FEED Spring 2021 Web

There’s no such thing as a “self-made” person. We asked some of our media tech friends about the inspirational people who made them what they are today

John Wastcoat Zixi SVP strategic alliances & marketing

What do you do? I am responsible for Zixi’s OEM, technology alliance, reseller ecosystems and overall corporate marketing. I create partnerships, helping both parties generate more revenue, and get the message to Zixi customers about why they will be best served working with us. Who has been a mentor in your career? Michelle Munson, co-founder and CEO of Aspera, and now the same for Eluvio. What did she teach you? “Do one more thing.” In smaller software companies, everybody works long and hard, but it is important to give everything for your customers and employees. Even as CEO, Michelle would take support calls so that the overburdened support team had less to do and the customer would have a great experience.

You see that, and at the end of a long project when you are tempted to shut it down for the day, you know you should do one more thing, and then one more thing. It adds up, and customers are the beneficiary. What have you learned that you would most like to pass on? When you are busy with a hundred things, it’s easy to ask colleagues to execute a task. But if you explain the “why” of what you are asking, they get a better sense of strategy and use those experiences going forward. Who would you like to mentor? Not only the people on my team, but the field sales and engineering teams who interact with partners and customers. It’s important to remember that everything you do represents the company and other employees.

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