an opportunity to do some really cool things.”
