Robert is the founder and president of PlanetMagpie.  Like our loyal namesake Magpie, Robert is our company’s alpha dog.  Robert’s work ethic, MacGyver-like creative thinking, “do it right” creed, and dedication to the customer are what have kept PlanetMagpie on top of its game all these years.  Robert started his IT career as a programmer in 1984 and evolved into an expert network engineer specializing in Microsoft solutions.  He has led consultant teams on projects for many of the world’s major IT players including Microsoft, and leads PlanetMagpie’s IT Consulting Team in a full range of network and cloud projects.

A respected IT expert in Silicon Valley, Robert has been quoted in the New York Times, CNN Money, Fast Company, the San Jose Business Journal, and the San Francisco Business Times.  He also helped write Microsoft’s Skype for Business Server certification exams for engineers.  Originally from New York, Mr. Douglas received his B.S. in Computer Science from York College, and studied for his MBA at Union College.  Robert was a wrestler at York College and competed in the 1984 Olympic Trials.  As a result, bill disputes are decided on the mat!

A hacker’s worst enemy is a network they can’t penetrate.  Built so well there’s no way in.  Is it possible to do this?  Bill does it all the time.  He’s PlanetMagpie’s Guard Dog. Bill engineers secure networks, including BGP and site-to-site VPNs, for our customers and PlanetMagpie’s datacenters.  Firewalls, switches, routers, wireless, servers—he fits them all together with a secure perimeter.  When asked what he does, Bill Wester tells people he’s a plumber.  True enough.

Bill has worked for Fortune 1000 companies like Lockheed, Sun Microsystems, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, and F5. He holds 5 Juniper certifications, 2 NetApp certifications, 4 Infoblox certifications, and 4 F5 certifications, and is a DNS expert to boot. Bill received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA from University of California, Berkeley, Haas Business School/Columbia University.

Mike is the Visual Design Director of our Creative Lab team.  He’s in charge of visual branding, user experience, and interface design of our customers’ websites.  Mike rides his Moto Guzzi to work each day with one purpose—to push the limits of web development and design.  Mike is infinitely agile and has created award-winning brands and websites for nearly every industry—technology, construction, real estate, financial services, material handling, precision machining, faith organizations, autism therapy, transportation, retailers, you name it.

Mike’s lifelong pursuit of creativity in varied mediums brings an artist’s perspective to all his work.  Not the “starving” kind of artist—the “award-winning” kind.  Mike’s designs have earned PlanetMagpie 15+ WebAwards to date, which is why we call him our Hot Dog.  When a web design and branding project is complete, Mike helps our customers extend their new identity to all their collateral for a complete unified brand.  Mike received his B.S. in Graphic Design with an Illustration emphasis from San Jose State University.

Desiree expertly manages our Business Office and is the axis around which we all operate.  She takes care of our customer accounts, manages the administrative staff, leads our hardware and software procurement services, and keeps our office running at full tilt.  She’s the happy face that greets you when you visit PlanetMagpie.  No matter what the obstacle, we can always count on Desiree to get the job done, and that’s why she’s our hero.

Desiree arrives to work early every morning to get a jump on the day.  Hardware and software quotes, delivery details, project updates, account status—it’s all in a day’s work.  Desiree has been working in the IT industry for over 10 years and is a master at managing complex projects and making sure everyone has what they need to keep our customers happy.  Desiree received her A.S. in Office Administration from Mission College.