It has been over 30 years since Greg Baltzer (g’88) walked Tabor’s campus as an undergrad.
From his first job after graduating to his current position in corporate partnerships at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, Wash., a liberal arts education at Tabor helped catapult Baltzer in over three decades in computer science.
Baltzer is in his sixth year with Amazon and works with its global telecom partners. Working within a field that demands constant change, he has seen his education and interests evolve to match the explosion of the tech industry.
Having stretched into fields outside programming, Baltzer noted his passion for sitting down with people, understanding the problems they’re solving, and coupling that with his tenure in technology.
“There is an element of, ‘can this rate of change energize you or are you excited to get out of bed each morning to think about what’s to come and what can be done now?’” Baltzer said. “It’s a really important aspect of the computer science industry.”
Tabor and the Hillsboro community are imprinted throughout Baltzer’s résumé.
He noted using linear algebra in his earliest days with Brite Voice Systems, recalling his days sitting in Dr. Frank Brenneman’s classroom. Sitting in the philosophy classes of Dr. David Faber triggered further interest in critical thinking, while the teaching of Glen Diener, a longtime Tabor computer science professor, helped deepen his interests in the technology field.
In the early 2000s, Baltzer helped multiple venture startups before later transitioning into roles with MTN Satellite Communications and Samsung. While at Samsung, Baltzer served as the global lead for Cloud infrastructure (digital storage) and also worked on product architecture, partnership management, and business development.
Now, he is part of a brand that holds nearly 10 percent of the global online retail market and netted $213,000,000 in revenue in 2023 (according to forbes.com). Baltzer’s initial role was with Amazon Web Services, its cloud business that has grown exponentially since launching in 2006.
“Amazon is always reinventing what we did before,” Baltzer said. “There are a lot of famous materials about the intention to disrupt our own business and find new ways to do them cheaper or in a different way.”
Son of Daryl and Marie, Baltzer and his wife Darcie (Wilkins fs’89) relocated to Seattle from her hometown of Geneva, Neb., in 2018. He also travels annually with friends from Tabor, including Corey Jost (g’88), Paul Reimer (g’88), Braden Decker (g’88), Rob Benton (g’88), and Mike Wiens (g’87).
“You have to have godly counsel and it’s great to have friends that you feel fit that category and have for 40 years,” Baltzer said.
After meeting with David and Karen Janzen, Tabor College president and first lady, Baltzer is thrilled knowing the college will be part of teaching and instructing the next generation of computer scientists.
“We’re entering a new stage in the ethics and application of technology,” Baltzer said. “Tabor absolutely has a role in training people to be leaders in this field. I learned how to make more efficient tools and now we’re learning how to make thinking systems and Tabor is positioned to do this well as it brings this program back to campus.”