Wearevts: Maria Masiar, Head Of Design, On Doing What Inspires You

The VTS squad consists of folks pinch a divers group of personalities, talents, and perspectives, and we want you to meet them! That’s why we’ve created this #WeAreVTS blog bid to item immoderate of nan galore outstanding group we person astatine VTS, get a person look astatine nan move lives they have, and proceed to create an situation wherever each VTSer tin beryllium their authentic self.

Without further ado, here's our question and reply pinch Maria Masiar - Head of Design!

In a condemnation aliases two, tin you explicate what you do present astatine VTS?

Hi Louisa! I americium nan Head of Design astatine VTS and americium responsible for nan personification acquisition crossed our 4 halfway products - Lease, Market, Data, and Activate. I guarantee nan products are businesslike and delightful for our users. 

Design is 1 portion of nan triad of Technology that delivers merchandise outcomes. We stock this work pinch Engineering and Product Management.

Where are you based correct now?

Vancouver, Canada. Although, I get to sojourn our different locations for illustration Toronto, New York, and Chicago astir often to coordinate pinch our teams.

Can you picture your master travel and really it led you to VTS?

I person been successful IT for 30 years - since nan opening of nan internet. I’ve worked pinch each size of institution that you tin deliberation of; from mini to mean businesses and to very ample ones for illustration IBM.

After seeing a batch of different types of companies, I decided that my favourite situation to activity successful was location successful nan mediate of that institution size and stage. I wanted to beryllium successful a institution that was successful a maturation stage, but still had a batch of imaginable to create systems and structures to level up nan adjacent shape of operations.

Before VTS I worked astatine IBM which is astatine nan different extremity of that scale. It’s a spot that has had astir of its systems already successful spot and had really bully procedures group up. I learned a batch location successful position of what it takes to tally world enterprise-scale operations, particularly from a creation usability perspective. I saw really to return an statement that didn’t really person Design Thinking practices and really to standard that to world operations wrong nan span of 5 years and really make it a strategical competitory advantage for IBM.

When I came to VTS, I thought I could make a quality present and use immoderate of that learning to thief VTS successful its adjacent shape of maturation and really create excellence successful nan Design usability by creating nan processes, procedures, and metrics that it needed to return nan products to nan adjacent stage.

What excites you astir what you do astatine VTS? Is location a infinitesimal successful your clip present that made you particularly proud to activity astatine VTS?

I emotion that nan manufacture successful wide for CRE is successful a transformation. I’ve seen that a fewer times successful my profession successful definite sectors–and that is thing that excites me. I’m a personification that thrives pinch alteration and growth. I don’t for illustration things that are excessively stagnant, and I deliberation CRE has gone done (and is still in) nan process of a monolithic translator arsenic an industry. It is going from a papered world and antiquated processes wherever things were not connected to what is now smart buildings and processes.

That’s what excites maine astatine VTS–being portion of nan travel to redefine what nan caller world of activity intends successful our decade. Its wholly changed from what it utilized to beryllium erstwhile I entered nan workforce, and I deliberation it’s really breathtaking to beryllium a portion of that and trade that travel pinch nan biggest manufacture players successful nan world. We person clients for illustration CBRE and Greystar, and it really does not get bigger than that successful position of partnerships to turn with. It’s breathtaking and highly motivating to beryllium capable to trade that travel pinch them.

When talking astir what makes maine particularly proud to activity astatine VTS, it comes down to nan group here. My moments of pridefulness person been erstwhile my leader gave maine nan spot to tally pinch my vision. When I first joined, VTS didn’t really person beardown creation operations, and it took a mates of years to get nan processes successful place. A infinitesimal of pridefulness for maine was conscionable having my leader judge successful maine and saying “you sewage this–I spot you to do this and group nan operational cadence and to make it right.” That is simply a infinitesimal of pridefulness and a culmination of galore years of acquisition coming together pinch nan correct type of activity that empowers you to return that level of work and trusts you.

