Meet Cammy Choy, Principal Sales Engineer at Progress

As part of a yearlong celebration of our 40th anniversary, Progress would like to introduce you to some of our fantastic longtime employees who have made us who we are today. In this post, meet Cammy Choy, principal sales engineer.

From social media to smartphones, to Hanson no longer ruling the Billboard music charts, a lot has changed since 1997.

And if you asked Cammy Choy, she would certainly agree—but with one critical exception: her employment at Progress.

Cammy has held different positions at Progress Asia throughout her 24-year career, helping customers and partners with all things OpenEdge.

From technical services to her current role as principal sales engineer, Cammy has learned and grown alongside Progress and has played an important part in the company’s success. Read on to learn more about Cammy’s experience at Progress—and the journey from hard-copy greeting cards to emails and Zoom:

How has Progress changed during your tenure?

There have been many changes at Progress since I started. When I joined Progress, we only provided the OpenEdge product to build mission critical business applications and DataDirect for data connectivity. Over the years, Progress has evolved to provide products for building, deploying and managing business applications and products for a great digital experience. Progress is always delivering products that meet customers’ modern business application requirements and that help achieve digital transformation.

Who has taught you the most at Progress, and what did they teach you? Or who has been your favorite coworker?

I am very lucky to have known many good coworkers and to have worked under several great managers while at Progress. I’ve learned a lot from the people in the Hong Kong office and Singapore office, and have had the chance to communicate with different presales in the U.S. and EMEA. They are all professional and helpful.

Nicholas Chan and John Yang are two managers I worked with in recent years. They’re both great. Nicholas has excellent work ethic and is always inspiring and coaching me towards success. John is good at motivating the team to achieve results. He has a strong vision and is a good listener. I’ve enjoyed working with great managers and good co-workers on the team.

What's your favorite memory at Progress?

I have many good memories at Progress. One of them is attending the EMEA PUG Challenge event. This was my first time seeing so many loyal OpenEdge customers together and they were all keen to know what Progress would share with them. I felt fantastic seeing so many happy customers, and I know we are delivering good products and services to customers.

What makes Progress a great company and why has it stood the test of time?

I think management and all the employees make this happen. C-level managers are willing to hear from employees and customers. They are open and respectful, welcome different opinions and recognize hardworking employees. There’s a sense of family among team members. Team leaders are willing to help, support and encourage team members to learn and grow. Progress is a great company that has many professional and happy employees and happy and satisfied customers. This is why it has stood the test of time.

How has your life changed over your time here?

I have been working at Progress for 24 years. In that time, I’ve experienced marriage, moving homes and losing a loved one. Through all this, I am lucky to have had a happy working life at Progress.

How did you communicate with people at first, fax, actual letters, phone?

Usually email, phone and fax in the past. And now we use email, Skype, Teams, Zoom, WhatsApp, etc. There’s been a big change in communication.

I still remember that we would send greeting cards (hard copies) to customers or partners at Christmas or Chinese New Year when I joined Progress. Now, we only use e-card or email with a greeting image.

How has your role evolved over your time at Progress?

I joined Progress as Technical Services consultant. This role was more at the level of local technical support. It was great to be able to help customers solve their OpenEdge problems. I was then involved in more presale activities and consulting services. I also worked on the Professional Services team delivering OpenEdge services, as well as different Progress product trainings for both partners and customers. Then, I was moved to the Partner Enablement team in Asia for providing partners sales and technical enablement.

I am now back in a presales role as principal sales engineer. By working in different roles at Progress Asia, I could easily wear different hats and tell customers and partners how good our products are. The thank-you notes and appreciation I’ve received from customers have been great motivators, and they are some of the most special moments I’ve had at Progress.

If you could go back and tell your younger self about one benefit of working at Progress, what would it be?

I would tell my younger self that Progress is a great company that cares about its employees, customers and partners. Progress gives you chances to learn and grow, and you won’t think about changing jobs. 😊

To get to know other Progressers like Cammy, read more of our Progress employee interviews here.

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