Kyle Hallowell
28
Construction Sales, Siemens—Energy Management Division
Kyle Hallowell was a student at Penn State University when Siemens visited his campus as part of a recruitment day. He was impressed by the Siemens internships, he explained.
“That began my exposure to the overall industry,” he explained. “The internship was in what is now the Energy Management division.
Kyle was impressed by the work and the company, while Siemens, in turn, was impressed with him. He started in the sales development program after graduation.
“I basically spent the better part of 18 months in that program on rotation, going through our factories, our business units, and learning products,” Kyle said. “I also did a rotation within customer support. I learned how the company operates, its processes – things of that nature. Upon completion, I was promoted to a position in outside sales.”
Kyle’s current title is construction sales, account manager and is based in Charlotte, N.C.
“I focus mainly on electrical contractor sales. But, I also have distribution responsibility, so I work with them to help come up with stock orders, assist with training, etc.,” Kyle explained.
Kyle has had several helpful Siemens mentors since he started. Now he’s the one occasionally doing the mentoring.
“I have been lucky to have a lot of informal mentors, people I can call knowing they’ve likely been through a scenario before,” he explained. “It has been an interesting change, as I’ve become a mentor to some of my co-workers in the sales development program since I graduated from it.”
Along these lines, Siemens has strived to get the newer employees to learn from the veterans who have a lot of knowledge to share.
“What has worked well is identifying colleagues that are well versed in the job requirements, and pair them with younger team members that come in and are pretty new to it,” he explained. “That has been successful for us in a couple of different markets.”
Whether for his own specific work, or for those younger employees he helps break in and mentor, the constant learning is a challenge he embraces.
“I try to take the approach that there are always multiple ways to approach an issue or a different way to develop a solution for a customer,” Kyle explained. “I think you’re doing yourself and your company a disservice if you regurgitate the same thing or approach all the time. It’s important that you challenge yourself with trying to think outside the box and learn as much as you can as you go. You’re never going to know it all at any given time.”
Kyle and his fiancée Samantha were engaged earlier this year and are scheduled to be married in May. They have a Jack Russell terrier dog named Charlie.
His schedule permitting, Kyle likes to get out and enjoy the many golf courses that the Carolinas feature, he said.
“I’m a pretty big golf nut,” he said. “We also like the outdoors and going hiking, traveling to different cities. Charlotte has a really big craft beer scene so we also like to visit different breweries here.”
Q. What advice do you have for other young professionals in the electrical industry?
A. One of the things that is crucial is to always challenge yourself, to keep learning, try to keep developing. Frequently reflect on how you can improve and take an honest look at your performance. Challenge yourself to be better and gain further understanding. Be a sponge when you are around your more seasoned colleagues who might have advice to give you and help you with the strategy. I think that is a crucial development mindset that I have tried to apply to always improve.
Q. You and many in the electrical industry seem genuinely enthusiastic about your work and about the industry overall? Why do you think that is?
A. We all recognize that we need to peel back the onion a little bit and analyze how we do things and how to improve as a company and industry overall. It’s exciting to be here when people tend to be more open-minded to change and try to consider options that are outside of the box. I liken it to what the tech companies are doing with disruption/change and trying to apply it to a more mature business like ours. That’s an exciting time to be a part of.
Tagged with 2018, 30 under 35