 Celebrating
12 Years!
Paul D. Rochon
Company History:
I joined the company on April 1, 1993, after two lean years as a struggling
entrepreneur. I was no fool. I had graduated from school in 1983, and joined
Bell-Northern Research, as a member of scientific staff and became director.
BNR was a school of another kind: a wonderful springboard for
entrepreneurship. When I joined AVeL-TECH, I was pleased to find a happy
medium between the comfort and security of a well-established R&D company,
and the thrilling tightrope of entrepreneurship. I hasten to emphasize that
the company I founded moved on to great success after my departure (I like
to think in spite of my departure!)
When I joined Ortivus (formerly AVeL-TECH), I took responsibility for
research and development. I was employee number four (004), so my early days
at AVeL-TECH involved a whole lot of development. My two years as an
entrepreneur served me well, as I wore many hats. After running R&D for ten
years, we had grown to 15 developers, and I found myself devoting most of my
time to sales support. So I relinquished the reigns of the R&D department,
and devoted all my time to sales support.
Current position:
My current title is “VP of Advanced Engineering”. I still find myself mostly
involved in a sales support role, because of my facility to marry
requirement to product. However, as a result of my considerable (and
occasionally distressing) seniority, I manage some key projects and either
foster or drive a number of strategic initiatives within Ortivus NA. I earn
my moniker for “Advanced Engineering” by keeping on the lookout for
technology and product trends. Recently, I caved-in to my engineering
impulse and secretly created “GoTrack”, the phone tracking software. I was
overwhelmed by the determined
efficiency of our support team to field my
baby, and then by the expedient and creative genius of our marketing team in
its promotion. Holy smokes!
Most memorable event since you’ve been with the
company:
I remember being invited to Kuala Lumpur (yes, in Malaysia) to demonstrate
our AVL product, to a local supplier of vehicle alarm systems. Having lived
in Europe and being a frequent traveler within North America, I thought that
although exotic, Kuala Lumpur would not present any major surprise to a
seasoned traveler such as me. Wrong! The travel was a marathon of three
flights, one of which crossed the International Date Line. I landed in Kuala
Lumpur in an airport under construction, at 1:30 AM local time – which is
1:30 PM the day before in my departure time zone. It was 29º Celsius (about
90º Fahrenheit) with 100% humidity – in the middle of the night... To make
matters worse, on the airplane, in a quasi catatonic state I had just
survived my first screening of Fargo, the movie. There is no greater climate
contrast than that between Fargo ND in winter and Kuala Lumpur.
No problem (as they say in Jamaica). Teksi!
Most enjoyable part of your job:
I enjoy solving problems and articulating solutions. Many customers are
occasionally burdened with apparently insurmountable problems. In some
cases, the customer is unaware that a solution exists or even that there is
a problem. I take great pleasure in getting to the root of the problem with
a customer, and then devising and articulating a solution that involves an
absolute minimum of effort on either side. There is great beauty in
simplicity.
Other Relevant or Interesting Information:
Nah.
Welcome Beth!
Beth Hollar
Company History:
I started on March 7th, 2005 as an Education Representative in the Support
Department of Ortivus North America (NA) in Decorah. Since then, I have come
a long way. It has been quite a journey! Luckily, I have extraordinary
colleagues who help me daily in expanding my knowledge with Ortivus NA’s
software. They have enabled me to become confident enough to place myself in
new and exciting challenges.
Current position:
I am still an Education Representative in the Support Department. I have
moved from having knowledge only about the education aspect of our software,
to being able to trouble shoot technical problems that arise. I am really
looking forward to advancing my familiarity with our software and moving
forward with the new technology of the future.
Most memorable event since you’ve been with the
company:
It hasn’t been a year and I already feel like I have been with Ortivus for
years. I have so many good memories here.
The most memorable, is probably going out on
my own to train a new customer on Field Data for the first time. On one
hand, I was so excited to venture out on my own and finally do what I was
put on the job to do. On the other, I was absolutely terrified that I would
somehow forget all the information I had learned…as if something would come
down from the sky and suck all the Field Data know-how from my head right
before entering the training site.
Everything went fine. We ran into some problems, but we worked through them
and they learned how to use Field Data. They didn’t even know I was a
rookie! Most enjoyable part of your job:
This is the easiest question to answer. The most enjoyable part of my job is
working and talking with our customers. I speak with so many special people
everyday. I love getting a challenge and working through it! The most
rewarding part of my job is learning something new with a customer. I don’t
think there will ever be a day when I know everything about Billing or Field
Data, so when I learn something with or because of a customer, it is really
gratifying. Another enjoyable part of
my job is working with some of the most patient and knowledgeable people I
have ever met: the Ortivus NA support team. I love coming to my job everyday
to work with them. We actually have fun with our jobs! If one of us is
having a bad day, we will all work together to help them. We are more like a
family than a group of people sharing the same career.
Other Relevant of Interesting Information:
I can honestly say that I love my job. I learn and teach everyday! There
aren’t too many occupations that give you that opportunity.
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