Executive leadership that supports and empowers its team to execute on initiatives is not just Veeam’s strategy; it’s the foundation of all highly successful organizations. When I recently learned that Veeam was the recipient of five Stevie International Business Awards, (three Gold and two Silver awards), the news was validation that the global business community shares Veeam’s same leadership philosophy of encouraging company innovation and growth.
This forward-thinking style comes directly from the top, which is why I’d like to personally congratulate our CEO, Ratmir Timashev, for his Silver Stevie IBA for Executive of the Year — Computer Services. Ratmir’s leadership has seen the company’s Y 2014 results report total bookings revenue of $389 million, a 40-percent increase over the previous fiscal year. Since the company introduced its first product in 2007, Veeam has generated more than $1 billion in revenue. Ratmir is a global CEO who travels from Asia to North America, and everywhere in between, to connect directly with customers. Although his financial-growth results are phenomenal, his core belief is that every company in the world should have the capability to operate as an Always-On Business™. He makes sure that Veeam’s business, availability products and employees are always aligned with this same idea.
While I am personally honored by my own Gold Stevie IBA for Marketing Executive of the Year, the real credit for our successful strategy goes to the professional execution of programs, campaigns and events by our entire marketing department. When our marketing team also received a Gold Stevie IBA for Marketing Department of the Year, it was rewarding to see that their collective contributions were recognized in the general business community. Well-deserved!
In addition to producing 2,300+ marketing events and programs worldwide in 2014 alone, the marketing department also produced VeeamON 2014, the first customer-facing event in Veeam’s 9-year history, which exceeded expectations at its inaugural debut. Known as the World’s Premier Data Center Availability Event, this mega-conference won a Silver Stevie IBA for Best Corporate Image Event. VeeamON 2014 surpassed my own expectations, as well as the expectations of attendees, employees and industry experts. The momentum from this event has now set the standard for the success already achieved at VeeamON 2015, which is on track to be even bigger and better!
If you look at Doug Hazelman’s business card, his title at Veeam is Chief Evangelist and VP of Product Strategy. The formal definition for evangelist is “someone who talks about something with great enthusiasm.” Doug’s unabashed enthusiasm for our customers is what has enabled Veeam to reach record customer-satisfaction levels, which include the addition of 45,000 new customers in 2014 alone! These positive results are just one of many reasons why Doug received the Gold Stevie IBA for Customer Service Executive of the Year.
Doug’s role really translates into customer advocate, because that’s what he spends his days doing — advocating for change on behalf of Veeam’s rapidly growing customer base. He has dedicated much of his role at Veeam to communicating with and visiting customers with his signature hands-on, communication style and his far-reaching social strategy. Doug listens to customers. He works closely with the R&D team and he turns feedback into reality by incorporating change into Veeam’s future availability solutions. Bottom line? Doug works to ensure that customers are getting what they want and need. He talks about our products and makes it his business to create an engaged community within an industry where standards are set high and continually elevated. Congratulations to Doug and his entire team for achieving this great accomplishments.
I personally consider business awards like the Stevie IBAs to be a proud result of our efforts, not a reason for them. These are annual awards and there are always more opportunities to elevate the members of our valued team by continuing to innovate, create new products and spread the word about Veeam, the world’s #1 availability company.