Chris Villanueva is a local entrepreneur and 20- year Information Technology professional. He is the controlling owner for a local Smoothie King franchise. Chris manages vendor & corporate relations, product, marketing, 3rd-party partnerships, and technology strategy for the business. Smoothie King is a privately-held company. Its mission is to promote active, healthy lifestyles with proprietary “clean blend” nutritional products. Smoothie King Buda (Store #2118) is scheduled to open in Summer 2024 at the new “Corner on Main” retail development.

His admiration for self-taught and formal technical learning through experimentation guided his IT career in various roles: Enterprise Solutions Architect, Technical Team Manager, Technical Lead, and Full Stack Developer. Chris provided cloud-native, hybrid cloud, and solution architecture consultant services for enterprise clients in Financials, Health Care, and Tax Advisory industries. Clients were located in New York City, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, and Tampa Bay. He currently holds two AWS cloud certifications and a postgraduate multi-cloud certification from the McCombs Business School at the University of Texas-Austin.

Chris also maintains a strong relationship with Manning Publications. Chris mentored learners in Naomi Ceder’s “Explore Python Fundamentals” Live Project. He was technical editor for two books in print: “Good Code, Bad Code: Think Like an Engineer” by Tom Long and “Own Your Tech Career: Soft Skills for Technologists” by Don Jones. Chris also edited “React Quickly, 2nd Edition” by Morten Barklund and Azat Mardan, which is scheduled for print in early 2023.

Chris is a first-generation college graduate. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin in May 2000. Due to lack of financial resources and limited opportunities, his parents – John and Angie Villanueva – were unable to pursue a college education. Both reinforced the importance of a strong work ethic, community, entrepreneurship, and obtaining knowledge through life-long learning. As Chris progressed in his career, he always mentored technologists from disadvantaged backgrounds. He continues to prioritize mentorship learning opportunities for anyone motivated to excel in technology.
 

Chris and his extended family reside in Kyle, Texas.

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