Our IoT Heroes: Balázs Wittmann - Strategic Program Manager

What were your main reasons and motivations to join us?

After a few years as a management consultant, I no longer wanted to advise companies only, but to contribute to the creation of a business myself. Here at Azena I found exactly what I was looking for: To build something that is unique and what changes the rules of the game of an entire industry. Similar to my previous job, my role at Security and Safety Things is very diverse, which I love. No day is the same and every day presents new surprises and challenges.

“Here at Azena I found exactly what I was looking for: To build something that is unique and what changes the rules of the game of an entire industry“

What are the central values in your working environment?

There are two things that stick out very clearly: Trust and ownership. As in every start-up, there is always more work to do than you can tackle. Therefore, we need to prioritize strictly and trust in each other’s abilities and skills. In a place where trust is missing, we would not be able to move fast. Furthermore, I find it remarkable how people take ownership for tasks and push forward to complete them. No matter how big the job, they just get at it and tackle it. I am very happy to be surrounded by so many “can-do-minded” individuals.

What superhero power can you draw on when you need it?

As a former management consultant, I have got used to dealing with tasks that seem very complex or sometimes unsolvable at first glance. I learned to quickly familiarize myself with new subjects and to solve problems. As my most important soft skill, I would mention the ability to remain calm in stressful situations. This helps me to focus on the task in hand and not to be distracted by emotions.

What are the most interesting topics you will work on here at Azena and what will be the hardest tasks to solve?

I enjoy shaping our company as a whole and moving it forward. This means that I am covering a broad range of strategic topics on the one hand, such as purpose and product vision definition or future revenue stream analysis’s. On the other hand, I enjoy rolling up my sleeves to create back-end processes, develop our Terms and Conditions and coordinate alignment between business and product. As a start-up, ultimately, our hardest task is to sustain against established players and competitors. I am confident that we are well prepared for our market launch and have many partners on board already with whom we will spark a new era of AI enabled (camera) devices.

What do you see as the main trends in IoT in a business context and from your perspective as a Strategic Program Manager?

I think the world is currently on the edge of moving to the next maturity stage of IoT. While so far IoT consisted of ideas and concepts, we are now entering an era where these concepts are turned into pilot projects and consequently into reality. Thanks to technological and regulative enablers as well as the collaboration of players within entire ecosystems. For example, nowadays you can find concrete approaches for smart city initiatives across the globe. Moreover, they are growing! We at Azena want to contribute as an enabler of such developments, turning ideas into realizable projects and creating maximum value for all stakeholders involved.

Balázs, thank you very much for the chat and the opportunity to get to know you better.