2015 Engineering Leader Under 40: Bret Van Wyk, 32

Program Manager; Interstates Control Systems Inc.; Sioux Center, Iowa; BS Computer Science & Systems Administration, Dordt College

By Amanda Pelliccione, Project Manager and Director of Research September 17, 2015

Bret Van Wyk, 32
Program Manager; Interstates Control Systems Inc.; Sioux Center, Iowa
BS Computer Science & Systems Administration, Dordt College

Van Wyk is a key resource in working with Interstates’ customers to find solutions for their supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) computer systems, industrial networks, and hosted virtualization platforms. Van Wyk also is a leader in the company’s manufacturing information technology (MIT) services group, and his primary responsibility is in the quality of project delivery. By implementing Agile work processes, Van Wyk has successfully improved efficiency and reduction of rework within his teams. Van Wyk began his career with Interstates as an MIT systems analyst and has assumed additional responsibilities over the past several years. He has always been progressive in expanding his knowledge and expertise. Van Wyk has been heavily involved in developing an industrial patching solution for a Fortune 500 company that services all plant floor PCs. This process includes analyzing the software on the system and offering approved Microsoft patches accordingly. Van Wyk is now an Interstates program manager. In this position, he is responsible for all projects within MIT, as well as developing internal work processes for his team. Van Wyk is driven to find ways to continually improve his work. He is not content with keeping things status quo, and he pushes his entire team to be better. Because of Van Wyk’s push, the MIT team has made progress in documentation, efficiency, and work accuracy. Outside of work, Van Wyk enjoys learning how to use his new meat smoker. While the meat is cooking, he is able to spend time with his family and play with his kids.