Meet Meissam Heidarizad, an eight-year Fusion employee and current account executive in the company’s Amsterdam office. A four-time President Club member, Meissam balances his time solving important problems for Fusion’s customers in addition to securing new customer business. Meissam credits much of his career growth to Fusion’s “university-like” culture that’s conducive to sharpening his acumen, and equally as important, addressing his customers’ needs through up-to-date market information from his procurement and global commodity managers. Give Meissam’s spotlight profile a read to see how Fusion has played a role both in his passion for distribution, but also in his personal career goals.
Q: How long have you been with Fusion?
A: 8 years
Q. What does a day in the life of Account Executive at Fusion look like?
A: Working as an account executive at Fusion is like riding a rollercoaster with blindfolds on. Every day and every hour are unpredictable. You never know if the next opportunity is in the next half hour or next day or week, hence you have to always stay sharp while riding this rollercoaster.
Q: What were you doing before you took on your current role? What brought on the change?
A: Before Fusion, I was working as an account manager for a Taiwanese manufacturer of Hard Drives and Memory Modules. It was quite a slow supply and demand cycle from manufacturer to distribution. I wanted to see the other side of the game in the brokerage market which was a fast-paced sales position. Fusion was an American international company located in Amsterdam and I remember when I walked in the office, it had a very high-energy environment with everyone on the phone. Fusion gave me the opportunity and platform and within the first 30 days I knew this was where I wanted to be and grow my career.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about working out of Fusion’s Amsterdam Office?
A: Probably the time zone. We are right in the middle which means I can contact Asia first thing in the morning and talk to our colleagues there and do the same with our U.S. HQ in the afternoon.
Q: What is the biggest challenge that you face working at a global company like Fusion, and what’s the greatest opportunity?
A: Nothing stays the same in our market because of its unpredictability. You cannot have just one way of working and stick to one plan. Our markets keep changing and you have to always develop new plans in order to survive in this business and that is one of the key challenges. With hard work, persistence, ability-development and working with my colleagues in different time zones, finding the best offers for different products in various industries and approaching my customers to discuss such matters is a huge opportunity that keeps me focused throughout the day.
Q: How have you seen the supply chain shift in the last eight years, and how has Fusion directly impacted it?
A: I have seen huge shifts in the supply chain for different commodities across the board over the past eight years. What has been the most interesting fact is our procurement team and global commodity managers are always one step ahead of the game with information about the market. This has made Fusion adapt to any market situation seamlessly and support our customers immediately if any issues arise. I can strongly say that our global footprint, strong vendor relationships and Fusion’s quality processes have helped us align with our customers’ needs and strengthen our relationships with global OEMs and EMS manufacturers.
Q: What are some of your career milestones/accomplishments?
A: When I started at Fusion back in 2011, it felt like a dream to achieve what the top sales guys were doing in terms of performance. With hard work, dedication and setting the bar high for myself, I managed to be the top salesperson in the Amsterdam office in 2016. It was something that felt so far away just a few years earlier; I never thought I could do it and I finally did.
Q: What is your work mantra?
A: My work mantra is “dedicate time every day to education.” We operate in almost every industry, so I try to educate myself about the market trends daily. I plan my days one day in advance and stick to my plan.
Q: Anything else to add about the company and how they’ve developed your career?
A: Fusion has been like a university where I continue to learn and upgrade my career skills every day and every year. Fusion sharpens me every second of the day through multi-tasking and completing many challenges.
Q: In your mind, what sets Fusion apart from other distributors?
A: The mindset DNA we’re trained to have from day one at Fusion – to be the best at what we do and to be the smartest account managers to our clients – is what sets Fusion apart from our competitors. Our people, our quality, and our global footprint and the flexibility that we present to our customers to tailor any program according to their demands is what sets us apart from other distributors.
Q: What’s one thing you wish people knew about your job?
A: As an account executive, I wish people knew how challenging this job is working in such a volatile market; what a rollercoaster ride it is finding the best solution when the problems arise at any moment. We will work constantly above and beyond; be it in the evening, weekends or even during our holidays. We aren’t required to, but we do it because we know we are the lifeline to our customers’ supply chain and we are always there to assist them with any situation that they need.
Q: Any funny anecdotes to share from your experiences working at Fusion over the years?
A: Most of my colleagues are in other regions and somehow due to the way I talk on the phone or look like in pictures they get a wrong impression of me. Most of them perceive me as an aggressive Alpha male who believes in, “My way or the highway”. It’s funny how once people meet me in-person, they quickly realize that I am actually nothing like that at all! I have a lot of respect for other people’s opinion and am very open to criticism. I actually have taken this as a lesson and I try to meet with my customers regularly to prevent that misunderstanding and build great relationships with everyone.