Scaling up and breaking down silos: Meet Renner Vaughn, Chief Commercial Officer at FutureOn

From the telecoms industry to the energy sector, our newly appointed CCO, Renner Vaughn, has developed a unique and varied skillset which has prepared him well for his role at FutureOn. 

Read on to discover his motivations, priorities and passions…

What has been your education and career path to date? 

I studied broadcast journalism at the Univeristy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I was fortunate to be part of a truly great program. While most of my classmates went on to work in news stations, I spent a year in New York working in a busy restaurant in the theater district. I waited tables while waiting to attend a Master Recording Program at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Arizona. After recording school, I moved to Los Angeles, where I worked in recording studios for a couple of years. 

Transferable skills I developed during the early stages of my career are still with me now. The same thirst for continual learning, along with a knack for communication, has enabled me to progress my career in the telecoms, wireless, and software sectors, across companies of various scales – from multinational corporations to small scale startups. 

My career path naturally led me to fulfilling work supporting the energy industry and to be immersed in the nascent world of robotics, drones and data collection. That pivot came with a steep learning curve, but it’s one I thoroughly enjoyed. 

All this led me to my role at FutureOn, where I am glad to have the opportunity to implement my skills and experience within a team and company that I am proud to be part of. 

What was it about FutureOn that attracted you to work for the company?

When I first saw FieldTwin, I was really impressed that a platform could combine advanced geospatial technology, 3D design and collaborative decision making. A super powerful, intuitive tool that reduces project risk and is already in use by major operators. Tell me more! 

Coming from a digital and data background, I knew that the surrounding and supporting technology required to empower the world’s largest energy companies to innovate and operate projects sustainably was complex. I also knew that new tech can be time consuming and costly, derailing many digital transformation efforts. This is where I saw the potential for FutureOn and the FieldTwin platform to become an industry standard for combatting these challenges and enabling geospatial data to work smarter. 

You were recently appointed as Chief Commercial Officer at FutureOn – what are your main priorities in this new role and what so you hope to achieve? 

Primarily, to scale up our business. We are always looking to improve our understanding of how our customers create sustained value by leveraging FieldTwin within various workflows. By asking better questions, listening more closely to our users, and drawing some conclusions from their activity, we continually learn, enhance and collaborate on what FieldTwin can do to benefit energy projects. 

Internally, my main focus is bringing our newly formed commercial team together. I am proud to lead the commercial functions of our business and encourage open channels of communication and collaboration between ourself and our customers. our customer success team is critical to our understanding of our customers’ day to day experiences and relationship with FieldTwin, and it is energizing to hear from our network of users so we can continually refine user experience. 

You work with a global team – how does this benefit your role and the wider business?

It poses opportunities and challenges to work across time zones. We are always striving to optimize our working environment to enable continual progress and communication, no matter where in the world we happen to be. 

Trust is a key component of global productivity. We must make sure everyone is aware of the skills and subject matter expertise in the team to make sure we are tearing down silos that time zones often create. Fortunately, we can often work asynchronously, so that daily activity is as streamlined as possible and that we can successfully engage on a local and global scale.

And as our customers are global, they benefit from our in-country teams who are hyper aware of not only customers’ specific needs, but also the nuances of the macro environment in which they operate.

Describe yourself in three words.

Considerate, persuasive and effective. 

I pride myself on being considerate, trying to see the other side of the coin in both my professional and personal life. I suppose one is likely to have a somewhat persuasive personality to be successful in a role like CCO.

To be effective, whether it is implementing more efficient ways of working, or delivering added value for our customers, means to be focused on outcomes. I like to work with people who get stuff done. 

What excites you most about working in the energy and data industries in the age of Industry 5.0?

Having spent most of my career in and around technology, I am cautious yet optimistic about the massive acceleration and deployment of AI and robotics. We are seeing a rush in investment, and as a wider global industry, we need to ensure that comprehensive and value-adding decisions are being implemented by the people informing the technology. 

There is an element of traditional change management that should be factored into the rise in reliance on AI. In the spirit of Industry 5.0, humans should be at the heart of the development and implementation of digital tools. What we at FutureOn are committed to is educating our customers and the wider industry on how our platform is an enhancement to projects and operations. By harnessing our advanced subsea modelling technology, ultimately, we believe FieldTwin can be the industry standard, AI field development tool for the energy sector.

What’s one thing about yourself that would surprise people to find out?

If anything, I have too many interests – finding the time to do them all is a challenge!

I love spending time in the outdoors with my family, going skiing, hiking and cycling. I am also a creative person, and music is a passion of mine. I love to play my guitar and occasionally get dragged onto the stage for some karaoke. 

People may not know that I am part of the Burning Man community. This experience has evolved for me over the years and has had a tremendous effect on my life, developing into a strong community and a great outlet for my creative energy.