An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Inclusivity leads to innovation. All too often, employees are asked to help problem solve, produce new ideas for business processes, products, and services. Having a mono-chrome workforce does not serve a company well in developing new products nor does it help satisfy the needs of a varied customer base. With a well-rounded employee base, there’s a greater inclusivity of differing ideas and points of view, leading to truly inclusive advancements.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Frank Fawzi, CEO of IntelePeer.
Frank has been a guiding force in driving the company’s growth and achieving its mission to become a dominant Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider for enterprises. Frank founded and grew CommTech Corporation between 1990 and 2001 to be an early leader in the communications software sector before selling the company to ADC, a leading provider of broadband solutions for the telecommunications industry, for $178 million. Prior to founding CommTech, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories as the lead data communications architect for a $1.4B winning bid to the IRS.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
Just a few years after completing my master’s degree, I took a risk and founded my first company — CommTech — in the proverbial garage (or, in my case, a small empty room in my house). Having gained tremendous knowledge working at AT&T Bell Laboratories as the lead data communications architect to win a $1.4 billion contract for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), I felt confident in my capacity to conquer the challenges of starting a telco business.
Recognizing the complexities in the telecommunications industry, I began CommTech with a mission to automate business processes. That intense desire resulted in growing the company from three employees (me, my sister and my wife at the time working from home) to about 400 employees in under a decade. After creating state-of-the-art management and provisioning software for the leading telecommunication service providers, the company was purchased by ADC Telecom for $178M in 2001. I stayed on in an advisory role for a few years, but that intense desire to build resurfaced, leading me to join IntelePeer in 2005. It was just a small team at the time; however, we’ve grown over the years to become a leading communications platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider for enterprises.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
There have been so many — funny and interesting. But the takeaway is always the same. Treat people as you would like to be treated. So simple, yet often the most difficult thing to remember.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“When a caring, positive culture is fostered, there’s nothing a company cannot achieve.” (That’s a Frank Fawzi quote) This has certainly been the case for IntelePeer, which now has approximately 290 team members dispersed around the country. We attract exceptional talent and have a very high retention rate not because it’s an easy environment — actually, it’s quite demanding — but because it is an incredibly supportive and flexible environment.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I’ve had several mentors throughout my career and my extremely grateful for the insight and support they provided, especially when it came to navigating turbulent waters. On the other hand, from the beginning, my father was a constant source of inspiration. Watching him, a small business owner who went through daily business challenges, I learned at an early age what it took to succeed. At the heart of every new innovation, whether it is a software product or widget, is an individual or team driven by insatiable curiosity, persistence and tenacity.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
IntelePeer has established strong core values and a solid infrastructure. So, when the pandemic hit, IntelePeer was at an advantage. That didn’t mean it was smooth sailing for everyone. Many had the added stress of children learning from home, not to mention the feeling of isolation with several rounds of shutdowns. With the inability to get together as a company for special events, as we had done in the past, it wasn’t long before employees were offering up and implementing solutions, from a morale committee to early-off Fridays and “time-out blocks,” which were basically do-not-disturb zones everyone respects when scheduling calls and meetings. These were all solutions to the numerous pandemic obstacles, and we were able to think, build and work through the problems and become better for it.
In fact, it was our collective realization of how the pandemic had put immense stress on families, schools, the economy and our country as a whole that led us to many ideas to help businesses and state agencies deal with the incredible demand by consumers and citizens for more information and interactions.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We’re always working on exciting projects at IntelePeer. Recently, we launched Atmosphere Marketplace, a suite of low- and no-code communication apps — the industry’s first and only solution of its kind. It is an intuitive bundled multi-application solution featuring no-code and low-code applications, equipped with a step-by-step plug-and-play setup — backed by comprehensive support. With no-code/turnkey application solutions and fast and easy configuration in minutes, Marketplace modernizes the way businesses communicate with their customers without the need for drawn-out and costly development cycles.
What is your product’s key distinguishing feature?
