Employee Spotlight
At FM:Systems, our team has 3 guiding values around what we believe and how we behave: do the right thing, act with urgency, and cultivate a culture of excellence & accountability. We strive to foster an environment for our employees to grow and be the best version of themselves in and outside of the workplace. Check out some of the great people who work at FM:Systems!
Jesse Thomas - Solutions Consultant
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
• I’m a solutions consultant so I support our sales team in helping to identify challenges their prospects and clients are facing in order to craft solutions that meet those needs. Most of the time I’m providing demonstrations of our software and collaborating with multiple teams to ensure the success of each project.
Tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.
I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. My studies focused on US and Russian history and Telecommunications. I’ve sold everything from used cars, computers, shoes, jewelry, and software.
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems.
We’ve saved over $500 a year by switching to Geico
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Demo.
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
Helping to play a small role in the success of the largest project (at the time) our organization has taken on.
What’s something you learned in the past week?
The names of more counties in Penn/Michigan/Arizona than I ever thought I would
Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.
- I prefer to drive manual transmission cars
- My go-to adult beverage is champagne
- I don’t have a middle name
What gets you out of bed every morning?
- Drinking plenty of water the night before.
- I like getting up early when it’s still quiet and the sun hasn’t yet come up yet, it’s like getting a head-start on everyone else.
What is your motto or personal mantra?
No one owes you anything.
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Lewis Hamilton
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?
Argentina
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Champagne. Oh, does it have to be beer? Well, then I’ll go with Miller High Life, the champagne of beers.
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
An EVA – Extravehicular Activity aka a “space walk”
What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love?
Tiger King
What is your favorite food?
Breakfast tacos
You’re happiest when….
- I’m actually enjoying the present moment.
- in my hammock or behind the wheel of a fast car
What is your greatest fear?
Definitely werewolves. Or people that text and drive. But also not prioritizing spending enough time with the people that are important in my life.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
How much are we talking about? I would probably invest the majority of the money but definitely buy house, I’m outgrowing my condo in Austin.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My parents purchased a computer for me when I was in 5th grade, changed my life.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Cleaning carpets; if my dog didn’t have arthritis there wouldn’t be a rug in the house.
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?
Fresh air and sunshine, walk the dog around the block or send a few texts to family and friends.
What’s your favorite indoor or outdoor activity?
Camping and kayaking if I’m outdoors, if I’m stuck indoors I’m usually listening to music or playing PC video games.
What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this?
If I could go back in time, I think I would have been a pretty decent architect. But since I can’t, eventually I would like own my own small business to help fund buying and building a homestead property to retire on.
Hidden talent:
Photoshop battles
How do you balance work and life?
Developing good habits, staying curious, and checking up often on what is a priority for me right now.
Read more employee spotlights!
What attracted you to join FM:Systems? I found a business development representative (BDR) role on LinkedIn with a very appealing job description. FM:Systems only had 30 employees in 2012, and they really had a great company culture that I wanted to be a part of. After being in the BDR role for about 10 months, I transitioned into a marketing role, which is exactly what I wanted to do!
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems. The squares in our logo are actually an "F" and an "M."
Leasha has been a part of the FM:Systems Family for 8 years, starting with us right out of college. She graduated with her B.S. in Business Marketing from UNC-Greensboro. You can find her generating new business opportunities for our sales team through marketing campaigns by creating awareness of FM:Systems. She works in our Raleigh, NC headquarters.
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word. Growth!
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems? In 2013, she was given the huge responsibility of planning User Conference (where many of our clients and prospects join us for 3 days of information and fun). It was a big project that Kurt asked me to take over, and we blew the numbers out of the park! It was a great!
What gets you out of bed every morning? Well, my alarm clock. I have to drag myself out of bed, haha! On a serious note, I'm part of an amazing company with a great team. That really helps me get out of bed. I come into such a great job and company culture with an amazing team!
What is your motto or personal mantra? I'm a big believer in karma. I think it's important to treat people how you want to be treated!
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the world, who would it be? I would be Carrie Underwood--she's my idol!
