Leaving SAS
All good things must come to an end and so it is with my time at SAS.
I wanted to share that I will be moving on from SAS at the end of this month.
I have absolutely loved my 18.5 years at SAS. Those years have seen me grow professionally and personally. SAS is a good company filled with many amazing people who I will miss working with day to day.
During my time at SAS I have been able to work in many different areas (Technical Support, Pre-Sales, Sales Enablement, Sales, Product Marketing, Product Management, Analyst Relations, Alliances, Business Development, Strategy and more), on/with many different products and with people across the world. Professionally it has been a very rewarding experience which easily has surpassed the expectations I had when I joined back in 1997 as a technical support consultant.
Compassion: I will never forget the compassion shown by SAS, and my colleagues, when my mother was terminally ill nor that shown by those who provided support and gifts as my children arrived and changed my life forever. These are just two occasions where SAS, and those I worked with, transcended being my “best place to work” employer and colleagues becoming part of my extended family at a time of need.
Responsibility: I will also be forever grateful for the support of countless individuals that have entrusted me with increasing responsibility over the years. I am also thankful to all those who helped make me successful by providing guidance and mentoring along the way. I think those people know who they are, as I have told them often, so I will not call them out here.
Teams: As a individual contributor I was able to be part of some amazing teams filled with highly collaborative people who I learnt from in every interaction. From a management perspective I have been fortunate to have led teams of very dedicated, and highly skilled, people who lived and worked throughout the world spanning many different cultures. Seeing people move out of the team and into more senior roles or seeing people grow their range of skills and knowledge was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had. This for me is what management and leadership is really about. I am proud that many of the people in the teams I have been part of, and led, count each other as friends and that on a personal level we have built friendships in many cases that will last well beyond SAS.
The talented people in the teams I have led constantly challenged me, shared their knowledge and advice to help me, opened up on their professional and private challenges and in doing so have all shaped me as the person I am today. I hope I was able to give a little back and I look forward to having a beer (ok.. and a non-alcoholic drink with some) with many of you as our paths cross in future. My time at SAS would not have been what it was without each and every one of you!
Around the globe: It is really impossible in this post to do justice to all those I have worked with in our Cary HQ and in the field across the world at SAS. What I can say is it has been one heck of a journey and I have enjoyed taking that journey with each and every one of you. Sure we had ups and downs but there were many more ups than downs and I learnt a lot from everyone each step of the way. There is no doubt that SAS has talented people across the world. If you are reading this blog and thinking to join SAS then you will find a great environment no matter where you land – go for it!
In Germany: I have come to know many of the people in the SAS Germany offices very well especially since 2006 when they became responsible for all my back-office support. I wanted to take a moment in this post to directly thank the many people there who have helped me to be able to do my job and provided me support over the past 10 years. The support I have had started at the very top but percolates throughout the organization across many departments. Thanks to everyone in the DACH/Germany team for your trust and support. I would not have been able to do my job without you and I would not have been able to be part of so many great employee events!
The ecosystem and customers: Lastly – In my time at SAS I have been able to work with many partners, systems integrators and customers. There are too many to name here but “thank you” to everyone for your trust. I rarely had a day where I did not enjoy what I was trying to achieve when working with you. The insights I have gained into organizations, across industries and throughout the world, is invaluable and it has been a pleasure to see companies transform through the application of software. The IT industry is a relatively small one and I look forward to our paths crossing again soon. I am always available via LinkedIn if anyone wants to get in touch!
So what’s next?
Triggering the process to move on from SAS is probably one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. The IT industry is going through an amazing transformation at the moment and I wanted to get closer to where some of that transformation is happening and slow down a little for a few years. I also think that staying at SAS much longer would have restricted my knowledge of the expanding IT ecosystem and some of the emerging technologies more nimble start-ups are experimenting with to disrupt the market. SAS has some great technology on the way, and will continue to thrive, but there is a lot more out there to experience and now is the right time for me.