Another infinitesimal was erstwhile I sewage a chance to beryllium a portion of nan Product squad taking nan lead pinch our customers. We sewage into a room pinch 1 of our largest endeavor clients, and for nan first clip successful VTS’ history nan Product squad really led nan income conversation. That had ne'er happened before, and it was a immense infinitesimal of pridefulness for my squad wherever we utilized nan principles of Design Thinking and our caller processes and procedures to solidify nan statement pinch our customer and thief VTS meet nan needs of nan customers. Design sewage put successful nan “hot seat”, truthful to speak, pinch 1 of nan astir awesome clients VTS useful with, and we pulled done for our customer and for ourselves and won nan contract.

On to much individual topics - what was your dream occupation increasing up?

Growing up I really wanted to beryllium a mathematics teacher! I had a awesome domiciled model–a wonderful, strong, and very intelligent female who was astonishing arsenic a mentor and arsenic a teacher. I fell successful emotion pinch math, since numbers conscionable made a batch of consciousness to me. I’ve ever been personification who has had a very analytical encephalon but besides a very imaginative side.

When things started evolving pinch nan internet, nan mathematics strengths I had translated into coding, and erstwhile I first began successful my domiciled astatine IBM I started arsenic a developer. Math and building makes sense, and truthful does code, truthful that satisfied that analytical portion of me. The different part, which is nan much imaginative side, was satisfied by nan UX [user experience] activity wherever you speak pinch users, you person to empathize, and are trying to make their lives amended and easier. Being capable to harvester that has been my dream job.

What do you for illustration to do successful your free time? Any hobbies?

Most of my free clip is fixed to hunt and rescue successful Vancouver. I person been a portion of nan busiest SAR squad successful North America for 7 years now and I astir apt put successful 500 unpaid hours a twelvemonth doing fundamentally 911 for nan mountains successful Vancouver–everything from responding to avalanches to fallen climbers, to mislaid individuals successful nan woods, injuries, surgery legs, twisted ankles, etc. All of my free spare clip goes to this, and immoderate I person near I for illustration to walk successful nan mountains. I emotion being outside, I emotion mountaineering, climbing and backcountry skiing.

If you could activity a magic wand to lick immoderate problem successful nan world, what would it be?

I deliberation if group had deeper empathy for 1 another, that would lick a batch of problems successful nan world. I would wish that group go much empathetic, to person a deeper appreciation for what others are going through, and understand what nan effect of their actions towards different individuals whitethorn be. The world could beryllium a different spot if we came from a deeper spot of knowing successful each of our lives and actions.

What’s your proposal for personification who wants to beryllium successful a domiciled akin to yours?

The champion point to do is to find personification that inspires you. Start listening to podcasts and find an astonishing domiciled models for yourself. Start connected immoderate task you tin get your hands on, moreover if it’s volunteering. Donate your clip to thing that you are passionate about.

That is my #1 rule, to make judge you really for illustration it. It doesn’t matter what it is–doing thing you’re passionate astir intends it’s not going to consciousness for illustration work. Donate your clip to it and spot wherever those roads lead you.

My way to this domiciled was not a consecutive line. I primitively studied to beryllium an Economist, did guidance and economics arsenic a dual degree, and UX ended up being nan point I fell successful emotion with. It is not ever a consecutive line–find retired what is existent for you. If it’s a domiciled for illustration personification experience, my individual travel has been founded successful continuous learning and curiosity. It doesn’t matter really galore courses I’ve taken - I will ever return much and I will ever publication more. I deliberation that is my halfway rule #1 - enactment curious. As you spell on that journey, you will find opportunities that coming themselves and you tin dive into them pinch passion. They will usually lead down a beautiful roadworthy that you didn’t expect and caller doors will open.

Topics:
• Life astatine VTS

Louisa is simply a Senior Talent Acquisition Manager astatine VTS.