Telcordia Impact Players:
Phil Tremewan

Take a look at the lives of those who excel in their chosen fields, and you'll usually find a history of challenging transitions leading to professional growth. Sometimes there may even be an epiphany or two.

For example, take Phil Tremewan, a leading member of Telcordia's IMS Global Sales Team, whose career trajectory changed course with one powerful realization.

He found out that business is fun.

"All of a sudden, I'm doing something that's real, instead of theoretical," says Phil. "It's great."

A little background may be in order. It so happens Phil knows a thing or two about theories, having earned a PhD in theoretical physics from Bristol University. From there he went to work for Plessey Telecom, where he shined as a talented software developer. But it wasn't until he shifted into architectural design that he started to really see things from the customer's point of view.

"I was asking myself, will this make sense for the customer at the end of the line?" he explains. "I think that's a perspective that's useful for anyone in the industry, no matter what they're doing."

From architectural design, Phil moved into consulting. It was during that time that he had his career-altering epiphany that developing business solutions that make a real difference for customers is downright enjoyable. He decided it was time to leave the theoretical world behind entirely, and focus his passion on the real-world results of telecom's business side.

Phil spent the next 16 years working for Nortel, helping grow their business throughout the world. And, as usual, he turned out to be pretty good at it. He soon found himself working with multi-million dollar accounts. When he was given the charge to develop Nortel's cable wireless business as a global account, he helped grow the business to a billion dollars a year.

Ever thirsty for a new business adventure, Phil eventually started sniffing around. It wasn't long before he became interested in Telcordia.

"Telcordia was a U.S.-based company that was focusing on expanding into the global market," Phil recalls. "And the growth stage is the fun stage."

For the past two years, Phil has been developing Telcordia's IMS business in both India and EMEA. For a man that loves challenges, this assignment has given him plenty to love.

"In India, it's exciting because there's a constant need," he explains. "You get a call and you have two days to deliver. It's lots of late nights and long hours, but it's also a lot of growth."

Chuckling, Phil continues, "As we're talking now, we have major bid activity going on in virtually every account."

With Phil, speaking of his accounts tends to segue quickly into talking about his team.

"I've been very lucky with the people I've been working with. They're fantastic," he says. "They operate under tremendous pressure, and they succeed. It's to a point where in any given situation, I know what I'm going to do, and I know what they're going to do. They make things happen."

Judging from his track record, it seems pretty clear that Phil will continue doing what he does-racking up success after success, and driving growth. And can you blame him? Business is fun, after all, and Phil's having the time of his life.