We have the Internet of Things (not just the data processing but the whole stack from device to solutions) enabling new services and insights we never had before, we have the rise of the cloud (the next gen infrastructure platform for most companies I believe at the very least) which I think is going to be instrumental in a lot of the next generation of transformation, we have open source expanding, and maturing, at a mega rate and on top of that we still have a long way to go in the world of BI/Analytics which is all going to move In-Memory, be distributed and move to the cloud. IT is no doubt transforming at the moment faster than ever!
My next move will be one that puts me in the cross hairs of the digital revolution which is unfolding in front of us all. At the same time I want something that, for now, affords me the opportunity to also spend a bit more time with my young family.
I am not a person who just jumps at the biggest title, or monetary package, so my main focus is to ensure I have a role where I can build out more knowledge in a couple of these growing areas, as I move forwards with my career, but also one where I could take on a new challenge of helping build something up as I did in the early days of my time at SAS.
A few shout outs
As I have explored what I wanted to do next, and where the market is headed, I have been fortunate to speak to a few interesting smaller organizations alongside a few bigger organizations. I am going to give a shout out here to a few of the smaller organizations I found interesting so you could check them out too. I think each has strong potential in their market spaces and I think you will see more of them in the next years. All three would be interesting places to work. Having said that the biggest challenge for such companies is often awareness so I hope this helps a little 🙂
- QuestBack – Enterprise Feedback Management in the cloud. They are aiming to help companies establish the “why” next to the “what” expanding the intelligence that can be brought to the table in decision making.
- Exasol – In-Memory database (with lots of very interesting technology and multiple home developed layers to deliver what they have). They have a rapidly growing partner ecosystem with their most recent partner being the cloud BI vendor BIRST. You can get their community edition of Exasol for free to try it!
- Blue Yonder – Retail focused Analytics in the cloud. Aiming to help companies totally transform their supply chain experience (plus more) through an innovative cloud based solution with a heavy emphasis on Analytics.
At these companies, and the few others I have spoken to, I have been fortunate to meet some great people as I considered my own future. I have also been able to learn about some new markets I had not previously explored. I will for sure stay in touch and watch how their journey unfolds from here onwards.
Connecting
If anyone I have worked with wants to contact me you can do so either by locating me on LinkedIn or by dropping an email to blogcontact@marktorr.com. I would also appreciate endorsements and any recommendations you want to share on LinkedIn around our work together over the last 18.5 years so I have a record of our many interactions and achievements.
I hope everyone reading this had a fantastic Christmas/Holidays and that 2016 brings you all you desire!
More on my future later!
All the best Mark!
Thanks Vinicius. Keep well my friend.
Gripping stuff, Mark. I look forward to tracking your next adventure.
Thanks Puni – It was a pleasure to work with you to execute the social media thought leadership programs SAS now has running. Since we started that journey I have skipped on several levels too when I thought there were not many more to go. It seems I still have many more levels to pass through as well. Please stay in touch and all the best! Mark.
Hi Mark ! A new year with a new Start ! Wish you all the best !
Mark, great story and experiences, all the best for you next venture.
Thanks David – Appreciate the work we did together over the years. Please stay in touch. All the best – Mark.
All the best to you, Mark! I’m sad for SAS, but glad you’re recalibrating your life to accommodate what’s most important to you. You’ll look back on this as one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.
Hi Beverly – Thanks for the kind comments. It has been a pleasure to work with you over the years. As I have said the hardest thing about leaving is to leave the great people but thankfully we can stalk each other on Facebook. Stay well and stay in touch! Let me know if you are ever headed to Heidelberg! Mark.
Best of luck to you Mark,
Cheers,
Ken
Thanks for the kind words Ken. I hope you have a great 2016 and that we can stay in touch!
Mark – thanks for the warm cudos of Questback.
You had a tremendous journey @ SAS. SAS was a great company for me as well with my 10 years, but life moves on and so do we. Hence, I’m glad I left 3 years back for getting on with my next professional challenge. I have such a joyride @ Questback in building a global leader for the enterprise feedback market.
I know you will be very successful in whatever your next mission would be. You would be a great asset to any tech company.
Let’s stay in touch.
Speak soon!
