Paul Egli, Vice President of Pathfinder Analytics.
Paul Egli has been paving the way in data analytics for almost three decades. He is a wealth of knowledge in this field not only for his clients but also for his coworkers. He is always calm, cool, and collected, whether it be at work or halfway through a 50-mile trail run.
This month, we’d like to share with you an interview with Paul that demonstrates how integral he is to our team.
What do you do for MAi Research?
“I’m the vice president of pathfinder analytics. Essentially what I do is anything that is beyond field and tabs on the analytics side. I handle projects that involve segmentation, regression analysis, higher-end statistical work. This is the information you can’t just glean from the tabs and that’s when I get called.”
How long have you been working for MAi Research?
“Over 10 years now. I still feel like I’m one of the newbies though, by MAi standards anyway.”
Everyone has the same sentiment about you. You never seem affected.
“I’ve always been that way. I always say I’ve been an old man since I was 12. Nothing seems to phase me. It’s just a personality trait.”
What do you provide that is unique to MAi Research?
“I definitely have the experience in the analytics world. I’ve been doing this since 1996. My primary role has been higher-end analytics in market research. In all that time, I’ve done just about everything imaginable when it comes to analytics.
“If someone asks about a type of analytics or testing, I’ve at least heard of it, if I haven’t attempted it at least once over all those years. I’m able to educate clients and team members about why certain methods did or didn’t work and why.”
Have you been working remotely?
“Yes, we moved to Toledo for work. Basically, I got a job offer there and my wife and I weren’t married. She was living in Michigan, and I was in Cincinnati, so we met in the middle and relocated to Toledo.”
What does a day off the clock look like for you?
“Right now, I’m getting ready to run a 50-miler in like 3 weeks. I’m putting in tons of miles at the moment, trying to ramp my miles up so I don’t die.”
Is that the furthest you’ve ever run?
“No, I’ve gone 70 miles in 18 hours before. This will be my 3rd ultramarathon. I just like running through the woods. Trail runs are my favorite. About 4 or 5 miles in, you’re by yourself. It’s just you and the woods, and I like that time to myself. The nice thing about ultra runs or trail runs, the pace doesn’t mean anything. It just depends on the trail. If it’s an easy trail you can go fast, if it’s hard you can go slower. Everyone walks a little. If you don’t feel like going fast, you don’t go fast. I feel like if I did a marathon, I’d have time pressure and I’m not into that. It’s the relaxing atmosphere that I like about running.
“That’s what I’m doing right now and if it’s not that I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 18. I’m still playing in the power leagues here. I’m the oldest one by far. I can still hang with these guys though, so I tend to play more volleyball in the winter.”
What do you like about working for MAI?
“Mainly, I enjoy the culture. In talking to the founders, they said they got tired of the corporate world and wanted to do their own thing. They were tired of all the billable hours and mandates and they kind of instilled that in the culture here. We still don’t do time sheets on a regular basis. It’s a “come to work and do your job” type of atmosphere. Do what you do to the best of your ability and please the client, but at the same time, it shouldn’t dominate your life.
“Everyone who works for the company touches the project. It’s not like coming from my last job we had to support 100 accounts. To make that system work, you always had to go to the lowest common denominator. They would pressure us to bring it down to the lowest cost, so they could be as profitable as possible. Well, that doesn’t exist here at MAi Research. Everyone works on the project. There is no lowest common denominator that we shoot for. There is no save as much money as you can. Just do your best work.”
To learn more about how MAi Research and Pathfinder Analytics work with clients to creatively address challenging business questions, check us out at www.mairesearch.com and you can talk to Paul directly.
