Employee spotlight: Jon Gerlach.

For our first spotlight of 2021, we interviewed Jon Gerlach, UX lead. Starting as an intern in 2007, Jon worked on some of Crowley’s early in-house Flash development and was the first member of our digital team. Now, more than a decade later, he’s leading our digital experience team of eight.

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What do you like best about what you do?

I like that each project brings a new set of problems and possibilities. There’s no set playbook. If you learn a new skill on a project, there’s a great chance you’ll be able to use it in the future.

What advice do you have for emerging talent in the field?

Learn which ideas are worth sticking up for and be able to explain why. Then, be prepared to show your thinking, because a lot of decisions come from the gut, and people are more likely to trust their gut than yours.

(A few life tips: learn how to cook something without a recipe, take naps, open a Roth IRA, and listen to The Lemon of Pink.)

What would the title of your autobiography be?

An Acquired Taste. One of my friends recently called me that, and I kind of like it.

What’s the first thing you would buy/do with $1 million?

If this is money I earned, I’d probably save it. If I won it, I’d book a long trip – maybe to Switzerland to see the Alpine cows or maybe to Hawaii since I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii. Either way, I’d buy a lot of sneakers and band T-shirts.

What’s the last book you read?

Ugh, it was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. I didn’t like it, though. The last book I enjoyed reading was Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. It was nice having a familiar world to slip into.

What makes you a great guest at a cocktail party?

I always bring ice. You can never have too much ice.