In a world traditionally populated by men, at Invert Robotics, we are particularly happy to have recently appointed Esmer Dukul as General Manager of our Inspection Services. Bringing her business development, sales and peoples’ skills to the table, she is streamlining our most valuable assets: our people with our robotic platform and inspection services.
In doing so, Esmer is the living proof that you don’t need a technical background to get things done in our high-tech industry.
A journey into high tech
“My story of how I came to work in this tech environment, has everything to do with investing in one’s personal development. Already early on in my career, I was lucky to have bosses who coached me in tackling and completing projects. And to take on challenges outside of my comfort zone. And to do so successfully: by listening and learning.”
“For me, achieving personal goals is all about seeing and creating opportunities. I constantly ask myself what more there is to be done to make a company successful. And, of course, you need a bit of luck every so often. Such a lucky moment came when I was approached by Invert Robotics to join their team as Business Development Director Aviation.”
“My first thought was: what could I offer them as non-technical person in a high-tech oriented company? International marketing, sales and operations in a B-to-B environment: those were my specializations. But for me, importantly, all my work was about building trust in relationships and business. Working with a focus on customers and motivating people have always been my drivers in achieving results.”
“So, maybe not surprisingly, I found the answer to my question in Invert Robotics’ basic concept of their disruptive robot technology: to make inspections safer. Wow! Here was a tech company that is all about improving safety for people! It didn’t take much convincing for me to take the BIG leap into the high-tech world of Invert Robotics.”
It’s not about tech, it’s about people
“Yes, we sell tech. We work with robots, but we’re not robots ourselves! And neither are our customers. In fact, our robotic platform is nothing without our people. And our people cannot function to their max, if the tech cannot fulfil what has been promised by sales. Communication between sales and inspection services is therefore of the essence!”
“Now, my new role as manager of our inspection services, comes with the assignment to integrate our sales and inspection services departments. Having them as separate entities, comes with the potential drawback of each of the departments doing their own thing. What you often see, is that people focus on their own targets and not on how they can be complimentary and support each other.”
“It’s why I consider it my main task to make connections and coach our salespeople and inspectors as to how they can leverage their combined know-how. In doing so, they can create new opportunities, as well as streamline inspection services to fulfil customer expectations even better.”
Keep asking and challenge the status quo
“I value open communication at every level within an organization. It’s why I always tell people to keep asking and challenge the status quo. If people can’t ask questions, they can’t learn or grow. This can result in people doing nothing at all. I’m always there for questions, input and feedback. And I certainly hope to enthuse young women to challenge the status quo of the ‘it’s a man’s world’ tech industry!”
