Pedro Souza recently joined SmartBear as the company's VP Customer Care. We connected with Pedro for a Q&A to discuss why he decided to join the team. 

Q: Where were you before SmartBear?

Pedro: Over the past two years, I led Paramount’s customer support team for their main streaming services, like Paramount+, CBS Sports, and Pluto TV. Prior to joining Paramount, I managed Visa Inc.’s Global Emergency Card Replacement service for six years, and before that I performed several technology functions for Citibank over a period of 28 years. I’ve worked in everything from technical support, software engineering, program management, and more.

Q: Why SmartBear? What drew you there and what have you observed in your first 30 days?

Pedro: I always want to be somewhere where I see an opportunity to help a company and its employees really exceed customer expectations and demands, and I saw that here very early. This was also an exciting career growth opportunity for me, personally. SmartBear is a great place to advance your career, no matter what stage or level of experience you come here.

Another big factor for me was how much collaboration I spotted here, and how much I continue to see between every team. I’m not just a believer in collaboration, I think it’s critical, especially when trying to continuously impress your customers. The teams at SmartBear aren’t just willing to jump in and help out in a situation, they seek out those opportunities, and leap at the chance to provide their own unique perspectives to help others solve big challenges.

Lastly, I have to be somewhere that welcomes people challenging the status quo. A place that looks at the way things have always been done in this area or that and really trying to uncover new approaches that might be faster or more efficient. You can do such an excellent job on something, and six months later, look at it again and wonder, “What was I thinking?” There’s always room for improvement.

Q: Tell us about your support team. What qualities make up a great support/customer care staff?

Pedro: Our customer care engineers all possess that quality I described above about challenging the status quo. They’re always willing to talk about and evaluate new processes, but they also understand the need to adhere to strong, robust processes, especially when dealing with enterprise-level support cases.

This team is also very passionate about resolving problems for our customers and coming up with creative ways of doing so. Being able to do this requires being technically savvy, of course, but it also requires a high level of curiosity. Curiosity to learn about new features, new products, new use cases, and more.

When this team is presented with a difficult challenge, they listen closely to the customer, ask questions, conduct research, try things out, and collaborate with each other to come up with impactful solutions.

If this sounds like the kind of work that you’d enjoy and would thrive in, I encourage you to check out our current openings, and to apply!

Q: Before we go, what’s something your passionate about outside of work?

Pedro: Lots of things. I'm originally from Brazil, so naturally one of my biggest passions is football, or soccer as it’s called here in the U.S. I really am completely crazy about both watching and playing football. I play on most Saturdays and am proud to still be able to keep up with my son during a game. I’m also super passionate about family and am very lucky to live near my children here in South Florida. I also enjoy snowboarding, and last but not least, going to concerts. Being close to Miami, there’s amazing live music here year-round. I’ve also been known to travel outside the country for can’t-miss concerts.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Product Manager at CreateMe?

We connected with Joe Rein to find out!

Interested in learning more about CreateMe and their job openings?  Make sure to check out their company page on VentureFizz!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in upstate New York near Bear Mountain, in a small suburban town. My parents were civil servants at the local Hospital and College.   

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to Florida International University for my first undergraduate degree in Accounting. Then 9 years later, I went to The New School for two additional undergraduate degrees; A Fashion Design degree from Parsons and a Media Technology degree from their School of Public Engagement.

I'm currently doing my Masters in Media Technology concentrating in Immersive Media and have plans on a second Masters in Systems for Non-engineers. 

One of my first jobs was at a hedge fund for a prominent Black investment banker on the top floor of the HSBC private bank here in Manhattan. I knew this was only one of the first stops of my career. I also worked at Yahoo! I left towards the end when they were being sold to Verizon and changed their name to Oath.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

Similar to some of the folks in the Black in Tech features, I am a person of color; LatinX, first generation immigrant, and I sought out support through associations and mentors that valued diversity, equity and inclusion. I was accepted into an honors internship program during my first undergraduate degree, where I was able to get exposed to corporate culture and the demands of an enterprise finance and accounting department. 

I am the youngest of four children and I have always had a sense of responsibility to prove to myself and my family that I can reach to do more. I have always had an innate sense of curiosity to understand how things work and how to collaborate with folks from different domains of expertise.

The path that has propelled me to land a Product Management role at CreateMe is as diverse as the company itself. There are three stages of my professional experience that have given me the expertise to apply vision, innovation, and business know-how to the technology products at CreateMe.

In the first half of my career, I have held positions as an Accountant and Financial Controller. A career that was demanding yet fruitful; those roles exposed me to enterprise accounting systems and a top down management view of how businesses are structured. 

