5 Questions with Sam Abuelsamid

Sam Abuelsamid is the Vice President of Market Research at Telemetry. He has more than 10 years of experience as an industry analyst covering most major aspects of automotive technology and publishing more than 40 market research reports, 15 white papers, and hundreds of articles. Prior to that, Abuelsamid spent seven years as an automotive journalist and in technology communications after 17 years as an engineer in automotive product development, building electronically-controlled safety systems and software architecture. 

We asked him five questions about his work at Telemetry and the upcoming content he has planned:

1. What inspires you to work at Telemetry?

After a decade working in an increasingly large and corporate organization with priorities that diverged from my own, I joined Telemetry this year to build a new research and advisory practice for the transportation and mobility industry. It's great to be part of a smaller, more nimble team again and bring the skills and expertise I've developed to build something from scratch. Telemetry has built an exciting business, and hopefully,  the addition of market research and advisory services can help support the existing efforts and make the business more resilient.

2. What's a project you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of — and why?

We're just getting started, but we've already published our first market research report, with

more in the pipeline, and we've signed several clients. For the first time in its history, Telemetry has published content under its own brand, and that's going to continue growing in the coming months and years.

3. What's a lesson you've learned that shapes the way you approach your work today?

Probably the most important lesson I've learned over the course of my career is to be adaptable and learn how to build on what I've done before. Over the last 35 years, I've pivoted multiple times from engineering to journalism to communications to market research. I'm taking elements of everything I've done before to help clients better understand the market dynamics and competitive landscape so that they can be successful going forward.

4. What’s a surprising or fun fact about you outside of work?

I've been into photography since grade school, first learning how to process film and make prints in the darkroom when I was about 11. I haven't worked with film in many years, but I still take a lot of photos of wildlife, landscapes, cars, my family and, of course, my dogs. We have a lot of my photos printed and hanging around our house.

I also grew up in a working-class family, so I learned early on how to work on and fix a lot of different things. Whenever possible, I try to repair things myself before calling someone or building something rather than buying new. Over the course of my life, I've become an auto mechanic, carpenter, electrician, plumber, landscaper, you name it.

5. What do you hope readers take away from your posts on this blog?

Hopefully, readers will find that what I have to say inspires them to think and ask questions rather than just taking everything at face value, especially those things that are getting the most hype. I'm not always contradictory, but when I am, it's usually because I'm trying to take a broader view of how an idea fits into a larger ecosystem and what the impacts might be.