Mr. Samuel talks about the history of Nobel Systems
Michael Samuel is the President of Nobel Systems Inc., a company that provides GIS Cloud Solutions to water and energy utilities in the public and private sectors.
Mr. Samuel launched Nobel Systems 25 years ago recognizing the “tremendous opportunity in those days in converting paper documents into digital data, particularly maps.”
He turned his vision into the successful GIS cloud hosting software company that Nobel Systems is today.
“Overcoming failures and learning from mistakes,” Mr. Samuel said, and a “strong vision of making it work for how our customers can benefit from technology” are what he cites as what has contributed to the company’s successes.
Not An Easy Road
How Mr. Samuel came to achieve his current success was not an easy road. He learned from his failures as much as he did from his past accomplishments, but “hiring the right team to grow and manage the business,” and the motivation of serving customers helped Nobel Systems advance.
Hiring the right team includes Mr. Samuel’s family: his wife Audrey is Nobel’s chief financial officer and his daughter Aretha Samuel is chief technology officer. Mr. Samuel’s son Ari does not work with Nobel, but his interests lie in technology as well. He is a Bio Engineer at Ormco Corporation, a leading manufacturer of orthodontic equipment and supplies.
Many of Nobel System’s employees in the United States and in India and the Philippines have been with the company for more than two decades.
Nobel Systems, India
Never Give Up
Samuel grew up in India and graduated with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. He also holds certificates in Management Development for Entrepreneurs from University of California Los Angeles, and Strategic Growth Planning from San Diego State University
He cites his mother and father as mentors who not only provided Mr. Samuel and his sisters with a life full of opportunity but also taught Samuel to always be ethical in all matters of life.
Mr. Samuel also learned from those in the workplace. He remembers the words of an influential president of a large corporation where Mr. Samuel got his first job. John Vincent rose from the ranks of a junior engineer to president of the company, before retiring.
“You can always achieve your goals by never giving up.”
Vincent’s words to Samuel: “You can always achieve your goals by never giving up.”
Reflecting this advice, a plaque hangs in Mr. Samuel’s office with a quote from prolific inventor Thomas A. Edison: “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try, just one more time.”
However, Mr. Samuel’s biggest challenges he faced were not in work, but in his personal life. During the first years of growing Nobel Systems, his wife Audrey was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian cancer.
“Juggling both the treatment and keeping the business going was a tremendous challenge,” Mr. Samuel said.
The family later faced another challenge when daughter Aretha at the age of 28 was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The emotional toll can be very challenging”
While “the emotional toll can be very challenging,” Mr. Samuel said, the family persevered and continue to work on cutting-edge a technologies in today’s world that revolve around the Internet of Things.
Nobel Systems CFO Audrey Samuel
Nobel Systems CTO Aretha Samuel
A Bright Future
The company recently announced the release of its new IoT-based water pressure monitoring system. Using Nobel Systems’ flagship product, GeoViewer, a water utility can monitor the pressure of its network in real time, and be alerted to any problems instantly.
Mr. Samuel sees the future of Nobel Systems as continuing to be on the cutting edge of using technology for municipalities. “I think with our innovation, I see a very bright future.”
With his talented daughter Aretha at the helm, whom Mr. Samuel is grooming to take over Nobel Systems when he retires, the future is indeed bright.