Management Motivations: Take your enthusiasm and add a skill to it to create a successful career

Management Motivations is a new series of articles by Quectel's senior executives that explores their management styles, approaches to the challenges of further developing the company and what drives them to lead and succeed.

Pini Sagi, Regional GM, Sales

1.Take your enthusiasm and add a skill to it to create a successful career

I've been involved with technology for the last 25 years, specifically with telecom, wireless, chips and systems in various international companies, ranging from start-ups to well-established large corporations. After serving eight years in the Israeli Air Force, reaching the rank of Major, I started work in tech support in an Israeli start-up, RIT technologies, which specializes in advanced network management systems.

I soon moved over into marketing and sales, holding director of sales roles at Microsemi, UR Group and Metalink, joining Sequans Communications at vice president of sales for EMEA and Latin America in 2005. I stayed there for more than seven years, introducing 4G technology to mobile telecom companies amongst other things, before taking senior sales roles at Mobix, Gutermann and i2O before joining Quectel in 2018. In all these roles, I managed sales teams, distributors and representatives, both locally and across the globe.

My natural interest and curiosity about how things work has always driven me to look under the hood of any new equipment or gadgets I have come across and this innate curiosity led to a degree in Electronic Engineering -Communication from Tel Aviv University. I am fascinated by technology and enjoy learning new things at any time, especially in the wireless modules ecosystem where we can be part of different and interesting applications.

In my career, I've interlinked my enthusiasm for technology with the enjoyment of sales. I like the excitement of the selling process, turning a “No, maybe, we’ll see or it's too costly” prospect into a good partner. Winning a customer that keeps coming back is one of the most rewarding and fascinating challenges I can think of.

I feel confident to approach new prospects, to strive for a deal and to close it in the best way for both sides. The fact that I can travel and meet different people from different cultures while making the sales journey offers an added element of enjoyment.

I joined Quectel accepting the challenge of being part of a fast-growing innovative global company, working with multinational teams to achieve results. During the course of my career I have worked for Israeli start-ups that grew to be global and became publicly traded. I've also worked for a French company with Sequans, a German/Swiss business with Gutermann and now, with Quectel, China.

I was excited to join Quectel because this is the first time I've worked in a Chinese company and one that had more than 1,000 employees - at least it was 1,000 when I joined, the figure has now more than doubled in just 2 years.

Look out for my next blog in this series “Treat people as you would expect to be treated”.