Category_Team Tala
Jason, UK Account Executive at Tala
As we approach the world’s largest design fair, buyers, critics and designers are getting ready to descend on Milan, Italy, for Milan Design Week 2019.
Before he makes his way there, we sat down with Jason Panayotou, our UK Account Executive at Tala. In this #TeamTala journal post we speak about his favourite Tala projects, how he engages with clients and his favourite industrial designer.
Hey Jason, How's 2019 treating you so far? So far so good, it has been productive and fun at the same time. Tell us about your role at Tala, and how long you've been an employee? I've been at Tala for nearly a year and a half. My main objective is to try to expand Tala’s reach in the UK architecture and design market. I mainly advise architects and designers with anything lighting related, finding new projects for Tala to be specified in and reaching out to new architectural and design practices. A little birdy told me you have a background in industrial design. Has design always been a big part of your life? I studied industrial design at university but have always been interested in architecture and design from a young age. My father is an architect so I guess I got it from him. What does a day in the life of an Account Executive entail? A lot of emails, meetings, and calls. You have to like talking to people to be on the sales team. I sit on the first floor of Tala Studios and everyone is either talking to a client on the phone, or to one another, it can get hectic. Most projects I work on are different from each other so there is a lot of variety. I also have to travel around a fair bit. Getting around London when the sun is out is lovely, but in the rain, not so much. Can you tell me about a few projects that you are most proud to have seen completed? I helped out with the Radisson Blu Hotel in Manchester which was a challenging but enjoyable project. It was really fast paced and had a quick turnaround time which was tricky but it was my first bespoke project of that scale so that made it really exciting.
The Grissini Restaurant in Cologne is another one of my favourites. I worked with both lighting and interior designers to spec the space with Voronoi II lamps in a different way to how they are usually seen.
What do you find most challenging about your role?
Sometimes I can find planning quite challenging despite a lot of variables in my role. Also, making sure my priorities are straight can be tricky because there are always things that need to be done.
What is your primary objective when meeting a client for the first time?
To be informative. You really have to work hard to get your foot in the door of design studios and most designers understandably have busy schedules so when they feel that they have learned something about lighting or a new product it always helps to build that relationship.
You’ll most likely always remember someone because they taught you something, not just because they told you something.
Could you tell us what our client's favourite product is and why?
It has to be the Voronoi range. It is unlike anything people have seen before in lighting.