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation? I'd love to go to Greece!
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pumpking. It's very fall and tastes just like pumpkins!
What is something you've always wanted to try? Sky-diving.
What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love? My guilty pleasure is Keeping up with the Kardashians. Their lives are a total disaster, but that's what makes it so interesting to watch.
What is your favorite food? This is my favorite topic of conversation. A really great steak meal is my go-to, but sushi is a good runner-up!
You're happiest when...I'm around my friends and family.
What is your greatest fear? I'm terrified of bees, wasps, and cockroaches!
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? I would definitely jet set first-class somewhere. Maybe Bali or Greece! It's really great that FM:Systems has an open-time off policy that I can take advantage of.
What is the best gift you've ever received? Two years ago, my family and I traveled to Taiwan to visit my brother. We spent two weeks together traveling all over the country, and it was great!
What chore do you absolute hate doing? Emptying the dishwasher.
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time? Sit back, relax, and catch up on social media and the news.
What's your favorite indoor or outdoor activity? I like to cycle after work at the YMCA during the week. On the weekend, I enjoy hiking around different parks in Raleigh!
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
I look at the data that is provided to us from different sources (sensors installed in buildings – WiFi routers, badge readers, light sensors). We take the data and use different algorithms to make it bit more understandable. We are making sense of the data and doing some quality control, cleaning it up, and running some logics. My day-to-day is developing new logics for sensors and services that are on the product roadmap.
Tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.
I received my PhD from Cornell University in 2009. I spent 2 years doing research for his Post Doc. I joined Baker-Hughes (gas company) and developed tools that are used in upstream exploration. After that I joined Rifiniti, an FM:Systems company, as Director of Data Science.
What attracted you to join FM:Systems?
Both companies are leading in a sector which is going to have a big impact in the near future, if not already doing so. I work with very bright colleagues that are using some of the latest technologies in data science and providing valuable insight for clients. My colleagues are always eager to help!
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems.
How small the Boston team is—only 8 people in the Boston office! Very eager to learn and moving with trends!
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Fruitful.
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
When we started using the automation platform for client delivery before, we were spending a lot of time doing manual work for client delivery around data. We were spending 80% of our time on client delivery! We had a big push for automation, so we worked day and night for the past year to be where we are now with client delivery. Now we can focus on other projects to make things better for our clients!
What’s something you learned in the past week?
I learned some more about his colleagues and the countries they originate from. I also studied a new tactic in chess!
Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.
- Avid chess player
- I have a small dog named Cookie
- I can walk all the way to work, except in the cold winters!
What gets you out of bed every morning?
New day=new adventures! I always tell myself that I will be better than yesterday!
What is your motto or personal mantra?
I should be better tomorrow than I am today!
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Elon Musk
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?
Iceland
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Heineken
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
To finish a book each week
What is your favorite food?
Beef Kabob
You’re happiest when….
When I’m working on a mathematical problem or walking my dog—this also happens at the same time sometimes!
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
I would probably dedicate my life to research.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
A book on how to play chess that I received when I was 7 years old.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Mowing my lawn when I used to live in Texas in the summer months
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?
If I’m somewhere where I have internet access, I would follow a research topic that I enjoy.
What’s your favorite indoor or outdoor activity?
Indoor – watching movies with my wife
Outdoor – walking long distances or hiking
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
I’m a Software Implementation Engineer, and I help with the technical implementation for new clients. I also do work on client-specific configurations.
Tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.
I graduated from Virigina Tech in 2012. I worked as an IT supervisor at a Marshalls distribution center. I also worked at a small grants management software company before coming to FM:Systems!
As far as my career goes, my first job out of college was as a Junior QA Engineer. My role was essentially to break things like applications and see how to make them better. That slowly evolved into what can we do to better improve our quality processes and sparked my interest in that area.
What attracted you to join FM:Systems?
I was recruited on LinkedIn. The culture and team environment drew me to FM:Systems.
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems.
