Smart Spotlight–Joe Gionta, VP of Professional Services, North America
By Smart Communications
At Smart Communications, our people are at the heart of everything we do. Through our Smart Spotlight of the Month series, we celebrate team members whose passion, dedication, and impact help shape our success.
This month, we’re proud to feature Joe Gionta, our Vice President of Professional Services (PS) in North America. Joe brings energy, expertise, and a collaborative spirit to every project he touches, playing a key role in driving progress across the business.
Keep reading to learn more about Joe’s contributions and what fuels his work at Smart.
1. What is your role at Smart and how long have you been with the company?
I am the VP of Professional Services in North America. I’ve been an employee at Smart Communications for 11-plus years, and prior to that I worked with Smart Communications as a partner as far back as 17-plus years ago.
As the leader of the NAM Professional Services team, my role is to ensure our customers become self-sufficient with our products. I do this by enabling my team with the skills and experience needed and sourcing the projects for our team to work on.
2. What did you do for work prior to joining Smart, and why did you make the switch?
Prior to joining Smart Communications, I worked for a company called TriTek Solutions. This was my initial job coming out of college (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). As part of this boutique professional services company, I worked on ECM and BPM implementations. I decided to make the switch to Smart Communications when my company was acquired and the culture changed. I’d already been partnering/subcontracting with Smart Communications, so making the switch was smooth and easy.
3. What's kept you at Smart for 11+ years?
The people I work with have kept me here for so long. The folks within PS and also the wider company have a great attitude and are willing to all work together. The product is great, and so is the type of work I do and the customers I work with, but I've remained with the company so long has been because of the team members I work with each day. In addition, I’ve been able to work my way up within the company (from Consultant to VP), so I’d say the company’s willingness to foster career growth has been a big reason as well.
4. What skills are needed to be successful in your role/on your team?
In a leadership role in Professional Services, being successful starts with understanding your product and how best practices apply to your customer base. Without an understanding of what your team needs to accomplish, you also won’t describe this well to your customers and prospects. A large part of my role is describing what my team will do to help our customers get up to speed and eventually become self-sufficient on our products.
It's also critical to understand the data from your PS team and keep track of KPIs so that informed decision-making can occur, from forecasting to resourcing to skills enablement. Lastly, it’s important to work on strategic initiatives to continuously improve your team. Tactics are important too, but this can’t be your total focus.
5. What's your favorite aspect of your job?
I really love receiving unprompted kudos and appreciation from our customers and partners or people in other departments. This validates the amazing work our team is doing and shows the real impact we have on the day-to-day lives of the people we work with.
6. What are you doing when you're not working?
These days I am busy raising an infant. My daughter Eliza is turning 1 in July. I also enjoy playing golf and going to college (BC Eagles) and NHL (Buffalo Sabres) hockey games.