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“Meet The Team” – Issue 7

IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR SEVENTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. RAGHU RAJ KURUP

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

My Name is Raghu Raj Kurup. I am from India, and am currently living in Ras Al Khaimah UAE.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?

I am the Regional Sales Manager for Middle East & Africa region, and have been with FTI since the early days of the company – a total of 11 years and 11 months.

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?

My main responsibility is to build distribution channels for FTI Brands in Middle East & Africa and Private Label Business in South-East Asia. This is a role that includes many different activities and facets, however like many of my colleagues in the customer-facing side of FTI, the ability to communicate is a vital skill for my role.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?

Typically, my day starts with short meetings with the product management and sales support teams on pending orders and shipments. Then, I spend a considerable part of my day communicating with the clients, gathering market information, understanding competitor’s strategy etc., which I then discuss in-depth with the MEA sales team. Furthermore, I devote some of my time to contacting new prospects and promoting FTI products, highlighting the benefits of doing business with FTI. The need to maintain constant contact with new clients is crucial because the sales cycle behind a new client deal takes a minimum of 2 to 3 months, and some cases up to a year.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?

I think the MEA market volatility is a considerable challenge that I must deal with on a daily basis. The market volatility is related to the fact that end-consumers of our product are not always quality conscious, and the market is therefore influenced by cheaper competitors who produce lower-priced products from Far East Asian Brands. However, with FTI’s unique product range, consistent quality, proximity and customer relations we are able to overcome such challenges and maintain our positive market position.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?

The closest working relationship I have is with the product management team, who regularly update me on production capacity, lead times, new product information etc. Secondly I often interact with the marketing team, who is very active in social media and in supporting sales managers with catalogues, POP materials, banners etc. Overall, I would say that FTI has a very professional team across the board, who work hard to ensure that all processes happen very smoothly.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?

I like to be physically active and on week days I often play badminton, whilst at the weekends I enjoy cycling – Ras Al Khaimah has some excellent roads and tracks to cycle on and this is one of the benefits of living here. I also enjoy international cuisine, and whilst I would say that food from my home country of India is my favourite, I enjoy sampling cuisines from different countries, especially Lebanese and Iranian food.

“Meet The Team” – Issue 5

IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR FIFTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. FRED PEREZ

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

My name is Fred Perez and I am based in San Francisco, California.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?

I am FTI’s Sales Director for North America, and I passed the ten-year mark in this position in November last year.

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?

I am responsible for building the reseller network for FTI products in North America, which is a wide-ranging and varied role encompassing the entire product sales and customer service function for FTI in the North American market. As you might imagine, my role is one which involves a huge amount of contact with our customers so the ability to build and develop great relations with our prospects and existing customers is crucial.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?

Typically, my day revolves around communicating with both existing customers and prospects. In the case of existing customers, much of my efforts are focussed on trying to come up with marketing programs, providing product information, gathering information on sales forecasting and discussing new opportunities. As for new prospects, my focus is on effectively promoting FTI as a company, highlighting the quality of our products and outlining the benefits of doing business with FTI.

Other daily tasks include reviewing our order schedule, answering questions from the channel, product planning and following up with questions from our central manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?

The main challenge I face is in the signing up of new customers. The sales cycle can take anything between 2 months and 5 years, so needless to say that maintaining good relationships with prospective customers is of paramount importance and I need to remain in continual contact with the prospect over the course of the sales cycles via calling, providing product information and communicating new announcements.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?

I work most closely with the product management team, who I have consistently found excellent in terms of providing the support I need, plus there is great teamwork throughout the entire team – the people are great to work and have a positive outlook to all aspects of our work, which is key to our overall success. I also think that representing a company who manufactures such a high quality products is a strong source of motivation and morale for both me and my colleagues.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?

I have many interests outside work including travelling, walking, tennis, and spending time around friends and family. I am a big fan of Japanese food and especially love sushi! When is comes to sports, I enjoy watching baseball and the San Francisco Giants are the team that I support. I also enjoy films and music and my favourite films to watch are the Star Wars series, and as for music my favourite songs are “Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel and “Moondance” by Van Morrison.

“Meet The Team” – Issue 6

IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR SIXTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MS. RAJWA MAHDI

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

My name Rajwa Mahdi and I am from Shouf in Lebanon.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?

I am FTI Sales Manager for the Middle East region and I have been with FTI for almost 2 years.

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?

My role is to help develop FTI’s presence in Middle East and North Africa, by finding new distributor channels and growing market share for FTI products, including the FalconMedia and Verbatim brands. Ultimately, my main objective is to grow sales for the optical media products that FTI produces and represents.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?

