Employee Q & A

Eight years ago Steve was managing the shipping/receiving and mailroom operations for Siemens PLM Software. A few years later, he joined the Law Department and continued to assume additional responsibility. Now as a senior contract specialist for Siemens PLM Software, Steve drafts, negotiates and manages a variety of sales-related contracts such as software license and service agreements for the U.S. and Asia Pacific. In his current position, Steve has explored locales ranging from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea.

What's on your desk right now?

Well, besides your basic office equipment, there are pictures of my wife and kids, a candy jar (essential), a Notre Dame license plate (this should be a requirement for every desk!), a globe and about twenty different contracts that I'm currently working on.

What is your typical day like?

I always start by grabbing a cup of coffee and catching up on overnight e-mail from our Asia Pacific offices, but that's where the "typical day" ends, which is one of the reasons I enjoy my job. I spend a lot of time answering various questions that involve interpreting contract clauses and reviewing and responding to contract modifications that have been requested. One minute I might be reviewing a statement of work for a services project, and the next minute providing input to a software proposal. I also get involved in a lot of special departmental projects such as creating a contracts database or updating our standard agreements to meet some new requirement.

What are your typical work hours?

I generally work from about 7:30 until about 5:00, however since I support our Asia Pacific operations, I have occasional conference calls in the late evening or early morning to accommodate time zone differences. My career is very important to me, but so is my family. Fortunately, Siemens PLM Software allows me the flexibly to maintain a balance between the two.

What is most challenging about your position?

There are rarely black-or-white answers to the issues involved in a contract negotiation and that can make the job pretty challenging, especially when the deal involves millions of dollars.

If you could give yourself a new title what would it be?

Director of Worldwide Contracts has a nice ring to it! Seriously, titles look good on business cards, but they're pretty meaningless as far as I'm concerned.

What are your favorite things about Siemens PLM Software?

My favorite things about Siemens PLM Software are all of the friendships that I've made. I'm especially fortunate to work with a group of people in the Law Department who are not only very talented, they are great people. We work very well together and have a lot of fun outside of the office as well.

What do you like to do outside the office?

I enjoy spending time with my family no matter what we're doing. I also enjoy golfing and working in my yard... these things really help my wheels get turning...