Today we’d like to introduce you to Roger J Fuhrman.
Hi Roger J, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career after graduating from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, with a degree in Mass Communication. Like a lot of people early on, I jumped into sales—selling advertising for a collectible magazine publisher. It was my first real introduction to rejection, persistence, and the art of convincing someone that, yes, they absolutely needed to be in our magazine.
After about a year, I took a role managing a database marketing center in Oelwein, Iowa. That’s where things really clicked for me. I leaned into building teams, driving performance, learning sales and marketing, and figuring out how to win consistently—and we ended up becoming the most profitable center in the company.
That led to an opportunity to run their largest operation in Superior, Wisconsin, with over 175 employees. And just six months in… the building burned to the ground. On a Sunday evening. Not exactly in the onboarding manual.
We didn’t have a disaster recovery plan, so I got a crash course in leadership the hard way. I spent the next couple of months doing everything from finding a new building to keeping 175 people employed and motivated during a pretty uncertain time. Somehow, we were back up and fully operational in about two and a half months. To this day, it’s still one of the toughest—and most defining—experiences of my career. It also made every “normal” problem after that feel a lot more manageable.
After that, I decided it was time to head to Minneapolis and see what “big city” business looked like. I stepped into a Sales Director role in the medical supply space, where I built and scaled sales and account management teams. That role eventually ended due to an acquisition—which, as it turns out, became a bit of a recurring theme in my career.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to lead sales across a wide range of industries— software/hardware, legal publishing, Association Management Software, GRC, EDI, Custom Software Development, Digital Accessibility Software, transportation and logistics—often coming in to build or rebuild sales organizations. At one point, I even took a shot at consulting, helping companies stand up sales and marketing processes from scratch.
One of the most rewarding chapters was in the SaaS world, where I helped grow a company from $10 million to $85 million in recurring revenue and expand internationally. That experience really solidified what I love most—building teams, creating structure out of chaos, and turning growth into something predictable and scalable.
Today, I’m the Regional Vice President of Sales at Corporate Technologies, a managed IT and cybersecurity provider based in Eden Prairie. Looking back, my career probably looks a little unconventional from the outside—fires (literally), acquisitions, restarts—but each chapter taught me something new.
At this point, I’ve learned that growth rarely happens in a straight line. It’s usually a mix of taking chances, figuring things out as you go, and occasionally being handed a situation where you just have to say, “Alright… let’s go fix this.” As long as there is time on the clock, you have an opportunity to make something happen.
Lastly, one of my favorite quotes is, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit”. – Ronald Reagan
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not even close—it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, and honestly, I think that’s been one of the biggest advantages in my career.
Early on, I was put into leadership roles pretty quickly, which sounds great on paper—but the reality is, I was learning a lot of lessons in real time, sometimes the hard way. The most obvious example was when the office I was running in Superior, Wisconsin burned to the ground just six months into the role. There was no disaster recovery plan, no playbook, no backup strategy—just a team of 175 people depending on me to figure it out. That experience forced me to lead under pressure, make decisions with incomplete information, and prioritize people above everything else. It was stressful, exhausting, and at times overwhelming—but it shaped how I approach challenges to this day.
Another consistent challenge throughout my career has been navigating acquisitions. On multiple occasions, I’ve helped companies grow, scale, and ultimately position themselves for acquisition—which is exciting—but it often meant my role was eliminated afterward. That can be tough personally and professionally. You invest years building something, and then suddenly you’re starting over. Over time, I had to shift my mindset and see those moments not as setbacks, but as proof that I helped create something valuable.
I’ve also worked across a wide range of industries—Finance, logistics, Legal, Higher Education, non-profits, Chambers, Enterprise, Compliance, etc.—which meant I was constantly having to learn new markets, new buyers, and new ways of selling. There’s a level of discomfort that comes with that, especially when you’re expected to produce results quickly. But it forced me to become adaptable and to focus on building strong fundamentals that translate across any business.
