Last week, I was in London and visited with a good many people that we know there before attending and presenting at FIS Connect at the QE2 Center. It was a good week and I had intended to write a number of blogs about it this week. Unfortunately, I brought back a new friend from London and since Sunday I have been bed-ridden with probably the worst cold or flu I have had in years. I even had a fever which is something I rarely get. Today, I am gingerly stepping out a bit – spending a few hours catching up and answering unanswered email. I also need to tidy my apartment! Hopefully, I’ll be back to full speed next week.
Meanwhile, one person that I met last week was no other than Nelson Piedad. Nelson is in Pre Sales these days for FIS but back in April 1997, as he reminded me, I hired him in Houston to come and work for TransEnergy as a consultant. One of the projects I was involved in was a project at TransLisbon for our pipeline product. I recall a couple of trips to Lisbon from Houston prior to the sale and after the sale of the software. I recall one flight back from Lisbon to London early evening, I found myself sitting next to Geoffrey Palmer who I had grown up watching on the BBC and more recently, in the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. It was an entertaining trip but I fear I probably bored him explaining what I did for a living! However, I digress!
Nelson was asked to help implement the pipeline project in Lisbon. Apparently, he never looked back because he stayed in Europe and as TransEnergy was acquired by Altra, then Caminus, then SunGard and finally FIS, he stayed. He stayed with the company a total of 22 years and 4 months so far according to LinkedIn! It was good to see Nelson again but it is also good to see that sort of loyalty as well. In an industry where you know all the people but check their badge to see who they are working for, it’s a bit different. In Nelson’s case, the badge changed through the M&A that has been a feature of the CTRM software industry ever since day 1.
