Our Meet the Team series continues with Jason Martens. With extensive sales engineering experience and an extensive understanding of Collibra architecture, Jason brings a wealth of knowledge to the FSFP team. Jason joined the FSFP Team in April of 2022, and his adaptability makes it seem like he’s always been around. He fits right in! Read about Jason’s mentors below, and you’ll learn where he might have picked that up.
If you could work remotely anywhere, where would it be?
I would say St. John. We try to go there every other year. They have some of the best beaches in the world. The roads are insane, with a lot of cliffs and steep inclines. But they’re fun to drive after you get used to being on the left side of the road, and the views are incredible.
Can you explain your role and area of focus at FSFP?
As a Collibra architect and technical sales lead, I collaborate with our clients to implement the technology, share lessons I’ve learned from previous projects and so on.
My background is in sales engineering, and I managed a team of sales engineers at Collibra. One of my responsibilities was to build and implement Collibra’s data quality platform. I also helped develop data quality packages and offerings we can use to get organizations up and running with their data quality implementations as quickly as possible.
As this is my first time working as a professional consultant, I feel there is a greater degree of effort because you need to tailor solutions specific to your engagement and the customer’s requirements. In sales engineering, everything is presented as a best-case scenario. You show clients that you can do almost anything, and everything’s in perfect order. As we know, that’s not really the case when you get into things. My prior experience has helped me focus on marrying possibility and perfect cases with compassion and realistic expectations. I always look forward to seeing client projects through to the end.
What do you enjoy most about what you do here?
I enjoy working with our customers and my First San Francisco Partners teammates to help resolve pain points in their day-to-day roles — and, hopefully, come up with some ideas that will improve business outcomes or demonstrate the value of our work.
What drew you to FSFP’s job opening?
Almost from the moment I joined Collibra, I was aware of First San Francisco Partner’s fantastic reputation.
My colleague and friend, Spencer Forrest, joined FSFP a few months ahead of me. After talking to him, I became very, very intrigued. He told me how much he enjoyed being here and thought it would be an awesome opportunity. It felt like a great fit after my conversations with Gregg Loos, Sarah Rasmussen and others.
What is the best career advice you have ever received?
I’m fortunate because I’ve had excellent mentors throughout my career.
I had the pleasure of working with a gentleman over at IBM who was very talented at connecting with people and getting to the heart of meetings and conversations. He did that so well. He always told me to treat every engagement and interaction like an interview, and I would do well. He taught me to remember that everyone’s time is precious and not to take anything for granted. One of the best things you can do is always to put your best foot forward. Another sage friend taught me to set a vision for what I want to accomplish — short-term or long-term, whatever my goal is — and I’ll have a positive impact. Both of those lessons have been incredibly beneficial.
What’s your favorite advice (career or life) you often give others?
At Collibra, I focused on being transparent with my team of sales engineers. As a manager, you have a lot to deal with. You are concerned about your own performance. You’re worried about your team’s performance and want them to be successful and grow. So, maybe it’s less advice and more about how to operate. Just be transparent and share information because you can always benefit from a fresh perspective, and great ideas are fostered through collaboration. The best way to communicate effectively with your team is to be upfront with them. It’s pretty simple, but I’ve found it to be a positive approach.
Which FIRST value (focus, integrity, resourcefulness, skillfulness, teamwork) resonates the most and why?
I am a big believer in integrity and values. But, if I could choose one significant value, it would be teamwork. I played soccer my entire life. There’s something special about being part of a group and working together towards the same outcome.
Which part of working from home is the most enjoyable, and which is the most challenging?
I appreciate not having to commute to New York City. I used to be useless at the end of my workday when I got home. I’d have no energy left. I have two young kids, so coming home with nothing left to give was not ideal. Even when I didn’t have the energy, I had to find a way to generate it myself.
Conversely, finding a quiet workplace at home can be tricky, even when you have an office. Especially during the summer, and then when COVID was here, and the kids were schooling from home — that was a nightmare. I know it can be challenging to work from home. But now that COVID is behind us, I see the advantages. I’ve found I’m much more productive not having the distractions of an office environment.
Tell us about a movie or TV show you like to watch.
The Ozark series was great, and we binged it to finish it. I saw a show I was really interested in, For All Mankind. The previews looked good. It looked like a sci-fi-exploring-Mars-type series, which I thought would be super cool, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. On to find something new!
What is the top issue many of FSFP’s clients face today, and how can you help solve it?
Many organizations need help determining their vision. And when I say vision, I mean it’s critical for our client’s leadership to consistently convey what they care about and want to achieve. They can leverage powerful tools, like Collibra, to help solve their business problems. But it can be tough without a clear vision.
We leverage our experience at FSFP to help organizations reestablish their data governance operating model and use technology to help them implement the use cases they prioritize. One of the things that FSFP does very well is to use bespoke frameworks to help leaders deal with this and help them get started. As we guide them, we ask questions like, “When you started, where did you want to go?” Or, if we’re talking about existing Collibra implementations, “What works and what hasn’t met your expectations?” We help communicate and construct a vision based on their input. It’s exciting.
We hope you enjoyed the latest installment in our Meet the Team series. Check out our other interviews to learn more about the people who make FSFP tick.
