Blogs

Joe Budelli is Senior Vice President of Sales for ABBYY USA, a technology company providing document conversion, data capture and linguistic software. In this role, he is responsible for customer development in Latin America, North America, Taiwan and Japan. Joe currently serves as Chair for AIIM's North American Executive Leadership Council program and is a member of the International Board of Directors.

He has been an active contributor to the AIIM online community from the inception and has recently received AIIM’s Distinguished Service Award. Thanks, Joe. And Congratulations.

Duhon: What are the advantages of being involved in chapters; both personally and as a company?

Budelli: I have always found the local chapters to be of great benefit. First and foremost, the chapters provide a "local" flavor of the imaging industry for both me and ABBYY USA. What do I mean by this? Simply put, by participating in the local chapter, we are given greater insight into the topics and issues facing both our region and the greater industry. This allows me and my colleagues to make more informed decisions based on our region’s needs. Additionally, the chapters are an excellent way to network and learn from others in the group as they come across new situations and experiences.

Duhon: What have you enjoyed most about your time on the board?

Budelli: Building on the relationships I have developed during my 20+ years in this industry have been the most rewarding part of my time on the board. Beyond this, I also have really enjoyed being deeply involved in AIIM’s research efforts, and helping to establish best practices. It has also been great discussing industry challenges with my peers from both the company and industry perspectives.

Duhon: AIIM’s DMSPEF (Document Management Service Provider Executive Forum) is a long-running, and successful, event for AIIM. Why have you taken the time to be involved? 

Budelli: I have attended nearly ten DMSPEF’s in my career, and I really enjoy the golf outings! In all honesty, this event is built around networking and I really like being able to connect with my peers. With so many new faces and ideas being exchanged at the last few DMSPEF’s, I have found the events to be both very relevant and particularly enjoyable.

Duhon: You’ve been involved in sales and marketing for most of your career; what about that gets you jazzed and excited?

Budelli: I truly enjoy facing challenges and solving problems making sales and marketing a perfect match for me. I have been fortunate enough to be in a position that allows me to do two things I love on a daily basis, so why stop now!

Duhon: What’s your number one priority today as you look to grow your company?

Budelli: I actually have two primary goals for ABBYY USA. Internally, my top priority is to help our employees achieve their career goals.  If our employees are successful then the organization is that much stronger and able to expand its reach. Looking externally, my top priority is to help our partners navigate towards where their markets are headed, and to develop solutions that have a true impact on the end user.

Duhon: Where’s the capture industry headed?

Budelli: The future of this industry center’s on one recent phenomenon, Big Data. We must understand how these increasing data sets are stored, categorized, and searched, if we are to continue to drive value. This makes being in the capture and classification side of the industry that much more important.

Just for fun

Duhon: What are your three favorite websites?

Budelli: In reality, I really only use apps now. This may seem impossible, but I am constantly on the move, so I am hardly ever sitting at a desk with a Web browser open. When it comes to my favorite apps, I have been using Flipboard to get my news updates, The Bleacher Report for my sports news, and LinkedIn and Facebook for networking.

Duhon: What books are you currently reading?

Budelli: I have three books on my iPad that I am reading right now for different reasons. The first is Robert Ludlum's “Bourne Imperative” for fun, and then “Leading with Cultural Intelligence” and “John Wooden on Leadership” for my personal management and leadership growth.

Duhon: What are the three greatest movies of all time—and what are the last movies you’ve seen?

Budelli: The last two movies I’ve seen were, This is War with Reese Witherspoon and John Carter which were both good movies in their own right. My all-time favorite movie is the original Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn, however the Harrison Ford remake is good as well.  Top Gun and the original Rocky are my other two favorites.

Duhon: What was your first concert?

Budelli: The first concert I ever attended was Alabama.

Duhon: Finally, I can’t resist. ABBYY is headquartered in Russia. So; what’s your favorite vodka?

Budelli: The benefit of being headquartered in Russia is that you don’t even have to read the labels on the bottles - it is just served to you! So far, I haven’t had a bad experience.