MAX SCHNIPPERING, CUSTOMER SEGMENT MANAGER, HEIDELBERG

Max Schnippering, Heidelberg’s Business Specialist for Recurring Revenue makes the list for his innovative work at the global printing machine manufacturer Heidelberg, specifically around a Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) Service built in the new Pay per Sheet model for printing equipment he is currently implementing.

Challenged by the firm’s already successful service business, Schnippering pushed the idea of a VMI service, utilizing technology to really take the firm further in its service business growth.

Schnippering’s project shows bravery; bringing a new concept to a hard-wired business structure is tough, yet being able to communicate the benefits and transform minds is essential, traits that the German showed in abundance during this transition. 

NAIMISH RAJYAGURU – HEAD OF SERVICE OPERATION, DISHTV

Naimish has over 25 years of experience in leading operations, business development, network planning in the Direct-to-Home (DTH). He has overseen cross-functional teams to overhaul recurring processes and modernize antiquated tracking systems to Mobile Applications and led multi-functional teams in development of an Android application for Dealer/Self Service.

With achievements including administration reduction and decreasing distribution costs by converting outdated paper-based recharge vouchers to a PCS (Payment Collection System) his name is a worthy one to this list.

CHRISTIANE JOUSSEMET – HEAD OF CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE, APAC,FUJI XEROX

Christiane is a long-term Fuji Xerox’ employee with a passion for innovation. She’s notched up almost 20 years with the brand and has worked across sales management in new regions, project management for new service lines and has opened a competency centre for global services.

Christiane has enjoyed varied roles from sales management in new territories, project management for new service lines, opening a competency centre for global services, Driving innovation through management quality, Christine is passionate about bringing the voice of the customer to inspire all areas of an organisation, a mantra that makes her a perfect fit for this year’s FSN20.

PHIL NEWTON – INNOVATION CONSULTANT, BT

Working as an innovation consultant for one of the world’s biggest Telcos is no mean feat: balancing high customer demand and driving change through new technology is tricky, but Phil Newton has managed to achieve what many have not.

Phil is passionate that new technologies such as Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence can improve customer satisfaction and sees the use of chatbots, through interfaces such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, as a way of potentially removing the customer call centre.

VANESSA OAKLEY, GM, STRATEGY AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS, CHORUS

With nearly 20 years-experience in our sector industry, Vanessa has played leading roles in significant change environments. An expert in complex stakeholder strategies and policy change interplays with commercial operations, particularly regulated infrastructure businesses, she is now a senior Executive focused on driving Chorus’ key strategic priorities of improving customer experience.

As a leader Vanessa is passionate about people and culture and takes a values-based and outcomes focused approach, traits that encompass the modern service leader. She is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) and a member of the International Coach Federation. Vanessa has an LLB (Hons), postgraduate certificates and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

IRA BUSMAN, VICE PRESIDENT, CUSTOMER SERVICE, OKUMA AMERICA CORPORATION

Another individual who has come from an engineering background and is now influencing service at a senior level. In a career spanning over thirty years and counting, Ira Busman has seen most things in manufacturing and service. He began his tenure with Okuma in 1986, starting as an Electronic/Engineering Technician.

The Japanese firm, Okuma, is at the forefront of CNC machine tool innovation and Ira oversees the company’s strategy and execution across North, South and Central America.

He often cites the benefits of new technology such as augmented reality but it’s in leadership and change management where he really thrives. He holds a Duke Certificate of Leadership and Management from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

CHRISTO ROUX, DIRECTOR SERVICE DELIVERY, OUTOTEC

Based in Finland and as Director of Service Delivery, Christo is always focused on delivering a consistent and exceptional service experience through their global field service team.

Through Christo’s efforts, Outotec has invested significantly in developing their field service team through their ‘License to Serve’ programme which incorporates all aspects of service delivery from hard to soft skills.

RON ZIELINSKI – VP, GLOBAL CUSTOMER SERVICE, COHERENT

Ron Zielinski leads Global Customer Services for Coherent where he has been creating customer loyalty and improved financial outcomes for more than 30 years.

He has worked in Asia since the late 1980s and has overseen strong company and service growth in the region while executing support models for the distinct needs of scientific, commercial and industrial customers across the region.

His experience and agile attitude to change are just a couple of the reasons why he makes this list.

DIGBY WILSON – PRINCIPAL, FIELD SERVICE DELIVERY, TELSTRA

Digby Wilson has been a senior telco manager for 32 years. He currently holds a Principal role in Telstra, leading a team of 650 technicians and 1,000 contractor technicians in South East Australia. It was from humble beginnings his interest in operations and operational excellence grew.

His experiences, both professionally and personally, have led him to be a strong strategic and operational manager with an eye for change and transformation.

He gets his energy from leading change in an organisation’s performance, including leading an engaged workforce that reinvents itself and capitalises on talent.

“Seeing people excel is liberating for an organisation and exciting as a leader,” he says, a quote that affirms his place on this #FSN20.

SANDEEP BHARADWAJ – HEAD OF FIELD SERVICE, COMMERCIAL VEHICLES, TATA MOTORS

Sandeep has been with Tata Motors, the Indian automotive powerhouse for 16 years and has been the firm’s Head of Service across its commercial business unit for for the past seven.

Clients commend Sandeep for his energy and colleagues for his leadership, two traits required for deliverying successful service. He is a member of the Society of Engineers and has a Bachelor’s degree in Automotive Engineering from the University of Bangalore.

JACK HOLE – MANAGING PARTNER, HAAKON HVAC SERVICE

Haakon is a regional HVAC service company who have empowered their field service team to make decisions to support the customer.

The firm were one of the first to adopt field automation technologies several years ago and leverage it to support their team in promoting their products and services.

