Q&A with Fabio
Fabio joined Radiall VanSystem in 2017. He didn't know much about connectors at first, but now he is well-versed in railway connectors and customer satisfaction. Read more about what he does below.
Q.What did you do when you first started at Radiall?
A.I was hired in 2017 to take the baton from Mr. Vanzo, founder and former owner of VanSystem. I was specifically responsible for the commercial aspects of his job, especially focusing on our main customers in the Railway market. When I started, I was not an expert in connectors, as my professional background had been in the electric actuators market. However, thanks to the support of the VanSystem team and my daily interactions with our customers, now I am knowledgeable about most railway applications in relation to our connectors. I still have a lot to learn, though; Radiall’s product portfolio is wide and covers several fields!
Q.Can you tell us more about your current role?
A.Now I am the inside sales manager, and I lead all the local commercial activities and manage a relatively small but committed team of professionals. I did not give up my previous responsibilities, and my team supports me in meeting our customers' expectations. I am eager to grow the Railway business by working with the Radiall teams around the world.
Q.What do you like most about your work?
A.It is intellectually stimulating, balanced and gives me the opportunity to span across several different fields of expertise (from engineering to contracts, communication and negotiation challenges). I never have to worry about getting bored at work; in fact, my days are always too short!
Q.What is a typical day like for you at Radiall?
A.It is difficult to define a standard day here, especially with the backlash of the Covid situation. I suppose that a typical day is similar to anyone’s; I do e-mails, phone calls, time management, web meetings, etc. On the other hand, our customers expect a high level of flexibility and responsiveness, so we seldom sit down and do exactly what we have planned for the day. We encourage communicating via chat, text, e-mail to optimize our time and be more efficient, but it is not always possible.;
Q.What’s the best advice you have for someone wanting to pursue a career in your field?
A.If you look up "Mars Climate Orbiter" on Wikipedia and read about the causes of failure, you will understand the two most important things to do in our field: keep an eye on details and follow the specs to the letter. Unlike repetitive, structured activities where the worst enemy is boredom and distraction, in our job the problem is that you need to find several different solutions that work together. If I take something for granted, I take a risk. On the other hand, time is a limited resource. The tradeoff between these two constraints is the core of our profession.
Q.What’s been your proudest moment in your career?
A.I think the proudest moment in my career was when I helped our most important customer resolve an application problem in the US. It was a bad situation, and we resolved the issue together.