Typically, my day starts at the office in RAK sending emails, developing a list of new potential clients, making calls to existing and potential clients, providing them with information about our products, and organizing meetings with them – in a nutshell, my role is all about effective communication, being proactive and supportive with our existing clients, and researching enough about new prospects to ensure that we can introduce our company and products in a way that meets their needs.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?

The main challenge I face – probably like most people who are employed in sales roles – is to identify and sign new clients. Development of new clients can take a lot of time, there is always a sales cycle to go through and I have to allow enough time to communicate with the prospective client and fully understand their needs so that I can ensure that the brands, products, and tailored service that we offer represents the right choice for every individual prospect. My experience helps me to direct my effort in ways that can save some time so that I can get to the stage of sending a meaningful proposal a little more quickly, however there is always a discovery process to go through with every client.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?

The team I work with at FTI are all great communicators, good communication is essential for our team to ensure we communicate well with each other, and with the many other other departments involved in the background that makes our selling jobs possible – specifically the production, product management, marketing and finance teams who support our work. At the end of the day, I believe that communication is the key to any successful working relationship. Also, one thing I want to highlight is the strong team spirit and positive working environment evident at FTI, which makes it a great place to work.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?

Outside of work I enjoy walking in the beach, reading Arabic stories from famous writers like Jobran Khalil like the one I’m reading now called “The Prophet”. These days I also go to the gym to keep fit, and I like soccer and am a Fan of FC Barcelona. My favorite food is Lebanese but also like Italian pasta. I enjoy Arabic music from Marwan Khoury, and sometimes Celine Dion.

“Meet The Team” – Issue 4

IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR FOURTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. NEIL BROCK

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

My name is Neil Brock and I am from Manchester in the UK.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?

I am currently the sales and business development manger for Europe, having worked for the company since 2009 and held a number of different roles.

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?

FTI has recently evolved its business strategy to move towards a partner-distribution model, and my principle responsibility is to manage the master distribution agreements FTI has in place with three key distribution partners in Europe. Technically, this responsibility is relatively new for me as the new business strategy was rolled out within the last month, however the distribution partners we have chosen are ones I have been working with for several years so there is an excellent relationship in place already and I see this change in role as a positive development. Also, I am responsible for new sales and business development in new territories such as Eastern Europe where FTI’s brand is less well known, plus I also manage a select number of key FTI customers on a direct basis.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?

Being based in the UK, I work remotely from the central FTI office in Ras Al Khaimah. Much of my day is spent communicating with the team to ensure that I keep track of product developments which equips me with any new information available to assist with the business of growing sales for FTI in Europe. The other side of my daily activities involves liaison with clients and distributors to enable their requests and needs are effectively communicated to my manufacturing and production colleagues back in the RAK central office. While I would say that no two days are the same, the crucial, central factor to my role which I employ on a daily basis is the ability to both listen and communicate effectively.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?

I would say there are three skills that are essential to my role – communication, innovation and negotiation. I often find myself in a position whereby I am the “interpreter” between our clients and our manufacturing operations. For this, it is essential that I understand enough detail about the requirements and workings of both to be able to innovate different solutions which ensure that our clients needs are met, whilst our manufacturing and production teams continue to adhere to their high working practices and standards. Innovating such solutions is the biggest challenge of my role, however it is one that I enjoy and makes the job interesting and worthwhile.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?

My main contact with the team is via the senior management, especially the leaders of the product management department, who I communicate with on a very regular basis. I also work closely with the ordering processing team, and in general I would describe all the people I work with as very efficient and trustworthy. I also enjoy the multi-cultural nature of the people that I deal with, and during my tenure at FTI I have learned a lot about how cultural norms differ from region to region, and how to adapt my own communication style accordingly. That said, no matter what the cultural background of my colleagues at FTI one common thread is that everyone shares a positive attitude and a willingness to succeed.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?

Running is my main passion outside work – I have run 7 marathons and hope to break the 3 hour mark when I run the London marathon in April this year. I have also ran the RAK Half Marathon on my travels to Ras Al Khaimah, and I must say it is a fantastic event and a great course for runners. I am married with two adult children, who are both following their own career paths in the UK (based in London and Leeds respectively) and I enjoy sampling local cuisines when I travel.

Falcon Technologies International unveils regional partnerships in new global distribution strategy.

