Meet Vanessa, Strategic Customers Technical Manager and karaoke lover

I’m a part of the global sales engineering team at Axis, and work as a strategic customers technical manager in Lund. I have been working as a sales engineer in the team for a few years, but recently transitioned into this new role, which is actually a completely new one at Axis. It’s a strategic role with a long term focus that involves cross-functional collaboration and creation of communication channels with different stakeholders.

The quick answer is that there is never a typical day, which makes my role so great. I get to tackle unique technical challenges every day, meet customers from all over the world, and support our regional teams with trainings and education. My favorite part of the role is being the direct link between our global customers and our R&D department. Listening in and soaking up our customers’ challenges and insights and bringing them back to our product developers is very exciting.

I’ve been at Axis since 2012, so I feel like I am part of the furniture. When I first joined Axis in South Africa, I had a completely different role as a key account manager, but I always loved the more technical side of our business — understanding future developments and analytics. After 8 years as a key account manager I felt ready to take the next step in my career, but also knew I wanted to stay at Axis. Then an opportunity came up for a role as a global sales engineer in Lund, so I applied, and they took a chance on me. Recently, I got an offer to take on this new role, and that’s where I am today. What’s exciting about this new role is that I get a lot of freedom to create it myself. Axis is good at giving employees opportunities and tailoring new roles to the unique skills of their employees.

Axis has invested in me from day one. They are so good at supporting employees in their roles and career development, and there are always growth opportunities. This was even more apparent when I decided to relocate from my role at Axis in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Lund four years ago. The HR team was so helpful in my relocation process, and kept on top of the legalities and paperwork. I felt they were prepared to make the extra effort, which was reassuring during a significant life change that affected not only me but my husband and children who came with me. 

For me, it’s all about the recruitment process, which Axis does exceptionally well. What makes us unique is that we recruit according to the company’s values and culture. I think that’s important because it helps us find the right people — it’s not only about what’s written on your resume but about whether you as a person will fit in. And that results in a company where we all have shared values and a similar drive — you can feel it when you walk around the building or meet a coworker from the US, Australia, or any of our locations.

The world is your oyster at Axis, so don’t limit yourself to what’s on your diploma. Start by thinking about where you want to be, then look at the opportunities and take the chance to apply. If there are gaps in your knowledge, there is a lot you can learn once in the role.