Thentia’s leadership team is a diverse and exceptional group of professionals who have brought major influence to not only the company’s direction, but to their own teams. Those teams make up Thentia’s structure, functionality, and culture and contribute to our success. In our Leadership Spotlight series, we sit down with members of our leadership team to discuss everything from the importance of powerful leadership influence in the tech industry to of course, the path that led them to Thentia.
In this month’s instalment, we spoke with Michael Nitsopoulos, Thentia’s VP, UX and Chief Design Officer.
Michael is an award-winning design executive, with 20 years of industry experience. He was previously a design agency founder and creative director where he was managing and taking co-creative lead with projects ranging from full branding, environmental and retail applications, and user interface/experience (UI/UX) design. Michael joined the Thentia team in 2018 where he has been a key player in the overall growth of the Thentia Cloud platform.
Michael is a father of two sons and just recently became a new dog-dad to the family’s Goldendoodle, named Ella Fitzdoodle. Read on below to get to know more about Michael.
What excites you about the GovTech SaaS industry?
What excites me about this area is how we are actively trying to solve the difficult operational issues for our clients and improve government agencies’ ability to protect the public, while also enhancing their user experience. Since my focus is on the user experience design, it’s a passion of mine to make the tweaks to our software that our clients will see and experience every day when they use it. At Thentia, we are proactive in finding the best solutions to help the practice of each agency’s respective professional members through licensure, registration, certification, and more.
How do you see technology changing in state government?
Technology will enable state governments to better serve their citizens by enhancing the user experience at all main digital points of contact. It will create transparency that will cross state lines and predictively anticipate potential indiscretions that occur in areas of regulation, compliance, and governance. Not only that, but technology is going to increase accessibility and save state governments more money by allowing agencies to run more efficiently and effectively.
What part of being a Thentian resonates with you most and why?
What resonates with me the most about being a Thentian is the opportunity to partake in the journey of an early-stage startup. I’ve been with Thentia for over four years and I have watched it grow into a really strong brand, in both the employment and software markets.
We are rapidly scaling within an underserved market. As an entrepreneur by nature (previously a co-founder of a design agency), I am encouraged to bring that mindset forward and apply it in my role. As a leader, I have been given the chance to emanate ownership and have had the pleasure of building something great from the ground up.
What separates Thentia from the rest of the tech world?
There are many things that separate Thentia from the bunch. Most important is our deep industry knowledge and advanced technology. This solves so many of the gaps found in government agencies and with their technology currently.
We are constantly learning about what keeps our users and clients up at night and we use that to innovate and enhance our product, which would otherwise never be touched or solved.
How do you stay motivated? How do you motivate your team?
I am motivated by the great work we are doing as a company each and every day. The fact that we have built a strong foundation with our Experience Design (XD) team really just adds fuel to my fire. We are a small but nimble group of designers and we are poised for growth as we scale our product organization.
I do my best to keep my team motivated by instilling an ‘ownership mindset.’ This means we focus on transparency, autonomy, trust amongst the group, and provide the runway to explore solutions using our individual abilities as designers. I encourage the XD team to bring their whole self to work, which creates an environment that embraces authenticity. By doing so, I hope to create a better sense of wellbeing, which in turn creates engagement and an honest commitment towards our company goals.
In your life, who has made the biggest impact on you?
I don’t think I can credit one single person! It has been a culmination of many individuals I have met and worked with during the course of my professional journey. All of whom made a great impact on my life and my abilities as a designer. I have learned an enormous amount from family, teachers, mentors, students, clients, and co-workers who taught me many lessons in life and business.
However, if I had to name names… I would have to say my two sons. They are so innocent, resilient, and constantly keep me on my toes. They motivate me to be the best version of myself and in-turn the others around me, too. That energy follows me from our home to the office every single day.
