#Polycom25 Employee Spotlight: Bob Knauf, Senior Manager of Multimedia Marketing

[Bill Conlon (Billy_Conlon)]

How long have you worked at Polycom?

20 years at Polycom— 3 years at a channel partner before that. 

Can you provide a brief history of your Polycom positions and where you are now?

I helped open our Chicago office.  I started as a sales engineer and traveled the world working on the Polycom SoundStation.

Jobs I have held at Polycom:

• Sales Engineer
• Director of Information Architecture
• Human Factors Engineer
• Product Marketing Manager
• My current role, which is Senior Manager of Multimedia Marketing

What has kept you at Polycom all these years?

The people, the amazing technology—and how every day brings a new challenge.

What inspires and motivates you?

I enjoy seeing what our technology can do for our users.  It is fun to push the envelope— from live streaming concerts to distance education to helping people be more productive and get things done quicker and cheaper.

What’s your favorite Polycom memory?

Surfing with Bob Hagerty in Santa Cruz, CA.  We were filming an opening montage for an upcoming Polycom User Group Conference.  It was hilarious, and he was such a good sport. 

When you think of Polycom, what stands out to you most?

Polycom strives to do the right thing for our customers.  Employees really care about how the customers are doing with our technology, and we want to make their lives better!

What are your goals in the next 25 years?

We hope to move out of Austin and somewhere closer to the ocean. I told my wife we would only be in Austin for no more than 3-5 years, but this year marked our 19th year in Austin!

What advice would you give to a newly hired Polycom employee?

You have to get involved and chart your own way.  Always put the customer first in everything you do, and ask yourself, “How is this helping the customer?”—That’s the bottom line. Also, no matter how upset you may be about something, do NOT send that career-limiting email.  Feel free to type it out, but don’t hit send!

How did it feel to sell the very firstSoundStation?

SoundStation sold itself.  As I had worked for one of the first three channel partners, TTI out of Woodstock, IL, all we would needed to do was to send out a demo unit and we’d have purchase order in-hand within 30 days.  It was awesome!  We literally ran out of inventory each month.

Are there any interesting facts that many Polycom employees may not know today?

During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA, after the bomb went off in Olympic Park, bomb fragments were placed on a ShowStation within 30 minutes so that a team in Washington, DC could begin analyzing it. 

Give us one fun fact about yourself.

I am a technology geek and love music.  I stream concerts in Austin and have filmed well over 500 shows to date