Meet the PROS: Gary Schroller

From problem solver to performer, meet Gary, Technical Lead in the Rapid Solution Center of Professional Services and a 15-year veteran at PROS. When Gary’s not working behind the scenes helping our implementation and support teams with technical issues to improve our customer’s time-to-value, you’ll find him performing centerstage as “Father Christmas,” spreading joy during the holiday season.

From finding joy at work to hobbies and accomplishments, let’s get to know Gary!

Tell us about your journey to PROS.

After 30+ years of working as a programmer in the upstream oil industry, I returned to Rice in 2006 to get my MBA in the first year of their Professional MBA program. In 2008 as we neared graduation, the Placement Office advised us that they could help us in our job search but did not have a folder of jobs they could hand out to us. However, when I sat with the counselor, she reached in her drawer and pulled out a folder, saying, “Well, we do have this one.” And 15 years later, here I am still enjoying life at PROS.

What do you enjoy most about working at PROS?

I learn something new every day.

What’s your favorite thing about working in your current role?

Working with enthusiastic, intelligent, and energetic people here at PROS and helping them to solve their technical problems. Interacting with them keeps me energized and gives me a sense of purpose.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work that brings you joy and inspiration?

At this time of year, I am in rehearsal with the Houston Revels for our annual Christmas / Winter Solstice production. We celebrate different cultures and customs with different productions each year.

Being involved with Houston folk music for years, I had heard of Revels, and after I saw an ad for the 2015 production I decided to attend for once. I was so taken with the performance that I answered the audition call the following year and I have been in every production since 2016.

After weeks of rehearsals, the adrenaline rush of performing in front of a live audience is difficult to explain. The anticipation of stepping out on that stage is comparable to the anticipation of Christmas itself. To perform and get the applause from the audience is rewarding like being able to assist customers and co-workers with their technical issues here at PROS.

After my first production in 2016, I can’t imagine Christmas without performing in Revels. I was nearly heartbroken during COVID lockdown when we couldn’t mount a production for two years.

What’s your favorite place to visit?

Paris, because…well, it is Paris! After that would be Chamonix-Mont-Blanc also in France; the looming snow-capped Mont Blanc is almost spiritual in its presence, and I can see why the Ancients thought gods inhabited the mountains.

If you have seen the Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris, here I am (pictured right) waiting for Zelda & F. Scott Fitzgerald to pick me up in their limousine and take me to a party in 1928. Picture taken where the scene was shot with Owen Wilson.

What’s one accomplishment you’re most proud of?

Being selected for PROS President’s Club in 2021 in Sonoma Valley. I felt I had gained the recognition of my colleagues for my contributions. Something I couldn’t have done without the support of my co-workers.

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Learn more about PROS culture on our careers page and become a part of our growing team by applying to our open roles. Follow #LifeatPROS on LinkedIn and Instagram for more stories from the bright minds powering PROS around the globe.