Though the company has been around for decades, I feel like people may not realize how many new employees we have. What we’re able to produce and accomplish is all the more impressive considering how much we’ve grown and how many new faces we’ve added over the past couple of years.
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Progress.
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
Last year I was able to organize an impromptu food drive for our local Salvation Army who had made the news pleading for help filling their barren shelves. I had sent the email out in the evening requesting donations by lunch time the next day--which I thought was a pretty ridiculous ask—however, the FM Family came through with about two grocery carts worth of food in total. I should have never doubted them because I can’t think of any other group more prepared for last minute requests.
Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.
Before COVID-19, I was playing basketball at 5:30am 3 days a week.
When I was in high school, I used to moderate a website where members were obsessed with making basketball highlight mixes from games they would record straight from their television. Many of the people I corresponded with grew up to become professional graphic designers who have had their work featured in magazines, sites, and video games like NBA 2k. I grew up to work for FM Systems.
I used to be so introverted that when I was in kindergarten, my teacher didn’t think I could talk. She sent a tape recorder home with me so that my parents could record me talking. She then started to bribe me with Power Rangers cards in class to talk as much as I did while I was home!
What gets you out of bed every morning?
My alarm clock? A chance to be better today than I was yesterday.
What is your motto or personal mantra?
“Esse Quam Videri”, which is Latin for “To be, rather than to seem.” I first heard it from Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends & Influence People but it also happens to be North Carolina’s state motto. This made me really begin to think about how much of my perception is really reality. I’ve always challenged myself to “be” rather than to seem!
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the world, who would it be?
James Dolan who is the owner of the NY Knicks, who is my favorite basketball team. I would relieve the pain and suffering of many Knicks fans.
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?
The hoops head in me would love to go to Vegas during Summer League and just watch basketball all week.
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A Tiger Woods (if you know, you know).
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
I would like to see a Cowboys games in the new Cowboy stadium or sit courtside at Madison Square Garden
What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love?
The first Hunger Games! I didn’t know anything about it when I went to go watch it. After watching it I bought the book and devoured it in 3 days, which is the fastest I’ve ever read a book.
What is your favorite food?
I’m a big fan of Southern Cuisine, so fried chicken, mac & cheese, collard greens, and yams. I also love breakfast food, so biscuits & gravy.
You’re happiest when….
The people I care about are happy.
What is your greatest fear?
Being wrongfully convicted of a crime.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
Get a lawyer!
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Some advice from our high school football coach: “do your job.” We each had individual responsibilities on the field, and if we all did our job, then we would achieve the result we’re trying to get.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
All chores, but cleaning the bathroom is the worst.
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?
Reading a book or article.
What’s your favorite indoor or outdoor activity?
Pick-up basketball!
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
I’m the Digital Marketing Manager for FM:Systems and I currently look after all things digital marketing globally. This includes tasks such as managing and optimizing our website, SEO improvements, help our site organically rank higher, digital ads etc.
Tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.
So, I have a degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications Management, and my education didn’t stop there. I continually do research on different tools and certifications. I’ve also been fortunate enough to work in different industries and sectors, covering B2C and B2B marketing over my career.
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems.
It’s a difficult one, as we’ve got an awesome company culture at FM:Systems, and everything is pretty transparent. However, the one thing that comes to mind, is that the FM:Systems corporate website received the highest number of visitors (ever) for nearly three months straight this year – this is data going back since FM:Systems website was first launched many years back.
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Thrilling
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
The launch of our revamped corporate website! We really tried to focus on the user experience when designing it, and at the same time, allowed us to make some great changes, helping our ranking in search engines. We see the website as a ‘living thing’, so there’ll be continual improvements and updates. The website is our ‘shop front window’ to the world after all!
What’s something you learned in the past week?
Toilet paper is more important than milk (during quarantine times!)
Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.
I do a lot of youth work outside of my role at FM:Systems.
I’m an adrenaline junkie – I love roller coasters and sky diving! My wife and I went sky diving in Dubai over the palm islands.
I once ran up the highest mountain in Wales, UK for charity.
What gets you out of bed every morning?