Jack has been a key driver in the company’s approach to engaging their clients through annual summits and using the feedback to have a positive impact on their policy.

A passionate and enthusiastic service professsional, Jack’s place on the FSN20 is well deserved and will be appreciated by colleagues and customers alike.

CHERYL-ANNE SANDERSON, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, CHURCHILL GROUP

Amidst challenges around the ageing work-force and the lack of technicians coming through, talk has centred on technology and digitilasion plugging knowledge gaps. However, Cheryl-Anne Sanderson, Regional Director at Churchill Group seems determined to go straight to the core of the problem: by making the sector more attractive to young people.

“I think we dumb it [field service] down quite a lot, we don’t make its sound attractive.” she told me when appearing on the Field Service Podcast. If you look at field service and if you ask most people what it is then they would say ‘it’s a man in a van’, which doesn’t sound sexy at all.”

Cheryl has a refreshing drive to change existing attitudes in the sector and her enthusiasm and personality make it very likely she wlll succeed. I use the word game changer but in Cheryl-Anne Sanderson I think we genuinely might have one.

DIETMAR SCHMITZ – HEAD OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SERVICE, EICKHOFF

A regular on the conference circuit, where he delivers stories of transformation around mission critical assets, Dietmar’s ability to weave complex IT systems to manage service operations has transformed to provide integrated insights across silos and teams.

He is driving a culture of customer-focused service excellence and it’s this drive that sees him appear on these pages. 

JOAKIM PLATE – DIRECTOR, SERVICE MARKET AT TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING EUROPE

Since 2011, Joakim Plate, Director of Service Market at Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) has been executing the company’s service strategy. Embracing digitalisation and connectivity Plate is successfully integrating digitilisation and connectivity into Toyota’s European material handling business.

TMHE carry out four million customer visits every year, with an impressive 96 per cent first-time fix-rate however, in order to improve these figures the firm have partnered with Microsoft.

The tech giant began by predicting what the service technician might like look like in five years’ time, and using this as a blueprint, TMHE have a developed a platform that includes real time aceess to including online documentation, parts ordering, quote creations, planning, remote error code reading and GPS. 

It’s early days for the software but expect positive reports as the programme integrates into Plate’s and TMHE’s strategy.

SHARI LEVANDOWSKI – VP OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, REEDY INDUSTRIES

Looking ahead and predicting changes makes you one step ahead of the curve and Shari Levandowski, VP of IT Services at Reedy is someone doing just that. He has transformed field organization from a reactive to proactive service model and as well as leveraging advanced analytics tools to revolutionize service he is driving at financial, operational, and customer focused improvements.

MIKE SHIELDS – TECHNICAL DIRECTOR AT DMS SYSTEMS LTD AND CENTREX PRINT SERVICES LTD

Additive manufacturing, despite its potential, remains a sceptical conversation among service boardrooms. Mike Shields however, has made a big impact on leveraging the 3D printing industry to compliment service and repair capabilities.

His organisation provides specialist print services, including onsite services and remote repair for the IT sector, yet his clear thinking and precise communication skills make him the perfect ambassador for 3D printing’s potential in all verticals.

Those who are cynical about 3D printing should seek out Mike’s counsel. A  worthy addition to the shortlist.

DANIEL KINGHAM – DIRECTOR, PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE AND INTELLIGENCE, ELEKTA

For eight years now, Daniel has embraced the potential of remote services and filtered this down to a working level to drive real change. Working in precision radiation medicine, a field that operates in a vast swell of data, Kingham has optimised analytics to focus on efficiency and uptime which creates more focus on patient care.

The former Ericsson engineer currently oversees Elekta Intellimax, a remote access and data monitoring platform that enhances medical device usage.

An individual who has taken what’s possible and made it happen.

ANDREA GOMBAC – DIRECTOR, CUSTOMER SERVICE, CTO, RICOH ITALIA

Andrea Gombac is driving Service Innovation at Ricoh Italy who provide managed services in the ICT market working to drive cost out of the business and improve customer experience at the same time is a tough challenge.

However, Andrea had the foresight to engage with the University of Florence and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and through a smart operations programme, Andrea and his team have prospered.

Further developments into micro-services to improve customer experience is on the horizon, however the development and implementation of the smart services initiative would not have taken place without Andrea’s leadership who was able to mobilise the Italian organisation and remove the barriers that normal prevent or slow adoption of breakthrough innovation.

STEVE ZANNOS, – SENIOR DIRECTOR, SERVICE DELIVERY, ELECTROLUX

Overseeing a large technician base that incorporates both internal engineers and third party contactors, Steve has transformed the service organization to a modern solution enabling technicians and customers to have better visibility, increased engagement and satisfaction.

Measurable outcomes that show how change can make a difference. Highly regarded in the industry, Steve’s inclusion will be no surprise to those who know him best.

SACHIN MALLYA, DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SERVICE, APAC, JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Sachin Mallya is Director-Technical Service, Asia-Pacific for Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) at Johnson & Johnson. He began his career as a field service engineer at Dornier MedTech and has gone on to chalk up a furthe 18 years in the technical service across the Asia-Pacific region.

Sachin has proven leadership in building technical service departments from ground-up and driving it successfully to provide best services to customers and he says he considers it a privilege to have the opportunity to support healthcare professionals to helpcare for their patients better. 

THE #FSN20 PANEL

Many thanks to this year’s advisory panel:

Michael Blumberg, Jan Van Veen, Nick Frank, Jim Baston, Thomas Igou, Prof. Christian Kowalkowski, Dr. Shaun West, Rohit Agarwal, Gladys Caligagan, Sara Mueller, Kris Oldland, Becky Johnson, Aly Pinder Jr., Martin Summerhayes, Bill Pollock, Mark Glover.