Q&A across the globe with David Rheault

David Rheault is vjoon’s new Business Development Manager responsible for the Americas and based in the United States. David has twenty years of experience in the publishing industry and he is motivated to use his skills to further market penetration in the Americas. His business operations are characterized by a strong focus on customers’ needs. During the interview with Laura, David talks about changing media fields as well as the challenges and opportunities of the American market.

L: Hi David, we are pleased to welcome you as a new Business Development team member of vjoon. Please tell us a bit about yourself, your professional background as well as your connection to vjoon.

D: I’m excited to join vjoon, as I really feel this is a great fit for me and vjoon. I built a career around publishing and content management technology over the past two decades, have always had a positive impression of vjoon’s software, and over the last several years, have come to recognize vjoon as both passionate about their software and their customers.

L: What three words would you use to describe your role?

D: Communicate, Empower, Respect. I want to be able to communicate with our customers in an open and transparent manner. I want to empower our customers with the best tools to accomplish their objectives. I respect that every customer uses vjoon K4 differently, so I want to be respectful of the varying missions under which our software is implemented.

L: How do you think your professional background and former experiences will help you in achieving vjoon’s business goals?

D: In short, I’ve built my career over the years with both traditional and non-traditional publishers. Whether your intent is to produce a slick, glossy magazine, or simply to get your message out to your audience, the amount of content and data you have to sort through becomes a daunting task. In my role at vjoon, I envision myself as a technology consultant more than a product evangelist. The way that companies manage and distribute their data is changing, in large part to the way they acquire content. While some publishers are still holding on to what I’d call a legacy process, vjoon and I are looking to embrace the change that is occurring. You have to find a new and creative way to both acquire and distribute content, and that’s what we’re all about.

L: What do you think will be your greatest challenge along this path?

D: I think the greatest challenge is getting traditional publishers to move past the nostalgic feelings they have toward print in general. The world of content consumption has changed. So many other media – TV and film for example – have moved to both subscription-based models, and there’s a lot more reality TV out there – which I feel is akin to user generated content in the publishing world. We’re going to need to help our customers to embrace this shift in the way their users consume content. That said, building a relationship with your consumers is the most important aspect in publishing, the importance of publishing in print cannot be overlooked – but you need to have an effective strategy to engage consumers on your digital platforms.

L: David, what factors do you think play a decisive role in the future development of our business?

D: That‘s a though question. It goes back to the challenges we face in the changing media landscape. Media delivery and especially content consumption – the way people use content, whether on a kindle, on their smartphone or in print media – have changed fundamentally over the last ten years. In my opinion, media use and innovation in the media will continue to be decisive factors in determining how content management will develop in the coming years.

L: Where do you see major challenges and opportunities for vjoon in the American market?

D: Change and disruption always present opportunities. Since I see what we’re doing here at vjoon, I also see we’re starting to anticipate that change. Based on our product development, I’m confident that our challenges are also our opportunities. Especially the first things I saw about the new DAM inspire me. Even if the focus is initially on optimal integration with vjoon K4, I see enormous potential.

L: Thanks for the honest interview and good luck with your new professional challenge, David.