Chief Customer Advocate
It isn’t often that a person with serious technical skills and interests is equally at ease singing on-stage or talking about modern art, but in the case of Straton Spyropoulos that juxtaposition exists in perfect harmony.
Straton is Tecplot’s senior technical support specialist, or as he likes to put it, the company’s Chief Customer Advocate. He graduated from George Washington University, which sits only five blocks from The White House, with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Prior to joining Tecplot in 2011, Straton worked for a biomedical software company. Realizing that his real passion is with scientific software, as well as interacting with customers, he responded to a Tecplot job posting that “seemed like it was written for me.”
Tecplot Technical Support Group, from left to right, Jerimiah Lee, Straton Spyropoulos, Jared McGarry
Today, he leads a team of three technical support specialists who handle everything from training at customer sites to leading webinars to fielding dozens of support calls each day. “I love that everyday is different. It’s never boring around here,” Straton said.
Amazing Corporate Culture
Other than the daily variety that comes with his job, Straton credits Tecplot’s “amazing” corporate culture for his high-level of job satisfaction. As he puts it, most companies pay lip service to team work, but it’s a living reality at Tecplot. Straton attributes the company’s strong culture to co-founders Mike Peery and Don Roberts, who “have led by example for over 30 years and are always willing to lend a hand, no matter what the task.”
Motivated by Tecplot’s Customers
He is also motivated by Tecplot’s technology and the “exceedingly meaningful things our customers do with our products.” He cited NASA as an example. The space agency is using Tecplot 360 EX to analyze the stresses of re-entry on the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft. “Now that’s a cool, and very important, application of our products,” he said.
Straton Spyropoulos, Sr. Technical Support Specialist, racing off to help another customer!
While helping to create the most satisfied customers in the technical software industry is important to Straton, nothing compares to the importance of raising his only child, 9 year-old Leone. Luckily, Straton and his daughter share many of the same interests. Both are avid readers who love spending the afternoon at the library or one of Seattle’s various museums, especially the Experience Music Project (EMP) and the Seattle Art Museum. And when it’s time to get physical, the pair is equally passionate about cycling.
As alluded to above, music is a big part of Straton’s life. He has been singing since the second grade and recently was a member of the Seattle Peace Chorus, a local group that performs socially-conscious music – covers and original compositions — at small venues throughout the Seattle area. “I hope to re-join the group in the very near future,” he said. “It’s a blast.”
Future of Tecplot
When asked about the future of Tecplot, Straton cited the company’s 35-year track record and its practice of continually seeking customer feedback as reasons to be optimistic. “We have a solid foundation of products, but we do not rest on our laurels,” he said. “By continuing to listen very carefully to our customers, we will improve our existing products and develop new products as necessary. I think that approach will serve us well for another 35 years…and beyond”