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, January 29th 2018 – Optical Media storage specialist Falcon Technologies International (FTI) has announced the formation of a number of key regional distribution partnerships in support of the company’s new worldwide strategy to increase sales and distribution via closer cooperation with the key players in the global optical media industry.

FTI’s new strategy is a pro-active step towards adapting to the shifting market dynamics of the optical media industry, which have evolved in the last 2 years towards consolidation into a smaller number of larger market players within all major territories globally.

In Europe, FTI has entered into distribution agreements with River Pro Audio to cover UK and Ireland, with Media Range to cover Northern Europe, and with Synoptic to cover Southern Europe. Each distribution partner has specialist knowledge and distribution networks in their respective territories and the existing, long-standing relationship each partner currently enjoys with FTI was a key factor in their selection as partners.

Within China, FTI has entered into an agreement with Yuen Data Technology Limited, who will serve as the official distributor of FTI archival, medical and professional products for the Chinese market. The partnership has been effective since January 2018.

FTI’s new distribution agreements come shortly after two other important news were announced; earlier this month FTI confirmed the opening of FTI US LLC to serve the dual functions of further improving its customer service to its North American customers, as well as gaining a larger footprint in the territory, and during 2017 FTI entered into an agreement with Verbatim to act as Verbatim’s exclusive distributor for their optical media products to countries in the Middle East.

FTI CEO Michael Gutowski said: “The optical media market has seen a number of partnerships and mergers take place in the last few years, and today we can see that the global future of the industry will be more heavily influenced by a smaller number of key companies as the sector moves towards a more consolidated position. FTI is one of those key market players, and given that our core strength is our professional focus and attitude, we have made the strategic decision to focus on being the number one global professional optical media manufacturer and made alliances with strategic distribution partners in our key market territories. This strategy will ensure that FTI is best positioned to take advantage of the current market consolidation and will place FTI’s products at the top of the scale as regards quality and reliability”.

Press Release – Falcon Technologies International to open a new branch office in North America.

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, January 3^rd 2018 – Optical Media storage specialist Falcon Technologies International (FTI) has announced the opening of a new business unit and branch office to cover the North American market.

The new company, which is called FTI US LLC, has been established to support FTI’s growing portfolio of clients in North America, and to capitalize on their success in that market where FTI has been steadily increasing in awareness and market penetration as one of the key suppliers of quality optical media solutions to multiple industrial sectors.

FTI CEO Michael Gutowski said: “The USA has always been a very important market for FTI and our business operations have been established there as far back as 2007, however in line with the growth that FTI has experienced in many territories and especially in the USA, our existing market infrastructure in North America needed to be expanded to cope with growing customer demand. We have therefore set up FTI US LLC for precisely this purpose, which will serve the dual functions of continuing our customer service to our North American customers, as well as gaining a larger footprint in the territory.”

FTI US LLC will be represented by Fred Perez and his team, who has partnered with FTI since their entry to the North American market. FTI US LLC commenced operations officially on January 1st 2018.

“Meet The Team” – Issue 3

IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR THIRD ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. LOUIS TSU.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

My name is Louis Tsu, I am originally from Cork in Ireland and currently live in Geneva, Switzerland.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?

I am the sales manger for the Asia-Pacific region, which from FTI’s perspective is essentially focused on Japan.

WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?

My role is centered around developing FTI’s marketplace position in Japan, which is the birthplace of optical media technology and where are all the principle global players in the optical media industry are based – this includes Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corporation (MCM), who are the owners of Verbatim, one of FTI’s key partners in the Middle Eastern region. Japan is where vendors, producers, manufacturers, clients and other important stakeholder groups in the optical media space interact, cross-correlate and form the business basis of the optical media industry on a global basis and my job is to ensure that I have the awareness of the market developments and the relationships in place to ensure that FTI can maximize its reach and influence on the wider industry through our market penetration of Japan. Whilst my role is essentially a “sales” role, the key component to ensuring success for FTI is effective communication, and cultural awareness plays an important part in this. FTI is continuing to work hard on developing effective sales tools and greater infrastructure in Japan to promote greater market penetration, however a cultural understanding of how market dynamics work and an insight into the culture of decision making – which is very different from other global markets and tends to be dictated by market trends rather than by individuals – is central to how I conduct business for the maximum benefit of FTI.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?