Hi Frank – For sure I want to stay in touch. The team at Questback is a good one and I am sure you are going to have a very successful future. Moving on is never easy but what is hard today becomes easier tomorrow and what is odd today becomes normal tomorrow. Look forward to our paths crossing again many more times :). Happy new year to you and your family. Mark.
Bon Voyage Mark!
Remember to keep all insults professional, and you’ll be fine 🙂
Paul – We will soon be able to start that again :-).. thanks for all your help and support over the years. You know you should always look me up when you are coming to Heidelberg. Have a great 2016! All the best! Mark.
It was great working with you Mark. I’m sorry to see you go!
Best wishes for your new endeavour,
Brad
Thanks for the kind comments Brad. I also enjoyed working with you and I am sue our paths will cross going forwards. Please stay in touch and I hope you and the family have a great 2016!
I wish you all the best Mr. Torr! It was a pleasure to work with you and I know you will be successful in whatever you decide to do in the future!
-Tim Campbell
Hi Tim – Thanks for the kind words. It has been my pleasure to also work with you. Keep well and please stay in touch! Mark.
Great note – sad to see you move on. Many fond memories come to mind: from our days in EMEA Technical Support, EMEA Strategy team, and finally in an outstanding team of experts in the Global Technology Practice under your leadership. You truly left your mark. 🙂
I have no concerns about your continued success as you will be a great asset to any company.
All the best,
Udo
PS: We should have patented terms like democratization of analytics 😉
Hi Udo – Working with you is one of my highlights at SAS. I enjoyed every minute of it and your continued success is very enjoyable to see.
I think I will write a blog about the “Democratization of Analytics”. I think it was probably the first time it was used globally lthough no doubt someone else is now claiming it. Next time I will ensure there is not a member of the communist party in the room who disapproves of the use of western political prases before I use it though!
Please stay in touch Udo and give me a shout if you are in Heidelberg!
All the best!
Mark.
Mark,
All the best in your new ventures. I’m watching closely! It was always an enriching experience working with you and hopefully we will again at some point.
Michael
Hi Michael – Many thanks for the nice comment. You are proof that opportunity bounds for great people outside of SAS. Please drop me a note if you are ever in Heidelberg! Mark.
Hi Mark,
Nice write-up of you SAS journey.
It has been a real pleasure over the years working with you, like:
– XML Training and SAS 9 Training in H’berg, including the ‘dodgy drinks’ on Thursday evening, often in ‘Destille’.
– Numerous Global Tech workgroup meetings, either in H’berg or Cary. Well done for organizing all of this!
– Technology plenary demo’s during the SAS Forum Netherlands, including very professional preparation and quite some fun (remember ‘awesome’ and ‘down the drain’ ;))
– Contribution to sales cycles, RFx etc.
– And finally, being a striker in the Dutch soccer team, scoring the final penalty in the series, and made it to the finals.
You know what? I’ll cherish quite some inspiring and fun moments together! All the best.
Cheers,
Rein
Hi Rein,
Thanks. As I sit here your message really captures some of the many great moments I have had at SAS and I am pleased I was able to share those with people such as yourself. I think the hardest part of moving on is that I will miss the people and the events I have been able to be part of which we managed to handle professionally but also with a fun angle (I will probably have to explain “down the drain” to some people now ;)…). I really appreciate the role you have played in me being successful at SAS. Your collaborative nature, combined with your immense knowledge, has definitely contributed to the success of SAS over many years. I hope that if you are ever in Heidelberg we can revisit Destille and a few other places. I will be sure to give you, and many others in the Netherlands, a shout if I am over your way. Keep well my friend and I hope you have a great 2016! Mark.
Hey Mark,
This makes for great reading. I have very fond memories of all of my colleagues at SAS, including yourself. It truly was a great experience. I am sure you will do amazingly well for yourself.
Sinead
Hi Sinead – Thanks for the comments. I remember working on SAS Intelligence Storage and SAS Platform pre-sales materials with you (I still have the flash finished versions) and the short time we were able to work together. More importantly I remember the fund times at various parties without any mini-me’s to slow us down. Keep well and maybe we will catch up again this year! Mark.