I’ve also held positions as Director of Apparel Product Development and owner of a military apparel manufacturing company. I blended my finance background and my interest in design to lead teams of apparel designers and factory operators to develop, manufacture and deliver goods. This stage of my career taught me how operations work and how my management style directly affects the bottom line and the motivation of your team and coworkers. 

After owning my own company, I was recruited for a role as the IT Systems Manager for an Apparel Trading company in Hong Kong, and was promoted to be the United States Customer Success Director for outbound product management. This role was a great fit for me as I was able to bring together all my past experiences to launch products for our customers.

Photo: offsite review with the Program and R&D teams 

(Khamvong, Lindsay, Shailesh, Joe, Martin, Freddy, Aman)

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Product Manager at CreateMe?

To envision the software and hardware product offering for CreateMe. I manage the customer engagements to gather their requirements by defining their pain points and correlating them to a product market fit within their customer segment.

I in turn translate those requirements into our product requirement document where I detail out the personas and the acceptance criteria of the user action and need.

I also work with finance and marketing to build out the business model ensuring our pricing is  profitable. Lastly, I manage the roadmap and schedule to ensure I hit our milestones toward our product launch detailed in our go- to-market strategy.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

Here at CreateMe, we believe in a set of factors to be a successful Product Manager. I would recommend that anyone considering a career in product to try to hit on these factors either through personality or through work experience.    

Being proactive, applying continuous improvement to the product. Being adaptable. Staying on top of new markets and technologies by being an avid learner. Challenging the status quo to push innovation and to define the jobs to be done that we are solving for. And overall being intellectually curious allows you to navigate through these areas.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee black with sugar and some days an iced breve’ from a local Coffee shop. I live in midtown Manhattan so there are a lot to choose from.

What time do you start working? 

The day starts at 9:00am, but I start on emails towards 8:30am

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

• Our people and culture at CreateMe
• Our 10X mission to revolutionize manufacturing
• Working on modern digital solutions and advanced automation products for hardware-as-a-service

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Mornings

• Check and respond to emails and slack
• Daily Standup where we touch base with the team for 30 mins to go through our Kanban board and give a short update on progress, blockers and next steps for the week.

Afternoons

• Tuesdays we have a department alignment with the VPs and CPO of Product.
• Market Research: I spend time analyzing customer segmentation using Statista
• Working sessions:

Each week I'll schedule sessions to work through ideas as they pertain to integrations and robotic autonomy

Requirements gathering session with customers

End of Day

• 1:1 Conversations with our Program Manager Craig, and Project Managers Rodrigo and Lindsay on the west coast measuring where we are on the project plan.
• 1:1 with Product Analyst: defining users' stories and acceptance criteria
• Updating the roadmap in Aha and Productboard
• Office hours

I hold office hours once a week where anyone from the cross functional team can schedule time with me for a working session to discuss their topics. 

What time do you typically wrap up the work day? 

6pm 

Any productivity hacks?

• Pomodoro clock to remind me to take short breaks throughout the day.
• Holding working sessions with digital whiteboards and shareable google docs to collaborate in real time.
• Bose headphones with noise canceling and ambient music to stay focused.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

• Nicehash
• Spotify
• Instagram

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

Leading software product launches for mega retailers and brands

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

 My mentor and CIO Kristian Hertel of a Shanghai based company. He's a good friend and a great leader. He has a one in a million personality that can balance fun, hardwork and a vision of the future.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Enterprise Sales Executive at RaySecur?

We connected with Brad Buchman to find out!

Interested in learning more about RaySecur? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up? What did your parents do for work?

I grew up in Tampa, FL. My mom was a legal investigator, and my dad was a CPA.

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I played 4 years of collegiate level baseball at a couple of schools in North Carolina. I finished at Florida Atlantic University with a BS in Ocean Engineering. While completing my degree at FAU, I worked full time at Whole Foods, did boat and engine maintenance, and I was a Saltwater Charter Captain. After I completed my degree, I worked as a Trade Expansion Manager and then was promoted to a Technical Sales Specialist for my previous company in Montreal, QC, Canada.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I would say personally, playing baseball at a collegiate level taught me how to work effectively in a team as well as setting high personal standards and having relentless determination. On the business side of things, adopting the phrase, “understand before being understood” has opened the doors for better professional relationships and great effective communication.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Enterprise Sales Executive at RaySecur?

High level responsibilities would be being an effective team player, confident in your abilities but open to new ideas and suggestions, and most importantly, having a great determination to deliver on your quarterly and yearly sales goals.

