Alum Spotlight: Peter Look
Peter. S. Look, originally from Chicago, is a ’07 alum of the Northwestern MEM program. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He currently works as an Engineering Manager at Motorola Solutions and in spare time indulges himself in hardware or software projects that use Raspberry Pi. His favorite restaurant is Bob Chinn’s Crabhouse in Wheeling, IL.
We asked him a few questions about his MEM experience and his journey thus far, to which his responses were as follows:
Can you give a short description of your role and job responsibility?
My current role is head of engineering for the Application Developer Program (ADP). My team works with other software companies that want to create an integrated solution with Motorola Solutions’ products. APIs are exposed in our different platforms and ADP Engineering builds an ecosystem of development kits and technical support to help those companies be successful in solving real customer problems. As these integrated solutions get deployed to our customers, we benchmark what works well in the whole API lifecycle. We use this intelligence to improve our products and APIs as well as to monetize the whole value chain for Motorola Solutions and our development partners.
What’s your favorite class or teacher in MEM, Why?
My favorite class was Engineering Management taught by Jeff LeFebvre. This class incorporated a Business Simulation competition where the entire class split into small groups, each responsible for running a car manufacturer. The class helped to make theoretical concepts relatable in a practical way. It was fun and exciting to learn how different choices on what to build and who to market can influence the success of a company.
How has your MEM experience contributed to your career path and your current job role (your progression into senior management from an engineering background)?
Overall, the program helped me transition from being a purely technical leader to an organizational leader. At some point, all engineers must decide whether to pursue the technical leadership or people leadership track. MEM helped me to become a leader who is able to set a vision for my organization, to help the staff work together as a single team (even when located across different time zones), and to individualize fulfilling career plans for teammates.
What new job, position, project or responsibility were you able to secure that you believe can be attributed to completing the program?
The MEM program cultivates a strong entrepreneurial experience in the curriculum. I did not use that experience to create or join a startup. Instead, I took some of those learning points about entrepreneurship to lead a new product that had never existed before to become the Application Developer Program. As the ADP grew over the years, we pioneered new and different ways to engage and support our developer community and challenged why experiences for developers and the way we work with them had to be done a certain way. Managing risk and having a clear business plan allowed me to fearlessly lead others to do something new and be successful.
What new skills did you gain and how did this impact your career or professional life?
MEM enabled me to focus on strategic planning and improved my ability to “read” market trends. These skills are just as important as knowing different programming languages and software methodologies. I am a more effective work partner to my counterparts in product management when making decisions on direction and scope for the product. When presented with a problem to solve, not only do I see the different options, but I also synthesize non-technical factors in selecting the best course of action.
What unique aspect of the program did you experience that you felt was unique to Northwestern’s program?
The program brings together students from many local area companies. Being able to interact with and learn from others who have come from other corporate cultures and experiences helped expand my worldview. It can be as interesting, if not more so, to speak with professionals outside your own company as it is within.
How did the program structure help to make earning this degree a possibility for you?
The program structure was flexible for my work/life balance. My enrollment in the MEM Program spanned 8 years and during that time, I worked full-time and also took two separate breaks from the program. The MEM Program can be tailored to the pace that best fits to your current point in life.
Word of advice to future students:
Take the things you learn and do within the MEM Program to find what it is that you are passionate about. It may take some time to find out what that is and you may have to go through roles that feel like “it’s just a job.” But, the MEM experience will help you uncover what is your passion and help you amplify those qualities that help keep you passionate about what you are doing.
