kathleenjewby | The Metropolitan

New board of trustee member Jack Pogge was sworn in Feb. 2.

Jack Pogge flies small single propeller planes, even though he has a fear of heights. That’s because he’s not afraid to tackle new challenges, like preparing students for jobs while he serves on Metro’s Board of Trustees.

“I want to focus on how to not only turn out first-class students that are well versed, but also how we can get them jobs. It’s a changing world,” he said.

Part of that will be focusing more attention on the aviation program.

“He seems to always be challenging himself to try new things,” said his former coworker, Peter Kalan, CEO of CSG Systems International, Inc, a global provider of software and services-based business support solutions.

Pogge was president of the company when Kalan was the chief financial officer, and is also a former CEO.

Kalan often turned to Pogge for advice, both as a friend and as a coworker.

“I considered him somebody who I could trust, who wanted to hear my opinions,” Kalan said.

Pogge was appointed to the board Jan. 30. He was sworn in Feb. 2 during a public meeting for Metro’s name change resolution.

Shortly after being sworn in, Pogge voted “yes” in favor of the resolution for the name change.

“It looked like the board had been discussing the name change for a long time and I felt like it was time to make a decision and move on. I was comfortable coming in and casting a vote to help that along,” Pogge said.

Pogge first heard about the opening on Metro’s board of trustees from board member Bill Hanzlik.

“He’s just got a unique batch of qualities,” Hanzlik said. “I’ve been in higher [education] for over 10 years now. I just felt that he would be a good fit: lawyer, philanthropic, cares about people, very knowledgeable. I knew he had a little bit of free time and he was deciding what to do and I said ‘Jack, you’d be perfect for this.’”

The opportunity to work with the community in this capacity was a way to use his life’s knowledge and experience to give back, Pogge explained.

Pogge worked as the chief counsel of mergers and acquisitions at U.S. West and as the vice president of Applied Communications Inc. He currently serves on an advisory committee for the University of Notre Dame. He hopes his knowledge of that committee will also prove useful for Metro.

“Hopefully I can bring some wisdom and business skills that are adaptable for the academic environment and hopefully some people skills so everyone can get along alright,” Pogge said.

Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Pogge and Walter Isenberg to the board on Jan. 30.

Tags: Metro aviation program, Metro's Board of Trustees

People: Bill Hanzlik, Jack Pogge, John Hickenlooper, Peter Kalan, Walter Isenberg