Below is what we anticipate being the first in a series of posts that introduce the team members who work within our Factoreal family. It’s a way for us to put a face on the folks who make this company what it is. Because we know that when it comes to the field of marketing automation, you have plenty of companies from which to choose. And while it’s true that just a couple of years ago, the field was limited to a few players, marketing automation has rightly become a popular offering within the sales and marketing stack.
With that in mind, we sense it’s important that you know a little about the experts with whom you will be working. At Factoreal, there are real people who stand behind the marketing automation solution we’ve thoughtfully created. Today’s post marks the first of our Meet the Team series, and first at-bat is Chris Ochs, with 20 years of experience in sales, most recently within the tech sector.
As vice president of sales, Chris Ochs oversees all revenue-generating activities within our growing company. He also works hand-in-hand with our large enterprise clients to develop unique marketing automation solutions that meet their growing needs. Prior to joining us in 2019, Chris was a successful sales executive, manager, and trainer with more than two decades of experience. He is known as a sales industry leader, especially when it comes to creating knowledgeable, considerate, and energetic teams.
Finally, our senior leadership is drawn to Chris, in part because of his good-natured approach to sales, and his experience in building successful sales teams from the ground up. In return, Chris credits our CEO, Aditya Dhruva, with empowering him to do his job, as well as take informed risks to further advance the company’s lofty objectives.
In the short Q&A below, we asked Chris to tell us a little about his personal life, allowing you an opportunity to know the person behind the title. Here is what he had to say:
Factoreal: Where did You Go to College and What Degrees do You Hold?
Chris Ochs: My undergrad degree is from the Honors College at the University of Houston, where I majored in Spanish and Kinesiology. My MBA is from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
Factoreal: Where did you grow up and what did you want to be — career-wise — when you grew up?
Chris: Up until the time I left for college, sunny Southern California — San Diego in particular — was home for me, and I loved every minute of it. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a combination professional soccer player and fireman, with astronaut as a side hustle. I guess I wanted to do all the fun things as a kid.
Factoreal: Tell us about your hobbies and interests outside of work.
Chris: I moved to Colorado, which is where I now work, to escape the dull monotony of California’s beaches and sunsets. (That’s not true. I’m kidding.) However, what I do love about living along Colorado’s Front Range is being able to participate in so many different human-powered outdoor activities — which gets us to the heart of my hobbies and interests. Since moving here, I took up fly fishing and today, my idea of a fun weekend is to hike up a mountain in order to fish in a high-altitude lake with only myself and maybe a random moose for company.
During the winter, I alpine ski, snowshoe, and work on my fly tying. During the spring, summer, fall, I’m trail running, fly fishing, stand up paddle boarding, playing golf and tennis, as well as just going up into the mountains and camping for the weekend.
I was a college athlete, so I love watching sports — especially college and professional football, soccer, volleyball, and golf. Typically, I’ll invite a few friends over for entertainment and we will BBQ or cook up something yummy to eat while we watch.
Factoreal: Tell us something most people would be surprised to know about you.
Chris: I graduated business school with more classes taken than anyone in the history of UCLA’s MBA program. Also, I was almost suspended in middle school for selling lollipops to the kids at school. That’s because I was selling so many lollipops, the teachers complained I was disrupting classes.
Factoreal: If you could pick three famous people — dead or alive — to be a part of your entourage, who would you pick and why?
Chris: First off, George Carlin, because he always had a really good view on life. And he’s funny. Second would be King Croesus, the last king of the Mermnad dynasty and known for his gawdy wealth and credited with issuing the first gold coins with standardized purity for general circulation — because somebody has to pay for everything. And finally, Marilyn vos Savant, an American lecturer, magazine columnist, and former Guinness Book of World Records entrant for having the highest recorded IQ. Truth is, I’ve got a load of questions for which I’d like to have her opinion.
