Five Questions Friday with Susan Evans of MCAD Technologies
Title: P
resident
and Founder
and training of engineering productivity tools, including 3D solid modeling,
design validation, product data management, product documentation and 3D color
printing technology.
1) Why did you choose to do the work you do?
I’m not sure whether I chose the work or if the work
chose me! Right out of college, I started working for CADKEY in the very
infancy stages of 3D design. I was working in quality control testing software
and working with dealers on beta test programs. I really wanted to understand
everything I could about the industry and what type of effect this technology
would have on the engineering/manufacturing community.
My best friend still laughs about this… my friends
would all be sitting on the beach reading Glamour
and Style magazines, while I was
reading Popular Mechanics!
When I
was moved into sales, I had a really good understanding of what I was selling
and why I was selling it. I think my desire to truly help individuals and
companies improve their efficiencies and products was very apparent. I was
honest and trustworthy in a day that most high-tech sales companies only cared
about their monthly quotas and earnings reports.
It wasn’t long before MCAD had developed the reputation to be the company to work with in the Colorado
Front Range.
fit.
It is still my first large sale… to PTA Corporation
in 1993.
3) What goal inspires you?
The
same goal I had years ago: to provide software and solutions which truly help
individuals and companies improve their efficiencies and products. An addition
to this goal, that has grown over the years, is providing people with a great
place to work. We spend so much of our lives at work, and I want my MCAD team
to love the company they work for. This is a means of providing them with a
great quality of life.
4) How has SolidWorks made a difference in
your life?
SolidWorks has made the biggest difference in my life
through the trust and confidence the management team has always put in me to
grow the type of organization they wanted as a foundation for their channel. I’ve
been given some incredible opportunities and invaluable resources that have
made this possible. It was definitely not done on my own.
5) Where is the best place you’ve traveled?
I’m not sure if this is the “best” place I traveled,
but last fall I took my 12-year-old daughter to Madagascar to work on a Marine
Conservation program for about a month. For 3 1/2 weeks we lived in a very
remote and poor part of Madagascar working with researchers and marine
biologist on studying the effects of overfishing and global warming on the
reef. We stayed on the beach in a hut with no electricity or running water. We
lived liked the villagers whom we were there to support. The work we did was
fascinating, and the people we met along the way who dedicate their lives to
this were incredible… the experience of a lifetime!
Susan Evans recently won a
Power 100: The Most Powerful Women of the
Channel award from CRN Magazine.