Chris Holtan is the kind of Human Resources/Communications Coordinator/Information Systems specialist one could never invent. Boasting a BA in Theater Arts and a BS in Computer Sciences from Augsburg College, Holtan is an ideal person to head Lancet Software Development Company’s "Minister of Culture" position, a convenient title that belies the multiple tasks she does on a regular basis, whether it’s calling in-house meetings, moderating an open employee review that anyone can attend, or going offsite to work on analyzing a client’s information needs and other matters.
Like her fellow Flounders, Holtan is a veteran of the computer science world. Her first programming job was at Cargill in 1990, writing programs and eventually doing a variety of functions, including testing, design, and data crunching. That period generally was a pivotal time in the industry and the wider business world: The computer revolution had just dawned and things began moving quickly for those who were skilled in the realm. From Cargill, Holtan moved to David Mitchell & Associates. Her client base there included 3M, where she first crossed paths with future fellow Flounders Rick Thorp and Jamie Plante.
After three years, she moved next to LifeRate, the auspicious place where the Holtan, Plante and Thorp first met Tom Niccum. It was there that the foursome individually began formulating how a smart and strong company should work. Calling the experience at the company "the big catharsis," Holtan had many duties that allowed her to assume a leadership role, especially serving on the company’s operations committee where she discovered first hand how many different issues affected the company’s many facets, company morale, and ultimately the company’s fortunes. Working at LifeRate, with all of its responsibilities and warts was, she notes, “like getting an MBA on the job.”
In April of ’97, Holtan was engaged in discussions with Thorp and Plante about life after LifeRate when Zeneca Pharmaceutical Company contacted them and asked if they knew anyone that could handle a considerable consulting job for them. From the seeds of that call, Lancet and Holtan’s Minister of Culture position were sown.
Today Holtan’s role at Lancet is balanced between internal personnel and communications issues and the information analysis needs of clients, from manufacturing to healthcare and consumer goods. As a project manager, she has developed, maintained and monitored project plans and budgets. As a meeting facilitator, she has helped a variety of teams accomplish their goals. As a so-called management level leader at Lancet, Holtan regularly works across the company’s flat model in tandem with employees and fellow Flounders.
She is an accomplished programmer in MicroStrategy’s DSS, PowerBuilder, SQL Server, FoxPRo, Visio, Microsoft Office and other tools. Her areas of technological expertise include project management, requirements analysis, relational database design, graphic user interface design, documentation, and training. Her business skills also include staff management, business development, proposal development and of course watching that the company’s culture keeps moving forward with the best personnel available. "The kind of people we employ," she says, encapsulating the Lancet work philosophy, "need to be learning all the time."
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