Corp America March 2017

82 CORP AMERICA / MARCH 2017 , Geoff Flint of CustomWeather, recipient of the Best SyndicatedWeather Forecasting Software 2016 award, talks to us about being an industry innovator and his passion for all things meteorological. Weather With You San Francisco-based CustomWeather offers the industry’s most robust weather solutions for both decision support and consumer application. CustomWeather generates granular weather forecasts for over 200 countries, providing sophisticated weather services to leading companies in a variety of industries. For more than a decade, CustomWeather has been the leading one-stop solution for historical, real-time, and forecast weather services. Geoff Flint is president and chief executive officer at the firm and his position involves overseeing technical and sales operations. He tells us a little more about how he got into the role. “I have always been a huge fan of weather since I was of a young age. I combined my love of weather with economics at college and after pursuing an economics degree at Bowdoin College, I received a Master’s of Science Degree in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.” It wasn’t always plain sailing for Geoff and the company, and he tells us that CustomWeather has survived through two recessions, including the dot com collapse shortly after its inception in 2000. “This has ensured that we run the company with frugality and efficiency,” he explains. “I see the lavish spending and ways of many new companies out here in San Francisco and know that very few of them will be around in 10 years’ time.” Despite his frugality, Geoff ensures that his staff are treated well in order to ensure the company’s ongoing success. “I have always tried to empower our staff by giving them the freedom to use their creativity to the fullest,” explains Geoff. “I allow flexible hours and working arrangements to keep our staff happy. Most of our employees have been with the company for a long time. I always emphasize that we are in this for the long haul. CustomWeather has always prided itself on staying on top of the latest technology and emerging trends. It has been the industry leader in many weather technologies and was the first company to start a weather web service way back in 2001. “We are in a great place for technology being located in Silicon Valley. We’re always tracking the latest trends and technologies and seeing how they apply to the weather markets. We have a staff of programmers who dedicate a substantial portion of their time to R&D, and as a company, we’re constantly attending trade shows and keeping abreast of the latest announcement in regards to new technologies and services.” With regards to the future, Geoff plans to continue to expand CustomWeather’s footprint in the agricultural and energy markets. CustomWeather remains an important weather backbone for many of the largest companies in the world. “We’ll continue to evolve our product line to take advantage of the latest and greatest technologies out there. In five years, we hope to be a household name in the markets that we target.” K Company: CustomWeather, Inc. Contact: Geoff Flint Address: 230 California Street, Suite 420 San Francisco, CA 94111 Email: [email protected] Telephone: 415-777-3303 Website: www.customweather.com ST160044