When comparing to other companies you’ve worked for, what makes RaySecur different and/or special?

The team and the work environment. Everyone has one common goal and that’s to see this company grow exponentially. There is open communication, everyone is willing to help each other in different situations, and we want to see the entire team succeed.

What are two to three things about RaySecur that you would want someone considering joining the company to know?

I would say don’t be shy and don’t think you have to do it on your own. A lot of other companies out there expect you to do everything on your own or don’t provide enough support. We are interdependent here, everyone is working independently but, the lines of communication are always open for comments, suggestions, and new ideas.

Any general tips for someone considering a career in your field?

Be determined and confident in yourself but be open to input from everyone in the company. There is one common goal.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Tea, Coffee if you want to hear me talk non stop for 4 hours!

What time do you start working?

I always start before 8am.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

We have an innovative product that could save peoples’ lives, high personal goals, and I don’t like to lose.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Lots of calls and emails with potential and existing clients.

What time do you typically wrap up the work day?

No set time, if there is an email or phone call at 10pm, I will answer it.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?

It depends on what needs to be done. I don’t think I ever completely turn off from working or business.

Any productivity hacks?

I like to work in spurts of 45min -1 hour then take a 5 - 10 minute break. Rinse and repeat throughout the day.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Outlook, Teams, and Expensify.

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I was the top performing sales rep for 5 years in a row at my previous company.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

My brother-in-law who is an entrepreneurial coach for businesses.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Senior THz Systems Architect at RaySecur?

We connected with Linda Marchese to find out!

Interested in learning more about RaySecur? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up? What did your parents do for work?

Suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. Owners of two optician stores

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

University of Rochester. Physics (undergrad), Electrical Engineering (graduate). Initial
job out of grad school was R&D at Kodak for US government radar imaging systems.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

My love of science and my perservernce.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Senior Terahertz Systems Architect at RaySecur?

Technical lead for developing and improving Terahertz imaging systems.

When comparing to other companies you’ve worked for, what makes RaySecur different and/or special?

It is very dynamic, things change quickly.

What are two to three things about RaySecur that you would want someone considering joining the company to know?

Fast-paced with hardworking colleagues

Any general tips for someone considering a career in your field?

Work hard and stay focused, but mostly enjoy it. Science and Technology are the
coolest!

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee

What time do you start working?

8am

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

Learning new technical things, contributing to the company’s success, working with smart highly motivated people.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Each day is a mix of Teams meetings, some internal and some with external partners and then some lab time taking measurements with my colleagues and then analyzing the results.

What time do you typically wrap up the work day?

5pm

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?

Yes at night but also early in the morning.

Any productivity hacks?

Try to have at least one or two half days without any meetings planned.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Teams, Google, Outlook

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

Being project manager and technical lead and first author on the patent that created MailSecur.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

My spouse

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Commercial Executive at RaySecur?

We connected with TJ Kelly to find out!

Interested in learning more about RaySecur? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up? What did your parents do for work?

I grew up in North Andover, MA and relocated after starting a family to Ashburnham, in central
MA.

My parents are both retired civil servants of 40+ years. My mother taught middle and high
school in Danvers, MA and my father was an engineer for the US Navy in Kittery, ME.

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what were some of your initial
jobs out of school?

I studied Communications and Information Technology at UMass Amherst. While there, I fell in
love with web development and had several jobs working for the University supporting their
various websites.

After graduation, I landed a full-time job in the marketing department for a travel company as a
Front-end Web Developer. After a few years there, I hopped between a few web development
and digital marketing agencies and spent several years providing those services self-employed
as a sole proprietor.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position
you have now?

Starting my career in marketing has given me a unique perspective on how to position
RaySecur’s solutions to sales prospects. All marketing is sales-driven, but flipping that model
(marketing-based sales) has been valuable to me as a salesperson.

It has also given me a deep understanding of our prospect's most common questions and
objections—and the resources to overcome those objectives quickly and confidently.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Commercial
Executive at RaySecur?

First and foremost, I’m a salesperson. My responsibilities are to bring new customers into the
business and expand on existing accounts.

My background in marketing has also afforded me the opportunity to represent RaySecur in
some of our customer-facing marketing efforts: webinars, videos, conferences, tradeshow
booths, etc.

When comparing to other companies you’ve worked for, what makes RaySecur different
and/or special?

RaySecur’s solutions are novel in the security industry. No one can do what we can do. That
fact offers a tremendous advantage to corner the marketplace—but it’s not without its
challenges. Our uniqueness can pose a challenge if prospects are unfamiliar with our
technology. We’re always working to educate the marketplace on the value of our solutions.

