If you’ve followed our blog at all over the past year, then you know that Adeptia likes getting personal. And that makes sense, considering that our software is nothing if not approachable. It’s our strong belief at Adeptia that tech companies should speak to more than just the technically elite, and we want to you to know how much we really mean that.
We are all people who love being a part of something we believe in, and we want to share that with you. For the second in our series where we get personal with each other about who we are, here are some questions and answers from a conversation with Adeptia employee Andy Griffin:
1. What do you do at Adeptia?
I am the Director of Product Marketing & Strategy.
2. How long have you been working for Adeptia?
4 years
3. Given where Adeptia’s main office is, what’s your favorite restaurant in Chi-town?
Oh my, commuting to the office from Rockford (80 miles from Chicago), I love the Chicago restaurants! I love Chicago in so many ways and especially the food options. I try to experiment in various neighborhoods. Sometimes I will stop on the way home to Rockford to try something new. One of my hobbies is to try & compare brisket at barbecue restaurants when I travel to different cities and in Chicago. In Chicago, I love Green Street Smoked Meats on Randolph and Green. However, I also love Rub’s BackCountry Smokehouse on Western Avenue. They both have great atmosphere as well as great brisket. Another favorite (for stuff other than brisket) is the Girl and the Goat. It’s my go-to place for business, family, and friends.
4. Cubs or White-Sox?
I am definitely more of a Cubs fan, but I enjoy following all of the sports in Chicago. It’s been fun getting on the bandwagon with the Blackhawks over the past 3 or 4 years as well.
5. How does Adeptia compare to other places you’ve worked in the past? Culture? People? Overall Experience?
I’ve worked at a variety of companies, large & small, and with very different corporate cultures. What I like most about Adeptia is the family atmosphere. What I mean is that there is a foundation of love, trust and loyalty that I haven’t experienced in other companies. This doesn’t mean that we don’t argue from time to time in the boardroom. Honestly, though, I sincerely appreciate the fact that we are all close enough to be completely transparent with each other.
One of my best memories is going to a dance graduation performance for the daughter of Adeptia’s President & CTO. She had prepared for 9 years and perfected the art of a Kathak dance form that traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India. This was a very meaningful and cultural experience for those of us from the company and our families that experienced it together.
6. Top All-Time Favorite Movies:
- 1.I suppose The Sound of Music is my favorite classic. I’ve probably seen it 30 or 40 times over my life-time, growing up and then with my own children around the holidays.
- 2.One of my all-time favorites is the 1935 version of Les Miserables with Charles Laughton as Inspector Emile Javert. The story itself is timeless, and I just love Charles Laughton in this and other movies like Witness for the Prosecution.
- 3.This may seem like an odd choice, but I really like Chinatown with Jack Nicholson. I realized a few years ago that I am a much bigger fan of Jack Nicholson’s earlier movies. In Chinatown, in particular, he makes a great detective as J.J. Gittes.
- 4.I also never tire of the original Bourne films with Matt Damon.
7. What is a feature of an Adeptia product that you’re most excited about/proud of?
I could go in several directions with this question. It is hard to pick just one feature. However, I love our “Secure Engine” option in our iPaaS offering, Adeptia Connect. I love it because it provides the best of both worlds for companies that are not allowed by law or regulations to process or store any business data in the cloud. Companies can enjoy all of the benefits of SaaS technology — including subscription-based pricing, no hardware & no maintenance, etc. while the “Secure Engine” executes all data access & data processing at a customer-specified location, typically within the customer’s own environment. All metadata & user management dashboards are in the cloud, but the processing of the data happens somewhere else.
8. Favorite Place You’ve Ever Visited:
I’ve travelled in Europe to a lot of great locations within England, Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Switzerland. And I’ve been just about everywhere in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. I’ve always loved Seattle, New York and of course, Chicago. But I recently traveled to Burlington, Vermont to visit my daughter. After enjoying the sandy beach of Lake Champlain, the backdrop of the Adirondack Mountains, the boardwalk at sunset, the Farmer’s Market and Church street, and most of all my daughter, I would have to say that Burlington is my new favorite place to visit.
9. Thing you’re looking forward to the most right now:
I love entering into the fall season with all of its color and dry, cool air. And I am looking forward to receiving my yearly load of firewood for the winter. However, on a more grand scale, I am looking forward to traveling to China to visit my daughter in Hangzhou and my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Beilun. I haven’t made official plans yet, but I am hoping that I can work out the details to visit sometime in January.
10. What do you love about working for Adeptia?
I love the location. I can’t get enough of Chicago. And the corporate culture mentioned above. But most of all I love the sense of excitement and anticipation for what’s ahead for Adeptia. And I love coming to work knowing that Adeptia is improving the lives of so many people around the world who are using our integration technology to power their businesses and dreams.
For more articles written by Andy Griffin, check out: