Account Manager/Business Development

Patrick Beckerton

The people here at Acro are the #1 reason why this place is a great place to be spending the workdays.  We have a lot of fun on a daily basis, and everybody is exceptionally passionate about their work.

Tenure:  I’ve been with Acro for almost 3 years.

Reasons for working at Acro:  I like it here, and they haven’t told me to stop coming into the office.

My boss: He’s a decent enough golfer – he strikes a pretty mean ball and he’s ok when I win.

Shae has really been the unwavering Captain guiding the ship through whatever storms may come. He’s savvy enough to give us the room to do our jobs, but involved enough to fire us up if things are slowing down.

In the last year, there have been tough decisions to make, but he’s come through and made the fair and right decision. The company is moving in a great direction – we are a more streamlined and effective team, delivering better quality than ever before.

Along with Shae, three of the other four owner/partners are actively working in the office. It makes it a pretty great work environment when the guys making the decisions are working on projects (elbows deep) right beside you on a daily basis.

Co-Workers:  Well, for a bunch of computer geeks, I guess they’re ok.

In truth, the people here at Acro are the #1 reason why this place is a great place to be spending the workdays. We have a lot of fun on a daily basis, and everybody is exceptionally passionate about their work and what we as a team create for our clients. There’s so much talent in this company – I’m easily the least talented person here – the output often surpasses the promises.

Defining moment of choosing to work here: The job description/requirements asked if I had experience as a racecar driver (I’m not kidding). Having driven a vehicle in excess of 240kmh down Hwy 16 in Alberta, I thought I was qualified.

The whole job posting was pretty flippant (as well as the racecar driver, I believe there were requirements for a lounge singer and a zookeeper) and I responded in kind. When they actually called me for an interview, I realized the company was serious about having fun with what they do. Not only was it more inline with my goals coming out of University, it seemed to have a “corporate culture” (is ‘wingnut’ a corporate culture?) that I knew I’d fit into and enjoy.

The position at Acro was the first job that I legitimately (possibly overzealously) chased. Eventually I battered them into submission and they offered me the job. The tenacity and stubbornness with which I pursued this position was deliberate – a product of my decision to choose Acro before they chose me.

The Flat side: That’s the side of the computer monitor that you should typically be looking at. Anything else can make it a rather long day.

Also, I’m working and communicating with the other Account Manager – an Australian by way of the UK. He’s a great guy (as I’ve found most Aussies to be), but frankly, I can’t understand a word he says. His slang is all messed up, and he uses words and terms I don’t understand. He says “football” and I start talking about the 49ers vs. the Cowboys. HE starts kicking things around the office and talking about how ManU should be winning the Premier League again.

Other than those kinds of communication breakdowns, there aren’t many reasons to dislike working here.

Why I still like it here: As promised when I applied – I get all the free coffee I want (during business hours) – and the people are as much fun to work with as I had predicted.