What are two to three things about RaySecur that you would want someone considering
joining the company to know?

We’re growing like crazy, in both personnel and clientele. Now is the right time to get in on the
ground floor!

Any general tips for someone considering a career in your field?

The more sales and marketing can understand each other and act as one group, the better the
company can achieve its growth goals. Marketing pros need to understand how salespeople
think, and salespeople need to understand why marketing does what they do. Whichever team
you’re on, I recommend that you get more familiar with the other one!

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for the Sr. Manager, Content Marketing at EDB?

We connected with Meaghan Moraes to find out!

Interested in learning more about EDB? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I was born and raised in coastal New England! An avid lover of the ocean, I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the south coast of the state.

My parents are both hardworking people, and I’ve observed their career-focus throughout my life. I’ve always admired how well they’ve balanced work and family life, with family at the core. My mom is an oncology nurse and healthcare administrator, currently acting as director of a cancer center. My dad worked in business operations for years and then shifted to funeral direction; he’s now retired.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I attended Boston University and graduated with a B.S. in Communication - Advertising, concentrating in Psychology. I knew I wanted to study advertising/marketing writing before applying to college, which brought me to a top Communication school like BU! I’m thankful to have grown a career doing exactly what I studied.

When I think of my initial jobs out of school, I can’t help but chuckle. Having graduated during a recession, my dream job didn’t just land in my lap. Early jobs included: “hotel front desk clerk,” which turned out to be groundsperson at a local hostel; hostess at a high-end Japanese restaurant; and unpaid food writer/critic (that was great). I eventually broke into full-time marketing, worked in Ad Ops in New York City, then moved back to Boston and worked as a marketing copywriter at TechTarget before moving to agency life–then back in-house.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I can honestly say that what has brought me to be the head of Content Marketing at a company like EDB is the fact that I’ve grinded every single day: constantly learning, honing my craft, and now teaching others. I’ve been writing all day every day for the past decade at work, and I also write for fun in my spare time.

Being intuitive and personable has also helped me form key relationships and partnerships at work. Not to mention, I’ve had some stellar mentors and colleagues to thank for inspiring me to push further throughout my career. Because of the true grit of hard work, invaluable support and an intrinsic belief in my abilities, I got here.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Sr. Manager of Content Marketing at EDB?

In my role, I oversee content marketing strategy for the company, which includes managing our blog, creating longform lead generation assets like eBooks and infographics, producing promotional videos, and assisting with aligning messaging across marketing programs. I focus on leading cross-functionally with strategies to bring stakeholders together, connect the dots and enhance outcomes. I do this through creative problem solving, fresh storytelling and continuous research and refinement.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

My tips for someone considering a career in marketing, and specifically content marketing include: Practice writing frequently and follow top publications in your space of interest. When you have an intriguing idea, write it down, revisit it later, think about it again, reframe it, have it reviewed, even have it rejected, start over, make it stronger. That’s the type of ritual to get accustomed to. Go have a weird or wild experience and then bring those new perspectives to your work and conversations. People in the corporate world need creative minds, so harvest your seeds for big ideas so you’re ready to bring them to the table.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee first thing in the morning with soy milk and cinnamon! My fiancé is nice enough to make it for me. Green tea after lunch to keep the brain activated and power through the afternoon.

What time do you start working? 

I’m usually digging into work around 8am (answering Slacks and scanning email starting at 7:30 from bed, then making the long commute to my desk in the next room).

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

1. Keeping quality super high
2. Providing our audiences the answers they’re looking for
3. Genuine interest in awesome marketing

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Log in with coffee, respond to all emails, prepare for upcoming morning meetings, start on the first item on my ongoing to-do list. Check in with my content marketing manager teammate to ensure weekly blogs are on track and queued up; I’ll copy edit and provide feedback before finalizing. Block of a few morning meetings, have a light protein shake, walk around my riverside neighborhood in West Newbury, MA. Wrap up tasks like campaign deliverables, answering any content inquiries or updating my content strategy plan. Take a break for lunch, take another walk, have tea. Jump into afternoon meetings (usually fewer or more spaced out than the morning), block time to get work done— which may be editing more blog posts, updating our content tracking sheet or metrics, preparing collateral or creative assets for an upcoming marketing event, or helping craft a new external customer success story. Work until around 5:30 and ensure I have time to work out and make dinner!

What time do you typically wrap up the work day? 

