Frank, IceCast Product Manager: Vaisala Birmingham, UK

Frank Zokoll joined Vaisala in Germany during 1992.  First he worked as a Service Engineer in Vaisala´s Traffic Weather unit.

Frank spent a good deal of time visiting Vaisala’s office in Birmingham (UK) for training and was encouraged by Vaisala’s approach: “It quickly became obvious that Vaisala accepted independent guys like me and would give me opportunities to try and find a solution on different challenges.”
He also found that the work was extremely varied from making client visits with sales colleagues to “sitting in the middle of nowhere” working on modems and communications over long distances to collect data. This possibility to utilize his knowledge in differing fields encouraged him further.

His job has changed and developed in many respects over the years, although he still enjoys problem solving in the field when the opportunities arise. Currently he is a Product Manager in Vaisala’s Service Business Area. This has entailed being at the centre of developing software products that serve Traffic authorities the world over. “There is still a long way to go but we have a product range now that none of the competitors can offer and we are certainly very competitive … things are always changing and moving at a fast pace, with opportunities.”

The role is very dynamic as it is a focal point for communications from customers, service teams, software development and sales. It is also geographically wide ranging – as Frank says “I have seen half the world: Chile, Argentina, China, Japan, USA and most of Europe. It certainly helps in getting your mind adjusted to the fact that the problems are fairly common but the way they are solved and the way people approach them are different and there is never a single right way. France behaves totally different to Germany or UK and yet they have the same problems with snow and ice. The results are the same but implementing a solution can be absolutely different. You have to be open minded and listen first, asking loads of questions before starting any work. This was the most important thing to learn for me.”

There have been many learning and personal growth opportunities over the years as his role has changed with the times. In addition, Frank has completed a Masters degree and various Vaisala programs, including the flagship ‘Business Learning Program’ in Helsinki. When asked why he is still at Vaisala, Frank says: “That's simple: because it is fun!”