The Employee Spotlight is our new blog series where we profile Parsable team members from around the world, with a focus on the work they are doing to improve the lives of frontline workers.

In this edition, we get to know Eric Wilfrid, VP of products at Parsable.

How long have you been at Parsable and what does your role here entail?

I’m the VP of products and I’ve been at Parsable for about four months. My team is responsible for how Parsable works today and in the future, and why we think it should work that way. I’m part of the company leadership team, where leaders from different backgrounds and expertise come together to answer strategic questions, stay in sync on work in progress, and ensure that Parsable is an amazing place to work.

What were you doing before you joined Parsable?

For most of my career, I worked at Microsoft leading engineering and product teams, and cross-functional business units. I’m proud of the work my team did to transform Office for Mac into Office for iOS (and still Mac). 

Before joining Parsable, I also spent two years focused on disability rights, writing and speaking about including people with disabilities more fully in society – especially at work. This work is still a big part of my life, as a volunteer board member and coach with Special Olympics of Northern California. Microsoft was connected to my work as an advocate and non-disabled ally for people with disabilities, as I did some early work on inclusive hiring before there was an established program.

That experience showed me the amazing potential for cultural change, even at an enormous and established company.

What’s your favorite part about working at Parsable?

The team, especially the way we all focus together. It starts with our customers and their experience, extends to the market, product, technical trends that suggest possibilities and winds up in the opportunity to impact the working lives of frontline workers. It’s a privilege to work on software with such a huge impact, alongside smart people who build on each other’s ideas to make great things happen.  

What do you think is a key challenge affecting manufacturers today?

Attracting and retaining talent, especially as a huge generational shift happens in the frontline workforce. The tools workers use every day are a huge part of their experience, and Parsable is focused on helping manufacturers meet that challenge by building modern digital tools that make work simpler, faster, and more impactful.

One of Parsable’s values is being customer-obsessed. What does that mean to you?

Customer obsession to me means that persistent desire to get out there, understand the world from the people who depend on our product, and bring that insight back as we build the future. I would love to be on-site again, looking over a worker’s shoulder (from a safe distance), chatting with a line supervisor as they wrap up the day and gaining insight that only comes from direct interaction with people who count on our products in their environment. Of course, we also track usage patterns and occasionally ask for feedback online – and we read every word of it. We have also been creative during COVID-19 with online customer meetings, but it’s not the same.

What do you like to do for fun outside work?

I follow the passions of my two teenage sons, which means lots of music (the more tubas, the better) and baseball.  

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

Parsable is my first tech startup, but not my first startup experience. My first startup was formed to run the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle in 2018. With three years of planning and fundraising, we put on a weeklong event that included 4,000 athletes, 10,000 coaches, family members and over 100,000 volunteers. I served as Chair of the Board, which meant I got to sign the initial documents, recruit the CEO, meet a huge number of athletes from Special Olympics and athlete ambassadors and generally have an amazing time shaping a transformative event.   

Check back to learn more about the people behind the scenes at Parsable. Meet our executive team.

Interested in being part of the action? We’re recruiting! Here are our career openings around the world.