I typically call it a day around 5:30-6.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

90% of the time, I completely shut it down after hours, unless there’s something easy enough to get done while watching TV that will save me time and stress the next day. I do get Slack notifications on my phone (unless I’m on a vacation) and I tend to keep tabs on my email every so often to stay up-to-date.

Any productivity hacks?

For the last few years, I’ve joked with coworkers about doing “power 15s,” which is finding something you can finish 15 minutes before a meeting to check it off your list. I also spend gaps in between meetings taking quick walks to get some energizing air, and I like to block my calendar with “working blocks” in open mornings or afternoons to get heads down and in the zone.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

I probably can’t live without Spotify (need to work to music, especially Spanish guitar), Slack (EDB is all about the Slack culture and I enjoy it), and I’ll say Instagram. I can probably live without it, but I like it; I like social.

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I’d say I’m most proud of the keynote presentations I’ve created for CEOs, and the creative videos I’ve storyboarded and directed. Outside of work, I’m proud to have accomplished publishing a book of poetry, Poems of Her 20s, which is available on Amazon.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

I currently lean on my boss Ian Bain, VP of Corporate Marketing, for advice and guidance, I often reach out to my talented former colleagues and friends for input, my fiancé is also a creative and I always have him review my critical pieces, and my mom never fails to provide important career and life tips that keep me centered.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for the Area Vice President of HCM Sales at PrismHR?

We connected with Cristen Justiss to find out!

Interested in learning more about PrismHR? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  

I grew up in a suburb of Dallas, TX. True born and raised Texan ya’ll.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to the University of North Texas and was a dual major in all level special education and elementary general education. I graduated early with honors and went straight into being a special education teacher at an elementary school. I continued as a special education teacher for just over 4 years before entering the world of sales. What a fun segway that allowed me to continue teaching others but in a different way than I had never known before.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I attribute a large part of my success to my father who was profoundly gregarious and tenacious. He taught me the importance of loving what I do and differentiating myself by truly caring about each person I work with. Our careers are not about our titles and our job descriptions but rather all the little things we do that aren’t expected or requested, that make a huge difference. Genuinely seeing the good in everyone and helping them to see it in themselves is the way I was raised and will forever be in the office and outside of it. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Area Vice President at PrismHR?

I am responsible for supporting a team of incredibly talented sales professionals in generating opportunity, moving it forward in deal process, and bringing it across the finish line to produce new recurring revenue for our company. This requires working closely with each individual contributor to ensure we strategize our deal process, find potential vulnerabilities, and proactively stay in front of our competition by differentiating our technology and our process from the rest. My favorite part of the deal stage is when we get to the negotiation phase. If you are there you are one step away from a win and those challenging conversations reviewing T’s & C’s make the victory that much sweeter. When we win, the happiness I feel for each person that supported in that close is overwhelming in the best way. Our team deserves the wins and they work incredibly hard for each and every one. The effort and passion that goes into the process is never unnoticed so we celebrate every hurdle we cross each step of the way.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

You’ve got to absolutely love coaching and supporting plus truly believe in your people and your product. This is the key. I know each person on my team is insanely talented and can crush their goals, making sure I block anything that can keep them from doing so is imperative. It’s the job of a leader to “take the heat and radiate the cool” as our CSO would say. Your team needs consistency in their leader regardless of what happens in the day, because in sales, each day is different and we’ve got to be ready for it all. 

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing? 

Coffee! My nespresso and frother set can compete with any bistro (get one if you don’t have one already, trust me).

What time do you start working? 

At my computer and camera ready at 7:00 am for my east coasters

What are three things that motivate you in your role? 

Seeing each team member meet and exceed their goals, being a consistently dependable resource and support system, and truly believing in our company, our people, and our product. 

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

A typical day is made up of individual team member coaching calls reviewing their active opportunities in the pipeline as well as the specific metrics that will support them in hitting their monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. Every day is prospect facing where I attend first time meetings, discovery calls, proposal presentations,and contract reviews alongside each rep. Prior to, and following each call, we often precall plan and debrief, as well as discuss solutions with other resources internally, to ensure we are bringing our best to each prospect. In addition to this, frequent communication with other teams like marketing, operations, service, and implementations ensure I am in the loop on anything that can support our sales team in staying ahead of the curve with our technology advances, client testimonials, and best marketing resources.We have the most talented people in every department and making sure I strategize internally is just as crucial as my one on one time with each person on the sales team. My team members depend on me to provide current information so I do just that day in and out. If something could distract or hinder a rep from doing what they do best, it is my job to take that on so they can stay focused on deal process and getting our company new revenue.

