The Cogs in Cogniom. Yes the puns are real.
These past few months, we’ve been sharing with you the tales of how Cogniom came to be. We introduced you to the incredible Granny B, we’ve shared our exciting achievements and announced our awesome products. Now, it’s time to find out who Cogniom really is?
ROBERT BUEHRIG
Growing up in the United States, Robert was surrounded by a solid family base with his beautiful Granny B at the helm. If you’re new to the Cogniom family, you may not have heard her story. Read about it here.
As a kid, Robert was already a budding entrepreneur. At the age of 14 he founded a successful lawn mowing business.
Robert quickly learned how much worth laid in his knowledge and time, the cost of a sale and the value of the service. In no time, he was upgrading equipment and recruiting staff (and by recruiting staff we mean enlisting his brothers) in order to expand his business while still delivering an exceptional service.
Robert spent the next 4 years tending to the lawn and gardening needs of his community.
Now, don’t be fooled by the age. This kid created such a lucrative business, he self-funded his first year and a half of college.
There have been other businesses too, however, it was during his 13 years as a Lead Systems Architect, where he worked with hospitals to implement new technology, he was able to see a space where hospitals and nurses especially could benefit from some assistance.
Robert has always been destined to make a difference in the world, and to do so by the beat of his own drum. Not afraid of a challenge and hard work, driven by passion, backed by an ever-growing knowledge base and a thirst to always be helping others, he is a force to be reckoned with.
CHRIS KELLETT
Chris is a master of all trades and loves to build cool sh*t! (don’t take offense, that’s what he said!)
A carpenter, an electrician, an incredibly experienced web developer and coder and actor by night, Chris is the perfect go to guy and is at the heart of research and product development for Cogniom.
He was instantly intrigued by Robert’s business idea and knew it was something he had to be a part of. After all, this was his chance to build even more cool shi…….!
In the early days of Cogniom, Chris was involved in the research project aimed to collect data to gain insights on the daily happenings of a nurse’s shift. He saw immediately there had to be a better way to perform the exercise, and so the idea of TANDM was born.
“I hate having to suffer through inefficient products and ways of doing things. Why take the long and bumpy and tedious road when we live in a world where technology is at our fingertips, the world of possibility is our oyster and we have the opportunity to create amazing new things!”
As time continued and TANDM evolved, Chris was able to see that the work Cogniom was striving to achieve would make a significant difference in the lives and jobs of so many. The definitive moment for Chris came when a close family friend had a troubled encounter during a hospital stay. This has become a driving force behind the work Chris continues to achieve.
Chris brings an extraordinary talent for development projects and thrives on the opportunity to test the bounds of his imagination as he continues to work with the team building The TANDM Suite.
With his penchant for breaking out in song, our office is constantly filled with achievements being celebrated like an episode of Glee. Truth be told, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
ZOE SAVIC
Zoe grew up forming an incredibly special bond with her grandfather. Meet Fred, or Pop as he was affectionately known by everyone. For the most part of her childhood, Zoe and her Pop were as thick as thieves. Growing strawberries in the vegie patch, making apple turnovers, eating mashed potato sandwiches, drinking sarsaparilla cordial, colouring, listening to folk music and having wheelchair races down the hall.
She was his Scotty Zotty and he was her world.
Unfortunately, Fred wasn’t a well man. Heart failure, diabetes, renal failure and skin cancer scares saw him spend an incredible amount of time in hospital. The silver lining of the extended hospital stays however, came with the beautiful relationships that were built with the nurses who took care of him.
“Not only were they there to look after Pop, but they became part of our family.” Zoe recalls. “To this day I still remember Nurse Sally who used to bring me toys and colouring in books, and Nurse Sophie who was Pop’s favourite. They were always giving each other grief and swapping jokes.”
Sadly, Fred’s health failed him when Zoe was just 9 years old. On his final day she and her family spent the day by his bedside, with the nurses doing what they could to make him comfortable and going above and beyond to take care of the family. “It was still a pretty heart wrenching day, even though we knew it was coming. I’ll never forget those nurses though. They went so far as to order meals for us to arrive with rounds, just so it was one less thing for us to worry about. They arranged for us to have a private room, so we could spend those last precious moments with him in peace. Nurse Sophie came to be with us and take care of Pop and stayed with us to the end.”
For Zoe, it’s the memory of those special bonds that drives her to make Cogniom a success. After hearing the results from initial Cogniom studies, which showed how little time nurses get to spend one on one with their patients, it made her realise she had to help change that statistic.
“Nurses are absolutely the unsung heroes of our society and to know patients and families are missing out on experiencing that special relationship with their nurse is heartbreaking.”
Zoe knows firsthand what a difference that relationship makes. In a way, this is her way to pay tribute to the nurses that took care of her beloved Pop and her family.
So that’s Cogniom. Our Founder, Head of Research and Development and Operations Manager. All coming from different walks of life, with different skill sets and different stories, but it’s proving to be a successful mix. What makes Cogniom even more enjoyable and successful is the driving passion, mutual respect for each other and great friendship shared.
2019 is already proving to be a successful year for Cogniom, news of which will be landing in your inbox soon, and we look forward to continuing sharing our journey with you.
In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about The TANDM Suite, click here to book your demo today!
