The Itron 'Sub' Club

With close to 8,500 employees worldwide, there are bound to be a few coincidences among co-workers at Itron. For instance, there are nearly 40 employees with the name 'John'. Using the probability theory that two out of every 23 people share the same birthday, there are likely 740 employees with identical birthdays. One coincidence we weren't expecting, however, is three employees who've each spent more than 30 days underwater.

Deemed the Itron 'Sub' Club, Matt Marron, Lowell Rust and Mike Burns are all Itron employees that served time on a submarine. For Marron, Itron's proposals manager, and Rust, director of product marketing for electricity metering, it was fast attack submarines. Exactly the same length as a football field (with end zones included), fast attacks have a variety of missions—their main purpose is to locate and attack enemy submarines. For Burns, senior product manager, it was a fleet ballistic missile submarine, or boomer. Measuring 560 feet long, boomers are ready to launch their nuclear missiles against the enemy's homeland and deter attack on the United States and its allies.

And although each of them served at different times, in different locations, they share some common thoughts on their motivation for being at sea and how their time on submarines contributes to their roles at Itron.

Marron ended up underwater because he was intrigued by the technology involved and the opportunity to work independently. Rust and Burns were looking to gain technical experience and hone in on their leadership skills.

Says Burns, "Having that much responsibility prepares you for just about everything else—even in the workplace. On a submarine, you have to weather transition; the same is true about the utility marketplace. The rules are constantly evolving and it's up to us as Itron employees to not only adapt, but to help our customers navigate changes."

So, what else about working at Itron is like working on a submarine? Says Marron, "The leadership and management mechanics are the same. Both are high-performance, high-dedication jobs. Being on a submarine—although physically dissimilar to life on land—truly did prepare me for the real world and a profession serving the utility industry."

And how do their experiences help Itron customers? All three liken the electrical distribution hub of a submarine to a utility, the ship being a city in need of power. "I feel like I know firsthand what a utility's concerns are in terms of generation, transmission and distribution," says Rust. This insight helps all three relate to Itron customers and appreciate the challenges facing today's utilities.

So, although work life at Itron isn't quite as whimsical or perilous as life with Captain Nemo on the Nautilus, we can say that we have three courageous seamen among us that are using their pasts to help shape our customers' futures.