Gary Pudles embraces a lifelong conviction that anything is possible. “I believe that every business has the potential to grow efficiently and profitably if they are willing to change their models to fit new realities,” said Pudles. “As I have done many times in my career, I continue to help move the contact center business forward by adding new methods and technologies to provide client services where others saw barriers.”
As the president and chief executive officer of AnswerNet, Pudles, a Titan 100 Hall of Fame inductee, said that no project is too big or too small, or out of the firm’s technological grasp.
AnswerNet is a full-service provider of inbound, outbound, automated and business process outsourcing (BPO) call center services. AnswerNet has evolved from its roots in 1929 into a global BPO provider, offering telecommunications and technology services.
According to Pudles, the firm’s vision for the next five years is to continue to be the most solutions-oriented business process outsourcer and answering service provider in the industry, and for its current clients and prospects to consider AnswerNet as their strategic partner in optimizing their business processes. Under Pudles’ leadership, the company will continue a drive to put artificial intelligence into the human processes of its business, while at the same time, putting humans into the AI process.
Since joining the Philadelphia Titan 100 program, Pudles said he has vastly increased the time he has spent being a mentor for entrepreneurs – both inside and outside of his company. At AnswerNet, he has been instrumental in creating an Intrapreneur program, creating a team of new product managers who work to develop specialty businesses to support the firm’s clients in their business operations.
Outside of the company, Pudles continues to participate in the International Startup Fest as a mentor and investor judge for all types of businesses.
As a leader, Pudles said his main advice is that happiness is not underrated. “Too many people today find themselves as victims of their own lives, and that is completely unnecessary,” he said. “If you are unhappy, there is always a path to find the joy and contentment you seek.”
Pudles also said that he reminds his mentees that there is a common denominator among successful people. “All successful people make a habit of doing what unsuccessful people don’t like to do,” he said. “Successful people focus on their goal, and not the pain to get there – a successful entrepreneur should never be afraid to take risks or go outside of his or her comfort zone.”
