Company & Culture

Meet Eric, Deal Closer, Red Bull Connoisseur

By Gretchen Dukowitz / January 20, 2016

Here’s another post in our blog series that features the stories of our talented team members from around the world.

Eric Gitter, Director, Business Development, EMEA
Eric has been with AppDirect since December 2012.

Eric, can you start off by telling us what you do at AppDirect?

Working out of AppDirect’s Munich office, I cover sales in the EMEA region (that’s Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) and am primarily focused on our strategic prospects in the telecommunications industry.

Why did you decide to join AppDirect?

I wanted to contribute to something great and have a lot of fun along the way. The opportunity at AppDirect was the perfect way to combine my passion for technology with my passion for sales. I love working with a team that focuses on doing whatever it takes to get stuff done while never losing sight of the long term goal.

During my interview process and the 2.5 years since, every single person I met exuded this attitude. There was a certain vibe about the place, about the people, and about the vision. It’s hard to define, but when you hear someone say after an interview “she is AppDirect,” or after finding a particularly creative solution to a problem, “this is the AppDirect way,” you’ll know what they mean.

There’s a rumor going around that you have a special affinity for a certain beverage. Can you explain?

Nowadays, everyone seems to know a hundred different ways to brew coffee, but java will only get you so far. Over the course of hundreds of university exams and now late night RFP deadlines, I have honed my deep knowledge of Red Bull. There’s a widely acknowledged research paper that proves the direct correlation between Eric Gitter closing deals and Red Bull meeting its sales targets. I’ve sampled Red Bull chewing gum, drops, chocolates, and of course the many different flavors and consider myself something of a Red Bull gourmand. I hoped this love would remain a secret, but I now find a fully stocked fridge in San Francisco every time I come over the pond. After all, it’s easier to get to the cloud when you have wings.

In addition to Red Bull, you also love to travel. What’s been your favorite trip so far?

My favorite trip was a 10-day, 5,000-mile trip through Brazil. I always try to see as much of a country when I visit, regardless of how little time I have. Being half-Brazilian, I took on the challenge to show my wife Porto Alegre, Rio, Sao Paulo, Manaus, Santarem, and Sao Luis in just over a week. It was the best trip of my life, and involved a 60-hour stretch with no sleep that consisted of a 3-hour motorbike-taxi ride straight through the Amazon forest to an Indian reserve; a 12-hour jungle hike; sleeping under the open sky with a hammock between two mammoth trees; a 3:00 am run to the sort of bus that only runs once a week; fishing and then barbecuing piranha; drinking beer with the staff on Sugarloaf Mountain and taking the staff-only gondola back down; and finally relaxing on the beach in Rio on the last day.

It was the trip of a lifetime and is my personal reminder that you see and get a lot more done when you don’t close your eyes.

Interested in working with great people like Eric? Visit our careers page to learn more.