My little one! She wakes up super early and wakes me up with her.
What is your motto or personal mantra?
Never look down on anyone unless you’re helping them up.
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the world, who would it be?
A football (soccer) player – not much to it, and they can earn 6 figures a week, though I do thoroughly enjoy my job!
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?
The Maldives – I was scheduled to go here, then the pandemic struck.
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
Flying in a fighter jet! (I'd love the adrenaline!)
What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love?
I don’t think I can actually answer this, but I guess Shaun the Sheep (something that my daughter watches).
What is your favorite food?
Lamb Biryani
You’re happiest when….
I’m spending time with family or out on a walk/hike/cycling.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
My daughter
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Cooking, but then again, that might be because my wife is a much better cook than me!
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?
Normally, reading up on non-fiction or trying to better myself within my field.
What’s your favorite indoor or outdoor activity?
Outdoor would definitely be long distance cycling
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
I’m a Global Account Manager – working with global enterprise companies to help them manage their real estate more efficiently and effectively. Helping them elevate their employee’s work using our solutions.
Tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.
I received a degree in sports therapy/rehab. I spent the early part of my career working in that space, working my way up to a management role. I then moved into the commercial space and commercial management. Eventually I came to a crossroads in my career where I wanted a new challenge, and I took a leap of faith to use my transferrable skills of selling in this new industry.
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems.
We are the only vendor within the marketplace that has a fully-integrated solution portfolio!
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Ambitious
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
Achieving President’s Circle in 2019. I was the second top performer in the organization at the time.
What’s something you learned in the past week?
Patience is a virtue. This is such a cliché, but with everything that has been going on around us, this really sums it up.
Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.
I’m Tae kwon do champion
I have a chocolate Labrador named Henry
I’ve sailed around Cape Horn
What gets you out of bed every morning?
It’s my “why.” My “why” is about my family, taking early morning calls, and creating memories.
What is your motto or personal mantra?
Happiness is my birthright. I say this quite a bit!
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the world, who would it be?
A time-traveler! I just think it would be good to go back in time and see how family & friends lived through different eras. I would also like to experience things in the future that we haven’t experienced yet!
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?
Bora Bora
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
Experience the Northern Lights
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Peroni
What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love?
Top Gun
What is your favorite food?
Italian
You’re happiest when….
I’m lying on the beach with a cocktail!
What is your greatest fear?
Spiders
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
Book a Holiday
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Life
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Emptying the dishwasher
When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?
A number of things: exercise, walk the dog, read, meditate, and journal!
What’s your favorite indoor or outdoor activity?
I enjoy walking with my husband and dog along the beach!
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
I’m a Technical Support Team Lead that handles escalated tickets. I mentor new employees and help other teams on the software itself. Additionally, I make customers feel like they have a friend in the company, and I want them to be successful. Their problems are my problems, and I do everything I can to help them.
Tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.
Before FM:systems, I did some technical schooling at ECPI and then I started working in a support role. My first role was supporting Red Hat Lennox, and I literally had a book that I would look through for information for support tickets. One thing I learned quickly: it’s all about the client. I also learned that you can have all of the technical knowledge in the world, but you need to have a customer service mindset to be successful in a support role. .
What attracted you to join FM:Systems?
My friend told me about the role! Here’s a funny story about my interview. I had to come in to take a technical test and it took me 4 hours because there’s one question that just wasn’t working. After the 4 hours, I gave in and asked the manager about the question. It ended up being an issue with the computer itself! Needless to say, I got the job.
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Marathon
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
In the San Diego UC, when Hanna Graziano and I presented user dashboards. We had Eye of the Tiger as our intro song and the entire presentation was a skit. It was really fun! Right before we started, the owner and founder, Mike Schley, sits right in the front row and it made him extremely nervous. We got so much praise about our presentation, and Mike even told us he enjoyed it!
What’s something new that you learned to do since we’ve had to stay at home a bit more?
I learned something about myself: I’m still the same worker I was since I was in the office.
What has been your biggest challenge since switching to completely work-from-home?
