EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: PAVAN UMESH

We certainly love to share the latest Nokē™ news with you, but we also want to highlight the people behind that news, the people who help make Nokē what it is today. We recently sat down with Pavan Umesh, the new VP of Offerings, to learn more about his background, his goals with Janus, and what exactly a bamboo flute is.

Hi Pavan, and welcome to the Janus International family! Now, let’s learn a bit about you. What do we need to know about Pavan Umesh?

PAVAN: Thank you! Well, I am originally from Mysore, which is a southern city in India. I’ve lived in Georgia since 2019, and before that I was in Houston, Texas. I’m married with two daughters, 4 and 7 years old. I graduated from Harvard University’s Sustainability Leadership Program, I have an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore with an Exchange program at the University of North Carolina - go Tar Heels! I have led Global Product Management in IOT Products and Services with both Honeywell and Carrier. I’m an engineer at heart and love tech!

That’s great! Sorry about the Tar Heels’ early exit in March Madness by the way. So, how long have you been with Janus, and what is your official title?

PAVAN: I recently started with Janus on February 5, and I am the VP of Offerings. Offering management is a super set of product management that includes managing the entire product line from research-based ideation to GTM enablement for solution selling. It also includes customer success enablement to proactively ensure superior solution adoption and customer experience, as well as the roadmap and strategy to define the north star vision for our product portfolio.

What was it about Janus International that drew you to this opportunity?

PAVAN: Janus maintains an envious position of being a market leader with a huge install base in a strong and resilient industry that often goes under the radar. That’s a true gold mine in the investor world where valuation still does not mimic potential. Nokē is a fast-paced business unit within Janus that represents growth and tech transformation for the company and its customers. All of that was very intriguing to me.

What excites you about your new role with Janus?

PAVAN: Janus has very supportive leadership that does a great job focusing on long term value while never losing sight of their current customer needs. My role of leading the Nokē product line as VP of Offerings helps expand Janus from a reactive sales-led organization to a more proactive product-led organization, emphasizing customer lifetime value rather than one-and-done sales. This also builds the foundation for more sustained growth.

What are your goals with Janus, short and long term?

PAVAN:

• Short term: Enhance the core value and stability of our product line
• Medium term: Make the product portfolio wider and deeper with a robust 3-year horizon roadmap, both organic (build) and inorganic (buy/partner.) In addition, lay out the product/market expansion strategy that enables Janus to clearly articulate the north star vision that centers around digital transformation as a differentiator
• Long term: Global execution of a laid-out strategy to help increase penetration of Nokē offerings in the marketplace that enhances a digitally enabled customer experience

You certainly have well thought out plans! Any thoughts on the future of the self-storage industry and Janus’s part in that?

PAVAN: Self-storage, like many other industries, is facing similar trends such as labor shortages, tech-savvy next gen users who seek AI enabled solutions, and consolidation by REITs that demand more operational efficiencies. While these may attract many non-traditional competitors, Janus has the advantage with years of domain expertise with a high-tech product line from Nokē. This turns the digital data captured along a customer’s journey into actionable insights so that Janus can make a real impact to the customer’s top or bottom line. 

What are your passions and hobbies outside of work?

PAVAN: My wife and I are avid sports enthusiasts. I play basketball and tennis, and I’m also a trained musician – I play the bamboo flute (Genre – Indian Classical.)

Wait, the bamboo flute?

PAVAN: Yes, it has a less metallic sound than a traditional flute and is prominent in the Eastern world.

Very interesting. Okay, we are going to end with a question unrelated to your role at Janus. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? And don’t feel pressured to say Janus headquarters in Temple, Georgia.

PAVAN: I would like to experience European countries such as Germany and Rome, among others. I love the idea of traveling to a site with immense history that has an amazing story to tell.

That sounds incredible, Pavan. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, we are very excited to have you on the Nokē team and look forward to seeing where your expertise can take us!