Doug Krause
Contributor
I'd like to limit this thread to introductions by Oceanic staff that Scubaboarders may come into contact with.
I'll start:
I grew up with diving parents - began at a very early age freediving for fun and abalone on the Northern California coast. At 12 I began scuba diving, several trips a year to Hawaii and the Caribbean thanks to Dad's United Airlines passes.
I received a commercial art scholarship to the University of Arizona - due mostly to my senior high school project, providing illustrations for a Sea of Cortez marine identification book. I combined my art courses with business administration and communications, not being satisfied with my future as an "artist". I began working in a local dive store, putting my time in cleaning rental wetsuits - and continuing my dive education.
I remember sitting in the classroom for my advanced open water course, bored out of my mind and day dreaming about what on earth I was going to do with my life. I looked up at my instructor and made a decision that has changed my life - I moved back to California taking a job at one of the largest dive retailers in the country at that time. I worked full time in the store; became an instructor, taught classes, and repaired regulators in my "spare time".
After a couple of years, I moved to Hawaii to work for a large retail/charter operation. When I wasn't in the store selling or fixing things I was on the boat leading dives or having fun on my days off. After a year, I returned to California, accepting a position of assistant manager at the same store.
All this time I had looked at my store and resort experience as training for the next step, either a manufacturer, training agency, magazine, etc. I am sure that I became a pest to a lot of people at Oceanic - they were right across SF Bay from the store and I took every opportunity to go there - drop off customers gear for repair, pick up orders, go to every seminar they ever presented. 13 years ago they finally gave in, hiring me as customer service assistant manager. I was very familiar with the product line and was able to get up to speed very quickly - teaching repair seminars, assiting dealers and consumers on the phone - and doing what I could to improve how we did things.
I began working closely with engineering, creating a new position - Technical Advisor - sort of a liason between marketing, sales, customer service, the field, and the R&D group.
Over the years I became more and more involved in product development, ultimately becoming Product Manager for regulators and instrumentation.
I have most recently been promoted to Marketing Manager, where I believe that the combination of now 18 years in the diving industry will serve me well. In this position, I am responsible for new product development, marketing and communications for both Oceanic and AERIS.
It has often been said that Oceanic is diving's "best kept secret" with all that we do here. It is my ultimate goal to make it the "best told story".
I'll start:
I grew up with diving parents - began at a very early age freediving for fun and abalone on the Northern California coast. At 12 I began scuba diving, several trips a year to Hawaii and the Caribbean thanks to Dad's United Airlines passes.
I received a commercial art scholarship to the University of Arizona - due mostly to my senior high school project, providing illustrations for a Sea of Cortez marine identification book. I combined my art courses with business administration and communications, not being satisfied with my future as an "artist". I began working in a local dive store, putting my time in cleaning rental wetsuits - and continuing my dive education.
I remember sitting in the classroom for my advanced open water course, bored out of my mind and day dreaming about what on earth I was going to do with my life. I looked up at my instructor and made a decision that has changed my life - I moved back to California taking a job at one of the largest dive retailers in the country at that time. I worked full time in the store; became an instructor, taught classes, and repaired regulators in my "spare time".
After a couple of years, I moved to Hawaii to work for a large retail/charter operation. When I wasn't in the store selling or fixing things I was on the boat leading dives or having fun on my days off. After a year, I returned to California, accepting a position of assistant manager at the same store.
All this time I had looked at my store and resort experience as training for the next step, either a manufacturer, training agency, magazine, etc. I am sure that I became a pest to a lot of people at Oceanic - they were right across SF Bay from the store and I took every opportunity to go there - drop off customers gear for repair, pick up orders, go to every seminar they ever presented. 13 years ago they finally gave in, hiring me as customer service assistant manager. I was very familiar with the product line and was able to get up to speed very quickly - teaching repair seminars, assiting dealers and consumers on the phone - and doing what I could to improve how we did things.
I began working closely with engineering, creating a new position - Technical Advisor - sort of a liason between marketing, sales, customer service, the field, and the R&D group.
Over the years I became more and more involved in product development, ultimately becoming Product Manager for regulators and instrumentation.
I have most recently been promoted to Marketing Manager, where I believe that the combination of now 18 years in the diving industry will serve me well. In this position, I am responsible for new product development, marketing and communications for both Oceanic and AERIS.
It has often been said that Oceanic is diving's "best kept secret" with all that we do here. It is my ultimate goal to make it the "best told story".