Balancing home life with work. Being done when I say I’m done.
What is your favorite part about working from home?
Spending time with my family. I get to see my kids off to school every day, take a walk with my wife over lunch on some days, and even help out with dinner!
What’s something that you miss doing that you could easily do pre-COVID?
Common things like going to the grocery store or to dinner. All the things I took for granted before COVID.
If you could pick an office superlative for yourself, what would it be? (“Most Likely to Join a Call Late”, “Most Likely to be on their 3rd cup of coffee before noon”, etc.)
Most likely to forget my mask!
What would you name the autobiography of your life?
Twist, Turns, & Then the Beginning
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
My kids because every morning when I get up, I know they’ll be up. They really get me going in the morning.
If you could learn anything, what would it be?
A different language like Spanish or French.
What three traits define you?
Overly caring
Meticulous
Patient
What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this?
Music, that’s where I started. I used to be a part of a great band.
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Monterrey – it’s kind of like a second cousin to Corona
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
Take a trip to somewhere in the Caribbean. My wife and I have always talked about it.
How do you balance work and life?
I try to start my day as if I were actually going to the office like my usual routine of getting up, taking a shower, and getting ready for work. It really gets me ready for the day!
What is your hidden talent?
I’m a song writer.
Tell us what do you do at FM:Systems?
I’m a Principal Systems Engineer, I do some architecture, environmental deployments, troubleshooting, and then there are escalations, other abnormalities, and occasionally a call or two getting clients migrated to our cloud offering. My focus right now is various aspects of FedRamp and getting our environment certified for our government clients.
What attracted you to join FM:Systems?
Glenn Hollingsworth. He told me about the opportunities, and vision which attracted me to join FM.
Tell us something people might not know about FM:Systems.
We have a fancy new Fedramp environment that we are most likely still getting certified by the auditors, so if the hosting team has seemed a bit frazzled, or busier than normal, that has a bit to do with it.
Sum up your FM:Systems career to date in one word.
Transparent
What is your proudest moment at FM:Systems?
Getting CareFirst back to a healthy client state with FM – they were having a rough patch with a business partner implementation and I think they really saw the value we added in the diagnostical efforts we provided.
What’s something new that you learned to do since we’ve had to stay at home a bit more?
Strangely enough I’ve learned how to make soap, arc weld, and recently started a hydroponic garden.
What is your favorite part about working from home?
I have five screens, so I can see everything without having to flip between content. After working for home for so long its setup so I know where everything is. I also don’t have to walk very far to get food. Priorities.
What’s something that you miss doing that you could easily do pre-COVID?
I miss people, and lunch options, and having lunch with people. As much as I enjoy lunch with my children, its nice to see other adults from time to time.
If you could pick an office superlative for yourself, what would it be? (“Most Likely to Join a Call Late”, “Most Likely to be on their 3rd cup of coffee before noon”, etc.)
“Most likely to pick everything apart (OCD)”
What would you name the autobiography of your life?
The candle man, burning both ends of the wick.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
The challenges of the job - trying to figure out the next thing, trying to get the next part complete, and make headway on our goals.
If you could learn anything, what would it be?
Foreign languages – I know parts of 7 languages, but cannot speak a single one fluently.
What three traits define you?
Persistence
Satirical truth teller
Reliable
What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this?
I joke about how I should have been a lawyer, doctor even a dentist. At this point I’m seriously thinking farmer.
If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Beer wise, anything wheat. I prefer Malbec.
What is something you’ve always wanted to try?
Sailing. That’s been one of those weird ideas I’ve toyed with that might end up being cheaper than trying to retire.
How do you balance work and life?
I worked from home for over 10 years so I have a section of the house deemed office. When I’m in my office, I’m at work. I make and honest effort to keep the time in check so my family doesn’t resent me too much.
What is your hidden talent?
I put most of my talents out on display, so I’m not sure I have anything hidden. I work on a lot of projects – I’m still working on a remote control lawnmower, I automate a lot of things in my house, rebuilt my kitchen, it’s a never ending list of projects.