Prior to joining the S4A team, German had spent the past decade specializing in supporting, selling, and product-managing intricate data and software solutions tailored for E&P Companies.
Renowned as a valued team player, German is a reliable source for insight and strategic thinking. His unique blend of ingenuity and personable nature has consistently paved the way for finding mutually beneficial solutions, fostering enduring professional and personal relationships.
We asked German a few questions so you can get to know him better.
Can you share a bit more about your career journey and what led to your current role as VP of Product Development?
I started my career as a product specialist for exploration software at a company with a highly successful product. I learned that software, while seemingly just a bunch of screens and clicks, can take on the identity of its user base if developed properly. It’s so critical to listen to user recommendations, as the software is integral to their work and projects. If not, you risk alienating them and having them not properly adopt the product. This role taught me the importance of keeping users’ voices present in planning and decision-making.
My transition into sales gave me a broader perspective on how our products add value for clients while needing to maintain a bottom line. I learned to balance supporting clients with high-quality products and features while ensuring they understood the associated costs. This role helped me build relationships across different company levels, from geologists and geophysicists to VPs of Exploration and land managers, enhancing my understanding of strategic goals.
Moving into product management, I focused on understanding user needs and planning how to deliver value through our products. Joining S4A was a great opportunity to combine my varied experiences. As VP of Product Development, I ensure our products align with customer goals and guide clients toward long-term solutions over temporary fixes. This holistic and partnership-based approach helps clients achieve efficiency and digital transformation, ultimately benefiting their overall strategy.
How do you approach leading your team and fostering innovation within the product development department?
My approach to leading the team and fostering innovation within the product development department is centered on trust and openness. I will never claim to be an expert or the smartest person in the room. I deeply value and seek out the opinions of those around me. I believe my team members are in their positions for a reason, and their work consistently impresses me. This trust creates an environment where people feel comfortable suggesting ideas, big or small, without fear of being put down.
By encouraging everyone to share their thoughts, we often stumble upon innovative ideas organically. Someone might mention something interesting without even realizing its potential, and by unpacking it together, we can develop something truly innovative. I believe the collective input of the team is our greatest asset. Innovation isn’t the result of one person’s effort; it’s the outcome of a group sharing what’s not working and brainstorming solutions.
To foster this environment, I emphasize openness and approachability. I break the formality with small gestures, like ending scrums with a Dad joke, to inject personality and culture into our work. This helps to create a comfortable space where creativity can thrive.
We have a new product launching this fall, Envoy Balance, which is a planning and scheduling app. What was the inspiration behind developing Envoy Balance and how did the idea evolve?
With Envoy Balance we’ve created a solution to the complexity of planning and scheduling within asset maintenance. This process can be fairly complicated and involves multiple factors, such as employee availability, qualifications, and non-working time, like travel, meetings, and training. These can all significantly impact the actual time available for maintenance work. We wanted to create a powerful yet user-friendly app that simplifies this complexity and helps users make quick, effective decisions…and it’s been exciting to see our vision come to life!
Envoy Balance brings all the necessary aspects together, enabling users to keep their schedules in balance efficiently. The name itself reflects the constant struggle our users face to maintain balance in their planning. While things might look good initially, daily interruptions can disrupt plans, requiring quick adjustments. A cumbersome application with many dimensions and steps would only add to their challenges, causing them to get buried by processes when they need to adapt on the fly.
By reducing these complexities, Envoy Balance provides a streamlined, guided experience that helps users keep their plans balanced and allows them to move through their day smoothly. It addresses problems as they arise without getting bogged down by intricate processes.
Interested in learning more about Envoy Balance? We’d love to book a demo and take you through it step-by-step.
