This excerpt was originally published in our 2022 coffee table book, Avatara at a Glance. Click here to view the digital flipbook or contact us to request a free hard copy.
The Relationships at the Helm of Avatara’s Success
Avatara is a future-focused company, but there’s also something to be said for its rich history. Today’s CompleteCloud Platform is the culmination of decades of incremental development and customer feedback directed by Avatara’s founder, Rob McCormick. These types of long-standing relationships within the leadership team are a large part of the company’s solid footing.
Max Mutrux, Avatara’s CTO, has fond memories of working with Rob before he founded Avatara.
“Rob and I first bumped into each other around 1986,” Max recalls. “He was technically one level below me in the corporate hierarchy, but I knew back then that someday we were all going to be working for him. I have a classic engineer’s personality, always worrying about what can go wrong. Rob has a unique ability to see the risks that are worth taking and encouraged me to run with my ideas from day one.”
Theirs isn’t the only relationship that preceded Avatara. Rob remembers the first time he met Jim Pezold, who is now Avatara’s VP of Operations.
“It was my first day of a college summer internship and I was sent to Jim’s office to ask for a computer terminal,” Rob remembers. “When I got there, I was met with a giant cloud of smoke (because it was the ‘80s and of course Jim was smoking indoors) and a less than friendly greeting. When I asked him for the equipment, he demanded, ‘Where’s your work order?!’ Jim and I eventually became friends and came to a common understanding about customer interactions.”
Decades later, Jim became the fourth member of the Avatara team. Today, his colleagues lovingly refer to him as “miJ”, his alter ego, when he’s loudly demanding action on a customer’s behalf.
Avatara’s President, Ben Scully, and VP of Sales, Kraig Kubicek, have a longstanding history as well.
They began working together at Ben’s former marketing agency in 2012, where Kraig quickly became his top salesman. Since they joined Avatara together in 2013, Ben and Kraig have been mutually responsible for bringing the CompleteCloud Platform to the masses. They’ve also shared lunch nearly every day since joining forces. While that may seem trivial, there is invaluable strength when colleagues become friends and goals are pursued in tandem.
In the coming weeks, keep an eye out for leadership spotlights to learn more about the unique personalities that lead Avatara today.