What time do you typically wrap up the work day? 

7:30 pm for my west coasters.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I am always accessible after hours via cell or slack. The reps work extremely hard to generate opportunity so I will always make myself available to them, their prospects, and clients regardless of the hour. If it matters to them, it matters to me.

Any productivity hacks?

Compartmentalize, Prioritize, and Delegate!!!

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Spotify, Slack, and Google Mail 

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

Earning this role of AVP of HCM here at PrismHR.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

David Farrell and John Whisner. They both have extensive experience in leadership, sales, and the HCM industry. In addition to this, they are two of the most passionate and caring individuals I have come to know from a career standpoint which leads me to admire them for who they are professionally and personally as well. 

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for the Chief of Staff at ButcherBox?

We connected with Reba Hatcher to find out!

Interested in learning more about ButcherBox? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  How has that shaped who you’ve become?

I’m a NYC gal living in Boston, who splits her sports affiliations, and that should tell you a lot about my ability to compromise and deal with folks with different preferences. I was raised by two amazing women, my grandmother and mother who taught me that the whole world was mine for the taking and exposed me to as much as they possibly could in a city that has a lot to offer. Learning that consistently at home, especially as a black queer woman, is the only way I became confident that I could be in spaces that any other person was in. And they also made sure that I knew in order to be in the ‘room where it happens’, I had do the deep work to know myself, devour information, and question everything. I built this deep sense of curiosity, and I recognize now that the relentless questioning can be incredibly frustrating with a kid, so even more praise to them for putting up with it so I could blossom into my personality.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

As a Boston College Eagle, I studied Business with an Accounting concentration, and a double major in Sociology. I interned at a large consulting firm right out of school, and was on the road 4-5 days a week dealing mostly in the Energy sector as a change manager.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Chief of Staff at ButcherBox?

Overall, making sure our CEO has everything he needs to be successful and amplify his message and vision to the organization. To do that, it's crucial that I keep an ear to all that is happening in the organization to make the connections for others without getting into the exact resolutions for each project or initiative. By knowing the ins and outs of all the happenings, I am able to lead projects that don’t have easy owners or homes within the organization, for example, our partnership with Instacart or executing our first ever price increase. Additionally, my role is to aid the high level, people, and process strategy for each executive team member while also onboarding new executives to our leadership team and to their organizations.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

While I love my job, I never knew this role existed until I was in it. Start in a role where you appreciate the ability to learn – for me it was operations and I still have an immense appreciation for knowing how the physical nature of our product works. One of my first roles was to process map the entire company’s processes, and it was the groundwork for being able to be the ‘dot connector’ of the organization.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Doppio espresso over ice

What time do you get into the office? 

Home office desk by 8:30

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

• Chance to work with complex situations and disentangle in a thoughtful way
• Always an opportunity for me to add humor especially when things are tense to get people back to a level head to make real change happen
• Enjoy connecting dots around the organization to make people’s lives easier and better

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Begin the day with a one-on-one with someone helping them think through projects/people/process. Then catching up on major projects I am working on like pricing strategy research or onboarding/hiring of new executives. Throughout the day I have random 1-on-1s with new employees or people I haven’t checked in on in a while. Then usually some planning for one of the core meetings I organized for our Leadership Team and our All Hands for everyone. In the afternoon, there’s time for some planning or reviewing our goals. Midday I try to take a break to watch a snippet of a random TedTalk not related to work at all so I can stay creatively engaged and learn something new. At some point, I also have either impromptu or planned time with my CEO and/or COO. Also later in the afternoon, working on one of our company objectives I’m responsible for. To round out the end of the day, if I’m in the office, I get have some good chats with the few others around or if I’m home, I’ll make sure my inbox is squeaky clean #inboxzero.

What time do you head out of the office? 

I’m currently in the office 3-4 days a week, so when I am usually around 6-6:30.

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

I usually log back in for 1-2 things that popped up towards the end of the day but would make the person on the other end have a much easier beginning to their day if I finished it beforehand.

I am a morning person by nature who wants to get things ready for the day before anyone else is awake – not quite the 5AM Club though!

Any productivity hacks?

Emailing yourself tasks that pop into your head when you’re not near your notebook (physically or virtually)

Simple bullet journal style on my iPad

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

Outlook, Microsoft Flow for automating, and Goodnotes for iPad notes

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

Since I grew up searching for certainty because I did not find it in many places, I went to a job post grad that offered as much certainty as possible at a 300,000 person firm that was older than sliced bread. And so the jump to a young startup was incredibly nerve-racking, but the best decision I ever made.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

Libby Moore, former Chief of Staff to Oprah. When I went searching for mentorship, I quickly learned that many Chief of Staff’s serve in their roles for less than 2 years, and I was planning on making this a longer part of my career and I happened upon a podcast that Libby spoke on. She described working for a mission-oriented, founder, CEO for 12 years and I knew she’d be a perfect person to connect with, and I am so very lucky for the connection we now have.

