This month, we are spotlighting Carl Fourre, our field service manager, who joined Biosero in June. As a member of our team, he plays a critical role in facilitating interactions between customers and our engineers when they are out in the field. He makes sure that the software integration process is efficient and on schedule so scientists can focus on answering research questions. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from DeVry University.
Q: What do you do at Biosero?
A: I make sure that the engineers in the field have what they need and that they set their schedules to meet customers’ needs. I’m responsible for making sure that customers are happy with the service we provide them. I also make sure that the software support team has what they need to help customers remotely.
Q: How did you get on this career path?
A: It really was luck. I got an opportunity to work for a company doing preventive maintenance for copiers and was able to work my way up in that industry. Then I got a phone call from a recruiter asking if I wanted to work for Tecan. Once I got into the lab environment, I realized that I really enjoyed it. I liked working with the customers and I got a lot of satisfaction from helping them solve problems. Once I got into that industry and got some experience, I knew I could go anywhere so that’s what I did.
Q: What brought you to Biosero?
A: When I first found out about my current position, I didn’t know much about Biosero. But when I started looking into what they were doing, I was really interested in being part of a company that can do the things we are doing. Once I went through the process and met more of the people I would be working with, that was a big draw for me as well. The overall friendly atmosphere, the family feel is something that really appealed to me.
Q: What’s one thing you wish more people knew about laboratory automation?
A: That it’s really for everyone. If you are not in automation, it’s hard to have that mindset. But it does not matter what you are doing — there is always a way to incorporate automation into your lab.
Q: If you could automate anything in your life, what would it be?
A: I would automate doing the laundry, including folding and ironing. That’s my least favorite thing to do so if I could hit a button and it was done, that would be great.
Q: What’s your best career advice?
A: Talk to everyone you run into about what they do. It’s so important to have conversations and to take an interest in what other people are doing because you might learn something new. It does not mean you are unhappy in doing what you are doing, but there’s always room for improvement. Maybe something those people are doing could be of use to you. So, ask questions about what they do and how they do it and see if there is value.
Q: What was the first thing you ever wanted to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a dolphin trainer at SeaWorld. At the time, it seemed like a fun job where you played with dolphins all day. Once I realized that the odds of weren’t in my favor, I went in a different direction.
Q: What’s something your colleagues don’t know about you?
A: I trained for and ran a marathon in six months because someone told me I could not do it. Before then, I was not a runner and had never run more than a mile in my life. I signed up for a race, looked into some beginners’ training, followed it and I was able to do it. The race was in Florida in the middle of a heat wave with 100 percent humidity. It was torture for about five hours. I am now a total glutton for punishment, so I want to do more.