Employee Profile: Mark Chitwood
How long have you been working for case-mate? Tell us about what you do here.
Going on month 9. I’m the E-Commerce Site Manager — basically the operations manager for case-mate.com: order fulfillment, merchandising, inventory management, site quality assurance, fraud prevention, and many other things (that Andrew doesn’t have time to do 
What do you like best about working at case-mate?
Obviously, that i can bring my dogs with me to work. That is huge! I also love the fact that when the CEO starts his rounds, everyone stops working and starts playing. There’s a culture and environment of creativity and entrepreneurship which cultivates fresh innovative thinking. Everyone here knows their voice will be heard and ideas considered. And…I can wear shorts to work when it’s warm. I love that.
What/where was your first job?
Lifeguard/golf course maintenance at a country club in FL.
What phone do you currently use? Love it or hate it?
iPhone 3G. Love it. Although I’m frustrated with the recent “controls” Apple has exercised in the iTunes interface. And no flash? Hopefully that will change soon.
What was your first cell phone?
Nokia 5110. My sister was working for Nokia at the time and gave it to me for Xmas ’99. I was one of those people who sort of fought cellphones as a necessity. It sat in the box for 6 months. But when I finally initialized it … that was it.
What features do you look for in a case?
Oddly enough, it didn’t matter much to me until I started working for case-mate. I had the CM Naked when I joined. Now, I really pay attention to form, function, style and everything else.
What’s your favorite case?
Hands down, the ID case. I have a hard time letting go of it to use anything else. Second would be the Hybrid Tough. If we ever make a Tough case with an ID slot, I think it will be the perfect case.
Where is the craziest place or situation your phone has ever been in?
Long story, but the top case on my motorcycle flew off (unbeknownst to me) on the interstate in St. Louis. After scouring I-64 for about 3 hours, I decided to call my phone (which was in the top case with every other valuable item I’d taken on the trip). A recovering meth addict had seen it fly off and pulled over to pick it up on his way to an NA meeting. He broke the case open to see if he could figure out who it belonged to, and thankfully answered my Palm Treo 700 when I called it. We met at a gas station. I gave him $50 reward and hoped he wouldn’t use it for his addiction. I would have paid $1000 to get that case back.
Favorite case-mate story?
Last October, Muse & U2 were coming to town. A friend who had tickets and needed to get rid of them because he couldn’t go contacted me to see if I could help him dump them. I’d seen Muse a few years back and U2 like 5 times in the 80s. I would like to have gone, but was not about to pay CHER prices. Anyway, I posted my friend’s tickets on Facebook. Within minutes of my post, our CEO responded, “We have suite at the dome for this show, would you like to join us?” Um, hellz yeah. It was great fun. case-mate is cool like that.
Favorite website or news-source?
Allmusic.com. I use it to research new bands I’ve discovered and to find new ones. Pandora actually uses the Allmusic descriptions for albums and artists. It’s fantastic. I probably look at it every day.
Favorite you-tube video?
That’s ‘safe’ to publish? Total Eclipse of the Heart — Literal Version. I laugh every time I show it to someone.
Favorite phone app?
Of course I love Pandora, Facebook and LinkedIn. But a couple of other cool apps I’ve found are AccuTerra and Skee-ball.
What can’t you live without?
Music is as essential as water and air. I also can’t imagine life devoid of motorcycling. It’s an awesome liberating and therapeutic experience.
When you’re not working at case-mate, what do you do with your spare time?
I’m sure I spend an inordinate amount of time researching and acquiring cutting-edge indie/alternative music. Check out my podcast, nmhbear.podomatic.com (shameless plug) to experience the fruits of my labors. All my vacations are motorcycle excursions. I’ve been from the highest pass in the French Alps to Meat Cove, Nova Scotia on motorcycles. My partner and I have a place in the mountains we go most weekends and enjoy motorcycling and hiking with our amazing Boxer wonder dogs Jake and Bridget (pictured here).