What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for an Enablement Specialist at Onapsis?

We connected with Eric Zadorian to find out!

Interested in learning more about Onapsis? Make sure to check out their company page!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in Pembroke, which is a town on the south shore of Massachusetts. My mom has worked in the financial services industry for over thirty-five years. My dad recently retired but he spent time working in the golf and fitness industries.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I recently started taking classes as part of the MBA distance learning program in Colorado State University’s College of Business. As an undergrad, I attended UCONN and graduated in 2008 with a degree in Economics.

Upon graduation, I decided that working 9-5 in a cubicle was not where I wanted to be, so I decided to follow my passion for golf and began a career in the golf industry as an Assistant Golf Professional. Don’t worry, I’ve since learned that not every job out of college is 9-5 in a cubicle. I was very fortunate to work at three golf facilities in the Greater Boston area. My responsibilities included organizing member and charity golf tournaments, managing the golf merchandising operation, providing instructional lessons to members, and representing the club in local tournaments. Part of my experience included completing the PGA of America’s rigorous certification program and becoming a P.G.A. Golf Professional.

After working in the golf industry for 10 years, I decided it was time for a career change.  Fortunately, I had a couple of former colleagues who had undergone a similar transition before me and they provided incredible guidance.  My first role post-golf was as a Business Development Representative (BDR) position at a cloud security startup in Boston. After that, I joined Onapsis in November 2018 as a Strategic BDR and was a part of that team for 2+ years before joining the Sales Enablement team in July 2021.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

First and foremost, I have had the opportunity to work with great people in my professional life who I have learned a lot from and who have supported me throughout my career. I think my work ethic, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to learn from others has led me to where I am today. In addition, I pride myself on following through on my commitments which I hope bring reliability and accountability to my role.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as an Enablement Specialist at Onapsis?

The Company Enablement team is a part of the broader Strategic Programs team at Onapsis. As an Enablement Specialist, my responsibilities include: strategic initiatives such as global onboarding and bootcamps for new Ona team members, implementing certification programs for our GTM teams, and helping to organize various internal and external training sessions.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

I am early on in my Enablement career, and it has been a winding road to get here, but I think it is important to define end-goals for the projects that you are working on and design a plan to get there. This will provide clarity and direction towards achievement. I also think it is important to be task-oriented and have the ability to juggle multiple projects simultaneously.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Both. Iced coffee year-round with iced and hot tea mixed in from time to time.

What time do you get into the office? 

Around 7:30 AM. I am an early riser and like to walk to work, so I can’t blame it on the #7 bus being late.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

• Helping others achieve their goals
• Taking part in projects that have a meaningful impact
• Working at a company that makes a difference

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

I live in Boston and like to walk to the office, unless the weather prevents me from doing so. This helps set the tone for the day. Once I arrive, I usually eat breakfast and clear my inbox. Throughout the rest of a typical day, I meet with colleagues on our current projects, attend company-wide or team-specific meetings, and then perform work tasks related to those projects. I think it is important to break up the day a bit so I like to go for a walk around the city during my lunch break.  

What time do you head out of the office? 

Between 5:15-5:30

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?

Shut it down completely. One thing the pandemic has taught me is the importance of work-life balance.

Any productivity hacks?

• Build short breaks into your schedule and block off your calendar for lunch
• Block off time at the end of the week to get caught up on things that got pushed back during the week
• Create a ‘To-Do’ list each night for the next day which will help you stay organized and hit the ground running in the morning
• Take notes during meetings, especially if you have several meetings each day

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

• Spotify for music and podcasts
• 98.5 The Sports Hub for Boston sports talk radio
• GHIN mobile golf for posting scores, tracking stats, and handicap updates

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

When I was in the golf industry, I was elected President of the New England PGA’s Assistants’ Association, which is a volunteer association responsible for organizing a tournament schedule and career development opportunities for members of the Association.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

I typically reach out to my mentors and friends within my professional network who have helped me in the past. I try to identify someone who has been in a similar position before and pick their brains for advice. 

We connected with Dan Faulkner, Chief Product Officer at SmartBear, for a Q&A to discuss why he decided to join the team. 

Why join SmartBear now?