Atmosphere Marketplace is segmented into two main levels. The first level, with its no-code/turnkey customer engagement applications, is ideal for new and current customers. It enables businesses to easily implement communications solutions such as intelligent Call Routing based on Natural Language Processing, plus easy interactive voice response (IVR), SMS, and voice auto-response without the need for developers. The second level contains low-code/advanced snap-in applications. These customizable and quick-to-deploy modules are perfect for high-value implementations such as Communications Workflow Automation, Payment Processing and Cloud Queuing and allow customers to tailor applications into their existing business workflows.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Charity starts at home, and by home, I mean our team and families. Beyond that, home is our local communities where we live, the colleges we attended, and the small businesses we interact with on a daily basis. While I am involved with numerous charities and organization that have a worldwide impact, most of my time and wealth are invested in support groups and organizations close to home.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line.
We recently signed on to the CEO Pledge, which is part of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ initiative co-founded and launched in 2017 by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and numerous other companies. At the core of this initiative is The CEO pledge, which outlines a specific set of actions the signatory CEOs will take to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed, and employees feel comfortable and empowered to have discussions about diversity and inclusion. In addition to being the right thing to do, having a diverse and inclusive workplace has many, positive business benefits:
- A highly engaged, diverse workforce can greatly impact a company’s bottom line and ultimate success. Gallup recently estimated those organizations with a highly engaged workforce see approximately 23% greater profitability and approximately 15% greater productivity. The pandemic really brought this phenomenon to light, with those companies who were most diligent in fostering engagement, as well as diversity, reaping immense benefits.
- Inclusivity leads to innovation. All too often, employees are asked to help problem solve, produce new ideas for business processes, products, and services. Having a mono-chrome workforce does not serve a company well in developing new products nor does it help satisfy the needs of a varied customer base. With a well-rounded employee base, there’s a greater inclusivity of differing ideas and points of view, leading to truly inclusive advancements.
- Diversity leads to a greater understanding of one’s marketplace. To be relevant in today’s business world, companies must understand the underpinnings of what is driving the markets in which they operate. This understanding can only be accomplished via a diverse workforce who can provide insights into consumer behaviors that lead to product adoption, services needed to fulfill customer demand, and possibly the creation of new product categories within a marketplace.
- With a diverse workforce, employees are more engaged. This engagement is directly correlated with employee well-being, a point critical to one’s business success. Business leaders have a responsibility to their employees to foster ‘career’ well-being, which will ultimately positively impact their personal and professional lives. Many businesses are already doing this in one fashion or another; for others, it’s critical that they start. Steps to take are easy — at IntelePeer, for example, we offer financial coaching, time off for volunteer activities, and career development resources. Other activities businesses could consider are health and wellness resources and the enactment of family-friendly policies.
- Increased diversity in the workplace creates a strong value proposition for one’s brand. Those companies that champion diversity and embrace an over-arching ethos of inclusivity reap the benefits of a strong, resilient reputation which is invaluable to today’s consumers. Patagonia is a great example. Since day one, the company’s leaders were committed to being an environmentally responsible organization. They embraced this mantra and continue to live by it, and the company has reaped the rewards and its brand’s reputation reflects that.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
Give everyone in the company a voice. You never know who will have the next big idea.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
When dealing with large teams, business leaders should focus on building a strong culture supported by core values that are reinforced throughout the workplace. A strong set of well-understood core values, when socialized throughout a company and embraced by all employees, helps organizations navigate everyday decisions independently.
Leaders should also set the overall direction of the company, relay that to his/her teams but encourage independent thinking as those teams work toward fulfilling established priorities. This is greatly aided by frequent, large-scale communication. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to keep everyone throughout the organization informed about the business and for business leaders to encourage open communication and transparency within their departments.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, V.C. funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the U.S. whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
I would love to sit down and share a meal with Elon Musk. He’s a true creative genius that sees the future, excites others, and builds toward fulfilling his vision.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankfawzi/
Forbes Tech council — https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/people/frankfawzi/?sh=2900dae46a58
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Frank Fawzi Of IntelePeer: How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
