The foundation of GMI's philosophy is to invest in your company, customers, and community. Investing in the company includes making an investment in employees, by providing training, building a diverse workforce, and fostering excellence. Meet a few of our team members:
Earl W. Overstreet II, President
Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980. That same day, Earl W. Overstreet II headed to Seattle on a house-hunting trip. His flight went just west of the erupting volcano. Undeterred, Earl purchased a home and has been a Bellevue resident ever since.
Earl is president of General Microsystems Inc. (GMI), a company he founded in 1983. GMI specializes in high performance servers, workstations, storage, and storage management products. The company has been recognized as one of the top Sun Microsystems and StorageTek Value Added Resellers in the Pacific Northwest and one of the largest minority owned businesses in Washington. Their customers include Boeing, Expeditors International, the State of Washington, and Safeco.
His career started at the General Electric Miniature Lamp Department where he held positions in manufacturing, sales, and marketing. At Wyle Laboratories, Electronic Marketing Group his responsibilities included sales, sales management, and division management.
Earl has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Case Institute of Technology and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Tabor 100.
He serves on the board of directors for the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and the Case Western Reserve University Puget Sound Alumni Chapter.
Paul L. Overstreet, Director of Operations
In 1985, Earl convinced his brother Paul to retire the snow shovel, leave Ann Arbor, Michigan, and join him at GMI. In November 1985, Paul and his family were welcomed to the Seattle area by one of the biggest snow storms in local history.
Paul oversees order processing, purchasing, shipping, receiving, and facilities. He has Sun and StorageTek sales certifications and was previously responsible for inside sales. Previously he was a sales agent for Allstate Insurance Company and was responsible for creating and maintaining client risk policies of life, IRA, health, and property and casualty.
Paul spent five years as Division Manager at Sears supervising and training sales staff, coordinating purchases, inventory control, and promotional campaigns.
He has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Cleveland State University.
Barbara L. Overstreet, Chief Financial Officer
After numerous conversations about the pros and cons of couples working together, Barb agreed to leave a successful real estate career to help GMI develop the necessary operational and financial disciplines.
Barb is responsible for all aspects of GMI financial performance including financial statements, accounting, taxes, and insurance. She helped automate and update accounting functions. She has also served GMI as director of operations.
Before coming to GMI, Barb was a real estate agent for Overlake Realty. A Bellevue native, Barb also worked at Eddie Bauer and CH2M Hill. She attended Western Washington University with a major in education.
P. J. Hunt, Director of Sales and Marketing
P.J. and Earl first met at a Boy Scout Charity Breakfast. At that time, P.J. was the Sun Microsystems Global Account Manager responsible for Boeing. His next encounter with GMI was as the Sun Account Manager for Expeditors International. Working together, Sun and GMI won the Expeditors contract.
P.J. is the sales manager at GMI. He is responsible for managing the sales team. He also functions as account executive for our strategic customers.
In addition to six years at Sun Microsystems, P.J. held sales and management positions at ADP, Amdahl, Alcatel Friden, Highline Financial Services, Unisys Finance, and Memorex. P.J. has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Idaho and an MBA from the University of Oregon.