And then there’s the challenge of building global teams. Scaling organizations isn’t just about strategy—it’s about people. Hiring the right individuals, developing them, and sometimes making tough decisions when things aren’t working is never easy. There were times I got that wrong, and those are the moments you remember and learn from the most.
If there’s a common thread through all of it, it’s that the biggest growth came from the hardest situations—whether that was rebuilding after a fire, stepping into uncertainty after an acquisition, or taking on roles where there wasn’t a clear roadmap. None of it was smooth, but all of it was valuable. And over time, I’ve learned to embrace those challenges because they’re usually where the real progress happens.
We’ve been impressed with Corporate Technologies, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Corporate Technologies is a U.S.-based managed IT services provider (MSP) headquartered in Minnesota, founded in 1981.
https://gocorptech.com/
~40+ years in business
200+ employees
2,000+ clients across ~17–20 states
National footprint with strong regional/local delivery
We position ourselves as a relationship-driven IT partner that manages and optimizes a company’s entire technology environment.
Managed IT Services (Core Offering)- This is our main product.
We essentially take over (or co-manage) a company’s IT function for a predictable monthly fee.
Includes:
24/7 help desk support, Proactive monitoring & maintenance, Onsite + remote IT support, Network & infrastructure management, and Vendor management
In simple terms:
“We run your IT so you don’t have to.”
Cybersecurity Services
Threat monitoring & prevention (Secure Advantage®), Compliance support (important for regulated industries),Endpoint, network, and email security
Cloud & Infrastructure – Cloud services & migration, Hybrid infrastructure design, Data center / network architecture
Data Backup & Recovery – Disaster recovery planning, Automated backups, Business continuity
Additional Capabilities – IT consulting & strategy, Hardware/software resale & implementation, IT staffing / co-managed IT support
Corporate Technologies stands out from our competitors by delivering a highly structured, all-in-one managed IT model tailored for SMBs, combining predictable flat-rate pricing, unlimited support (including onsite), and clearly packaged service tiers that simplify buying decisions.
Unlike many MSPs that are reactive or fragmented, we integrate strategic IT advisory, robust cybersecurity, and 24/7 support into a single offering, positioning ourselves as a long-term business partner rather than just a vendor.
Our added transparency—through defined SLAs and even a money-back guarantee—reduces risk for clients, while our blend of local presence and broader scale allows us to deliver both personalized service and enterprise-level capability.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Absolutely—this is one of those questions where experience tends to rewrite your perspective a bit.
If you’re just starting out, the biggest piece of advice is: **don’t wait until you feel “ready.”** Early in your career, you’ll often feel like everyone else has it figured out—they don’t. Progress tends to come from taking action before you have all the answers, not after.
Another thing I wish I understood earlier is how important **consistency beats intensity**. You don’t need to have huge, breakthrough moments every week. Showing up, following up, learning, and improving a little bit every day compounds faster than you think—especially in sales and business development.
I’d also emphasize **building relationships over chasing transactions**. It’s easy to focus on closing deals early on, but the real long-term wins come from trust, reputation, and people wanting to work with you again (and refer you). That’s where careers—and pipelines—really take off.
Something I learned the hard way: **rejection isn’t personal, but not learning from it is a mistake**. You’ll hear “no” a lot. The difference-maker is whether you treat each one as feedback or just frustration.
Everything, and I mean “everything”, is measurable! Meaning, measure what you do – look at inconsistencies, and ask WHY at each one. It forces you to dig deeper and understand.
And if I could go back and tell my younger self one thing, it would be this:
**your network and personal brand start on day one—not when you think you’ve “made it.”** Put yourself out there, share what you’re learning, and don’t underestimate how much visibility compounds over time.
Lastly—be patient, but not passive. Careers rarely move in a straight line, but if you stay proactive, curious, and a little uncomfortable, you’ll end up a lot further ahead than you expect.
Pricing:
- https://gocorptech.com/managed-it-services-calculator/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gocorptech.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorpTechLLC/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerjfuhrman/
- Twitter: https://x.com/gocorptech/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CorporateTechnologiesLLC
- Other: https://www.rogerjfuhrman.com/
