2011-05-11

Interview with Tony Scala

Ben Gottlieb

This is the first post in a series featuring Drake Employees across Canada. My name is Ben Gottlieb, and as Drake International’s Marketing Intern for the summer I will be sharing profiles on some of Drake’s staff, and their experiences with the company so far. Since Tony is my boss, I thought I would feature him first!

 

Tony Scala is Drake’s Vice President, Marketing for North America. Tony has been with Drake International for 8 years, and currently works in our Downtown Toronto office. 

 

Q: Do you have a specialty within your role as VP Marketing at Drake?

A: My specialties are to lead, to coach, and to mentor. I try to provide an environment that inspires my team to pursue their ideas and allocate their energies towards those ideas, in order to generate a positive and profitable result for the company.

 

Q: How large is your team?

A: Including myself, the marketing team has 4 permanent members, and currently a summer intern. We are responsible for a large portion of Drake’s marketing initiatives globally.

 

Q: How did you find Drake?

A: I found Drake through networking – I knew someone who knew someone working at Drake. When I spoke to that person, Drake wasn’t initially looking to hire at the time, but when I arrived at home later that day they had left a message on my answering machine about wanting to formally interview me.

 

Q: What do you like most about your team?

A: I love my team’s energy, vision, passion, work ethic, and loyalty. Working alongside fun, committed people like this not only is energizing for me but I learn a lot from them at the same time.

 

Q: What do you like most about working at Drake?

A: I really like the opportunity to create and lead global projects, and coordinate them with other countries.

 

Q: What is your favourite thing about coming to work on Monday?

A: I look forward to working with my team. I can draw energy and passion from them, which is a self-generating process. It wouldn’t be the same without them.

 

Q: What were your primary high and low traits from the results of your Drake P3 personality assessment? A:

High Trait	Extroversion +
Low Trait	Patience

 

Q: How do you think your P3 results play into the way you like to work?

A: Having a high degree of extroversion allows me to operate cross-functionally by promoting involvement with both the sales and operating teams. Having a lower degree of patience means that I don’t waste time; I am task and project management oriented, detailed, and strategic. I hold people accountable for what they say they’re going to do in the time they say they’re going to do it in. Most of my team, with the exception of our graphic designer, have similar P3 personality profiles. These same styles often contribute to a similar vision, work ethic, and speed. A team P3 profile like this often drives good debate resulting in great results.