Q&A with Bryan Sayler: His Vision for Doble and What’s Next for the Industry
Earlier this year, Bryan Sayler joined Doble as our new company president. Bryan was previously with ETS-Lindgren; both Doble and ETS-Lindgren are subsidiaries of ESCO Technologies, Inc. Bryan has almost 30 years of experience in developing and implementing highly engineered test solutions for wireless, EMC and microwave applications in the electronics, automotive and aerospace industries.
We recently sat down with Bryan and chatted about his vision for Doble, where the industry is headed and some personal insights.
What are you most excited about?
I’m most excited about the market we're serving. The power industry is at an inflection point in the transition from an analog to a digital grid, which comes with a lot of room for innovation. As the industry changes, new challenges and opportunities will arise, and I’m excited about what Doble can do to help our partners bridge the gaps.
I participated in a very similar transition in the telecommunications industry over the past decade or so. Each new generation of wireless technology, 2G, 3G & 4G presented new and increasingly complex demands which required us to develop new testing methodologies and instrumentation. There are parallels with our industry’s transition to a digital grid, particularly with all the sensor-based monitoring systems and associated data analysis. I’m looking forward to applying the lessons learned from the wireless telecom space to the power market and sharing it with Doble’s customer base.
What do you believe to be Doble’s key strength?
Our key strength is the depth of engineering talent and consulting expertise we bring to the industry. We walk in the shoes of our customers and really understand the everyday issues they face. We have a deep, fundamental knowledge of our customers and understand what is really going on inside a transformer, circuit breaker or protective relay network. We use this insight and our experience to enable the utilities to solve tough problems.
What is your vision for Doble?
Our integrated portfolio of instrumentation, software and consulting capabilities puts us in a unique position to partner with customers to help them smoothly and seamlessly transition from the analog world we live in now, to the digital world we will live in tomorrow.
I'm confident that we will continue to develop a number of new products and solutions to meet the challenges and demands that come out of this transition. The new NERC CIP regulations are a great example and we have some fantastic products that address both the testing and compliance needs of the requirements. We’re helping teams deal with a changing regulatory environment, which is just one byproduct of the digital revolution we’re currently experiencing.
What's your biggest priority for Doble for the next 12 months?
Expanding Doble's global reach. There is great opportunity to expand into additional markets, and I’m looking forward to helping our team take the success we’ve had in the United States and apply it across the globe.
What's the best piece of advice you've received throughout your career?
I've gotten a lot of great advice over the years, but I would say the best piece I've ever received is: make sure you do something that you enjoy.
There's more to life than just making money or climbing the ladder. You need to really enjoy what you do. Fortunately, I'm a techie-nerd, so the things that we're doing here at Doble are very comfortable for me and they are things I enjoy talking about and digging into. I'm fascinated by how our customers are using our products, so there is an opportunity for me to learn something new every day.
When you're not running Doble, what do you like to do in your spare time?
My wife and I enjoy traveling. I'm into photography, particularly landscape, architectural and astrophotography. In my free time I'm building an observatory with the ability to do automated photography of the night sky. It's a labor of love that is taking a long time.
You can learn more about Bryan in his bio. Also, stay up to date on how Doble is helping drive the future of the power industry by visiting our news section.