SmartBear is an exciting company at a critical stage. The company has maintained a rapid growth rate and expansion over recent years. During the interview process, it became very clear that the entire executive team is ambitious for even more success. I’m excited by that desire for more. I believe I can help the company position itself for and execute on the next stages of growth. 

I was particularly pleased that the executive team and investors would like to drive more of the company’s growth through organic product investments. That means building more products from scratch, and it means expanding the capabilities of our existing products to expand our user base and increase pricing. While I love utilizing M&A as part of a growth strategy (and I do expect that to continue), supplementing that with our own innovations presents an opportunity to compound growth. It also creates new technical and career opportunities for the entire product organization, as well as creating a greater sense of cohesion and common mission throughout the product and engineering community at the company.

So that combination of scaling the organization, continuing M&A, and setting up the company to accelerate organic growth is very attractive to me. 

What are your first impressions of the teams you are working with here?

Very positive, and I expected them to be. The SmartBear culture comes through in all my interactions. I’ve found the entire team to be friendly, committed, smart, driven, and curious; all traits I love to see in my colleagues. There’s a high degree of technical excellence, also as expected. 

With that said, there are clearly opportunities for us all to improve and evolve as the company grows, and I’ve been grateful that the people I have worked with so far have been candid about where they feel we excel and where we have opportunities to improve. 

It’s also rare to see such outstanding sales and marketing lined up behind the product portfolio as we have at SmartBear. Product, Marketing, and Sales really support each other, and the sales and marketing teams are real powerhouses that catapult our great products into the market. 

I recently had the opportunity to have in-person meetings with the teams in Bath, UK, and Wroclaw, Poland, and there really is no substitute for meeting people face-to-face. I have more listening to do over the coming weeks and months, and I’m looking forward to hearing from as many people in the organization as possible. 

Coming from a larger company (Nuance), is there anything you can see bringing into SmartBear from what you helped to build over many years?

I believe I can. I was with Nuance as it grew from a few hundred employees to over 14,000. Like SmartBear, Nuance executed many acquisitions, had offices all over the world, and generally operated with a high degree of complexity. There are very clear parallels in SmartBear that are familiar to me, and I believe I can help the company get the most out of the opportunities that lie before it based on that experience.

While Nuance did experience outstanding growth, it also made mistakes along the way. All companies make mistakes, and we will obviously make them, too. My goal is to try to help SmartBear repeat the best practices that Nuance developed during its best phases and to achieve them earlier than Nuance did. And of course, to help us avoid some of the issues and pitfalls that Nuance encountered. 

I learned at Nuance that it is critically important to have a conscious set of values and a conscious culture to get the best from your organization. I can see the management team here really cares about its people and is invested in making everyone in the company successful and rewarded. It probably doesn’t always feel like that to everyone – it never always feels like that to everyone – but it is clear to me, from the executive team to individual managers, there’s a deep commitment to team welfare, growth, and advancement. 

Are there any particular strengths our product and dev teams have that you see as important to continue?

I expected a high level of technical acumen and I see it. So that is – for me – a given. 

One thing that has resonated with me is the extreme degree of customer focus throughout the organization. Every developer I have met so far has a keen sense of the end-users of our products, what they need, and what they’re going to need. That’s fantastic to see, and long may it continue. Deep customer knowledge is invaluable – it helps developers work more efficiently and make better decisions day-to-day. 

There’s also a higher than usual level of accountability, which I absolutely love to see. Caring about the complete performance of your products – rather than just the tasks to be completed in the sprint – is one of the key markers of excellent software teams.

What surprised you most in your first few weeks here at SmartBear?

Well, there’s a lot of orange 😊. Seriously, very little has surprised me so far. This is a highly, highly competent organization that demonstrates operational excellence daily. The strengths are as advertised, the areas for focus are as anticipated. The company is very much as I expected it to be based on the interview process, which speaks well of the interviewing team. 

Fill in the blank in this the sentence: “Expect …. from the product and development team in the coming year”

A technical vision for the SmartBear portfolio, expressed quite specifically and concretely: our target portfolio to address a well-defined target market. From that, a logically prioritized roadmap and execution strategy that gets us from where we are today to our target, with urgency. Greater velocity both through streamlined processes and increased investment in R&D. A tighter technical integration between our products. A focus on reusability across the portfolio to free up more bandwidth for new product developments and innovative enhancements to our existing products. An intense focus on a delightful end-user experience that is common to SmartBear users, whichever of our products they are using. A more integrated product and engineering organization whose members are excited to contribute to the SmartBear technology mission, wherever they are and whatever product they are working on.