In my role, there really is no such thing as a typical day. Being based in Europe, with a central management office in the Middle East and marketplace in Japan, one of the most important aspect to my job is time-flexibility and an ability to seamlessly flip between different cultural business practices, depending on who I am dealing with. The main department I deal with in the central FTI office in Ras Al Khaimah is the Product Management department, and I often have conference calls with my colleagues to discuss latest product innovations, but also to provide feedback on market intelligence on what is happening within the crucial Japanese market. I also have many contacts in Japan that I deal with on regular basis, spread across a wide range of the different technical specializations of the optical media market. Whilst no two days are the same, every day requires me to be an effective communicator and that skill is key to my role.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?

The main challenge I face is to position FTI on the next level with regard to market influence in Japan. I am working with the central team to get improved tools in place to assist with this objective, plus I contribute to the structural set-up of how we intend to develop our infrastructure in Japan to push FTI to higher level of market influence in Japan, which will in turn positively affect our global influence.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM YOU WORK WITH?

I have worked at FTI now for 7 years, and always remotely, and have a diverse range of experience in terms of being part of and liaising with different teams and departments within the company. One consistent feature I have observed during my tenure is that the company is quite robust in terms of its team composition and the tenure of staff – many people that I deal with have been working at FTI for longer than me and some since the company inception back in 2005, so for someone like me working in a different continent and timezone to the rest of the team, it is good to see that so many of the people I have worked with over the years are still working at FTI, which is a testament to the strong working culture which exists there to this day.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?

I am a keen musician and play the guitar and harmonica – and sometimes both together! At a recent FTI seminar in Ras Al Khaimah, myself and some colleagues had the honor of entertaining the wider team with an exhibition of our musical talents when we performed some songs at an FTI social evening. As a resident of Switzerland I take advantage of the great skiing conditions and try to ski regularly, plus I enjoy cooking, wine and spending time with my family.

“Meet The Team” – Issue 1

In a new series of articles, we will look at the individual roles of a cross-section of different FTI employees. For our first issue of “Meet The Team” we speak to Mr. Vishal Sharma.

What is Your name?

My name is Vishal Sharma and I am from Delhi, India

What is your current position in FTI?

I am the manager of the manufacturing department in FTI. I started with FTI back in 2006, shortly after the plant opened, so I now have 11.5 years of service with the company and am one if FTI’s longest-serving employees.

What does your role involve?

My main responsibility to manage the manufacturing and production floor. I manage a large team of people, and I have several managers that report into me who are responsible for different aspects of the manufacturing, however I have the overall responsibility to ensure that production quotas, based on orders coming through from the sales teams, are met on time and adhere to our quality standards.

In addition to this key function, I am also responsible for disc labelling, printing, and the special solutions used for disc manufacturing. Recently I have expanded my remit to also cover warehousing and purchasing, so my role covers many different areas of expertise.

How would you describe your typical day at FTI?

Given the wide range of responsibilities that I cover, I would say that there is no such thing as a “typical” working day at FTI, however I typically like to be in the office early before the rest of the team arrive, so I am usually here by 7.30am. This gives me an opportunity to go through my emails and prepare for the day. Most days involve meetings with the various managers of my wider team where I receive updates on various aspects of the manufacturing operations and provide direction on how whatever issues we could be facing. I also spend some time on most days with the Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Mattia Balestra, whom I report into.

What are the main challenges you face in your role?

The main challenges for me are meeting production quotas for the sales teams and ensuring that the team have the correct mix of skills necessary to keep quality standards at the high level FTI are known for. Both challenges require me to have a combination of flexibility, an innovative approach and total commitment to the company, however I’m happy to say that there is no challenge we have not been able to find a solution for to date.

How would you describe the team you work with?

I would say that there is an excellent spirit and of teamwork within FTI, and the togetherness ethos that we enjoy today is exemplified by the fact that many of my colleagues have worked here at FTI for over 10 years, so there is great synergy and understanding within the team – we are more like a family than a team.

What are the best things about working for FTI?

I would say that the duty of care to employees ingrained in the culture of FTI is one of the best things about working here. The company places a lot of importance on ensuring that the employees are well looked after from a welfare perspective – regardless of what is happening in the wider commercial environment for the optical media industry – and I think that this is one of the reasons why so many employees have been here for so long.

What do you like to do outside FTI?

I am married with one child (a boy), so I like to spend time at home with my family as much as possible. My hobbies include horse-riding, which is something that is a tradition in my family as my Father was serving in the Indian Army and I had the opportunity to ride horses at a very young age. I also enjoy basketball and volleyball, which are sport that I excelled at when I was younger, representing my school and national level in both. I like to follow the Indian cricket team, and to relax I enjoy watching Bollywood movies, especially those which feature the actor Amir Khan. My favorite movie? It has to be the Amir Khan movie “The Three Idiots”.