Fabio Banducci

President
PEER 1 Hosting
Member, TEC 232

Like any veteran leader, Fabio Banducci is all too familiar with the peaks and valleys involved in big business.

Flying high after being approached to lead the turnaround of PEER 1 - a hosting provider based in Vancouver - Banducci showed up for his first day on Halloween of 2005 to find himself, conversely, starting out on a very low note.

“The day I arrived, the company was in breach of three of five covenants with its lender. There was a lot of anxiousness at the board level,” says Fabio. “I didn’t know what I was about to get myself involved in.”

His first priority was to perform and execute an entirely new game plan while building an executive team, unifying company cultures and establishing a core set of values – a seemingly tall order for a new executive working in the ever-growing Internet-hosting industry.

Described by Fabio as “the plumbing that enables internet applications to function,” PEER 1 is, quite simply, an outsource solution for SMEs.

“Every time you send an e-mail, or purchase a book on Amazon, do a Google search, or plan a trip or any activities that involve a web browser, you are hitting a server somewhere. It is the server that provides the content, the info, the transaction, the database query, the search result, whatever you may be seeking to accomplish.”

PEER 1 deploys the technologies needed in the operation of data centres - conditioned environments - where clients’ servers are maintained. With 16 centres around North America and one most recently launched in Europe, these hubs are paramount in scaling clients’ Internet infrastructures.

As he learned the complexities of the company and worked to boost confidence at the board level, Fabio remembers those first days were a trying, but rewarding, time.

“There were no shortages of issues or challenges, but it was exciting. It was a big new mountain for me to climb,” he recollects.

In hindsight, it was his passionate attitude and wholehearted embrace to build and lead a turnaround that allowed the “dots to connect.” After only one year in the role of Executive Vice President, he was promoted to President in September 2007, and shortly thereafter another upgrade to President and CEO of company subsidiaries.

Presently, as Fabio approaches his five year anniversary with PEER 1, he has a lot to celebrate, in particular succeeding as Company of the Year at the 2010 British Columbia Technology Impact Awards.

“It’s the most prestigious award – they’re big awards for B.C. We were absolutely thrilled and honoured.”

Appreciative and humble, Fabio is quick to credit the award to his team.

“It was just a really proud moment for me to accept that award on behalf of them in acknowledgement for all the hard work and effort that’s gone in. To me it’s all about the team and I’m very proud in the way they responded to the challenges and matured and developed as leaders themselves.”

Moving forward, as PEER 1 aims to become one of the top service providers in the hosting industry, Fabio also takes enjoyment in his membership with TEC Canada as a sound resource in championing his success.

“My TEC group has been really helpful in terms of hearing me and talking me through the different issues and challenges that surface on my journey. It is nice to be able to talk to other CEOs and share in confidence,” he says, admitting that four years ago when he joined TEC 232 with Chair Joff Grohne, he was a like a “deer in the headlights.”

“It was all new challenges to me, back to first principals and asking a lot of simple questions. But it helped me with clarity around a methodical way in which I think about things and the way we instill operational and financial discipline. Joining TEC was great. It is an unbiased, trusted environment.”

Fabio further points out that TEC isn’t always about business. It is also a great opportunity to learn how to balance a rewarding personal life as well.

“I feel very much like I am living a career within my life and I feel very fortunate. I have three young kids and I am very happily married. Now I am in a framework that creates that balance and as a result of that, my life has been enriched and I am a more effective leader.”

As for the future of PEER 1, this upbeat President is embracing a full-steam-ahead approach.

“We’re going to stay true to our focus on small-to-medium-sized businesses and so we are looking for further growth domestically, as well as internationally. We’re stepping on the gas!”