Thanks Mark!!
For all those wonderfull years of support you have supplied us with!
From the quizzes you did at the networking events (learning us trumpery from around the world) and the bullshit bingo on stage at SAS Forum NL (nobody ever noticed) to the beers well spent (at illustrious bars) and a 2nd place at SEUFI in Poland (our best result ever).
And all other things not to be forgotten…..
THANKS and CHEERS to a prosporous future!
Rens
Rens – My thanks to you for being part of all of that journey and for being such a professional and great collaborator. I will still be around in Heidelberg and if you are ever this way please look me up an we can go for a beer :). I will miss many of the Netherlands team and our many fun times together. All the best for 2016 and beyond! Mark.
All the best Mark,
Be interesting to see where you end up!
Thanks Hugh – You were my first host in most of the bars of Heidelberg before we ended up at Julians party. It made the interview a bit tougher the next day but it sold me on the place :). My next adventure will be something where I can build up some skills in a few new areas…. All the best and maybe we will see you at Herbst! Mark.
Wow, the remarks in this comment sound really familiar 🙂 All the best to you ! Keep in touch !
Rob
Rob – You and I will always stay friends so long as you will have me. From the time I met you in Heidelberg during your secondment, to all those times you looked after me in North Carolina, I could not have wished for a better friend. Without you many days away from home would have been lonely days and for that I will be forever grateful. I look forward to you coming to visit Heidelberg again at some stage and the only issue we now need to solve is how to get my Golf Clubs to Europe ;)… stay well! Mark.
Best of luck my friend. I treasure all of our adventures. Especially those in the restaurants and bars of Tokyo.
Hi Steve – Thanks for the note. I still remember out Tin Hoi in Tokyo with the added extras of live dressings. I also remember our trip to Jeronimos, which I can incidentally confirm is still there. Stay well and keep in touch. All the best for the rest of 2016. Mark
All the best for your future career Mark! I’ll remember you as a person with the great skill to explain the most complex things into a story that inspires customers and colleagues around the globe! Take care
Hi Ivy – Many thanks for your kind words. I always appreciated working with you and the team. Please stay in touch and let me know if you are in Heidelberg! All the best for 2016 and beyond! Mark.
Best of luck to you, Mark — it was a pleasure working with you!
Hi Bill – Thank you for taking the time to wish me luck. Working with you was a pleasure and without your help we would not have been able to deliver many of the always-on training courses we were able to deliver to sales, pre-sales and beyond at SAS. You also know that we never got around to me buying you that beer to say thanks so if you are ever over this side of the pond look me up and we can see if that can be fixed! Keep well and all the best for 2016 and beyond! Mark.
HI Mark,
When you are ever down under in Melbourne please come and say Hi. I will definitely come and say hi when we are in Germany next. I have to show the family Heidelberg and surrounds.
‘Ski Trip’ has a special meaning for me. Thanks for all the interactions and help of the year! it was fun.
It is difficult cutting the cord but it will enrich you life by widening your horizons. There are some very interesting startups appearing every day.
Regards to the family.
Wouter
Thanks Wouter. The ski trip we went on with Dirk certainly will live long in the memory. Was an interesting way to end us training you all on SAS 9 :-). If I am ever in Oz I will be sure to look you guys up. Thanks for all the collaboration over the years in both South Africa and in Australia. All the best to you and the family too. Mark.
Hi Mark,
of course we have to thank you for all the great content your team delivered over the past years. And we all now with how much energy you were organizing the global network meetings. Extremely well done . But let me thank you very special for the wonderful runs we had with Andrew en Co early morning in the Umstead State park in Cary. Great experience. Good luck and all the best.
Frederik
Hi Frederik – I think the team and the community at large needs the thanks as it was a broad effort. I was honoured to be a part of it. As for the running.. I always enjoyed those runs through the Umstead and I hope that we will run again in Belgium in the 20km run if Nico invites me this year and I am free. Thank you for all your collaboration and friendship over the years and please stay in touch! Look me up if you are heading to Heidelberg! Mark.