PCR’s Under 30’s Rising Stars winner interview

COROS Wearables’ Ben Clark

COROS wearables’ Ben Clark is this year’s PCR Rising Starlet having been selected as the winner of our Under 30’s Rising Stars of the Industry Award. Michelle Winny, Editor of PCR caught up with Ben to find out more about his life at COROS wearables, what direction he plans to take his career and why wearable tech is his passion.

Aged just 25, Ben Clark has risen to Global Partnerships Manager in one of the fastest growing sports wearable tech companies in the world. Starting as UK Market Manager (HoM), and being promoted to Northern Europe Market as well as holding similar roles in other companies in the industry including Garmin, and mymo, Ben is quickly gaining the skills and development required for a very successful career in tech. Based upon these merits, Ben was recognised as PCR’s Rising Stars of the Industry winner receiving two tickets to attend this year’s PCR awards ceremony in London, but not before we caught up with Ben for a quick chat about life in the fast lane.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your current role in the channel?

I’m the Global Partnerships Manager for GPS sports wearables maker, COROS Wearables. I’m currently 25 yars of age and I started with COROS back in March 2020 following my firstever corporate management role at Garmin UK! Through my professional marketing background, I have a very strong presence in the sports and wearables tech sector and I also have an interest in FitTech, PayTech and the study and practice of behavioural economics - as well as riding bicycles and listening to the same 20 techno tracks on repeat!

What is you 10-year plan?

My 10-year-plan is geared towards executive management within medium-to-large-sized businesses operating within consumer electronics, as well as further developing my own brand and business. In addition, I aim to continue living a nomadic lifestyle that allows me to value experiences over material items – something I believe is very healthy for the mind.

How do you feel about winning tickets to the PCR Awards night? What does this mean to you?

Entering the awards was a way of receiving some recognition for all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes – the work that the end-user doesn’t often see – so I felt it was important, at least to me to be acknowledged. The award also offers an element of positive reinforcement that I think helps to validate my unique approach to professional life, which will ultimately give me greater confidence in the future. I am pleased to have achieved this fantastic award, and I hope it will signal many more!

At only 25 what opportunities have you encountered so far that have got you to this point?

Fortunately, in my early teens I was able to realise the importance of marketing myself effectively, which helped me understand my market value and how I, as a rational utilitarian could minimise my workload whilst also maximising my reward – working smarter, not necessarily harder.

Putting this philosophy into context when I was career hunting - I could apply to a job when there was an opening, or I could highlight to the company a real need for my services, pitch and market myself and then secure the role that I’ve designed for myself.

Although this level of self-confidence is also backed up by several years of proactive entrepreneurialism through my previous businesses, I think it can sometimes be useful to have an overconfidence in your abilities, as this can allow us to deviate from ‘comfort’ and experience new things, allowing us to overcome new challenges with momentum.

There are of course many other opportunities that you quite often take for granted, however, I think it is also important to highlight how grateful I am for the supportive and attentive upbringing by both my parents, as well as for the insightful and unwavering advice and guidance offered to me by my father Nigel, continued up until this day.

What would you say to other young aspiring individuals to encourage them to take up a career in the channel?

There’s definitely a long and fruitful career to be had in tech, especially if you’re working with a company that is at the forefront of innovation – in addition, there are also many areas of tech to choose from with each more impressive than the last, as well as new ones popping up all the time. The best way into the tech industry involves a background interest and related degree, however, this doesn’t have to be technical. Management roles in tech are highly sought-after, wellremunerated, and are also future-proof as Artificial Intelligence is unlikely to ever be compatible with empathy-oriented roles. Although it can be hard to plan for a career in an ever-changing industry, it is important for aspiring tech and business leaders to have some understanding of their end-goal and what steps they can take to achieve them. LinkedIn can be a fantastic tool for people wanting to pursue a career in tech as you can build a network, present your skills, and find information that can ultimately lead to landing a job!

What is your background in the industry?

My background in the industry started when I became Garmin’s first-ever UK intern in their 30-year history following a speculative application – an incredible achievement in itself.

After one month, I became the UK Product Manager for Garmin Pay, working in collaboration with Mastercard to onboard several high street banks to enable their customers to use Garmin Pay on their compatible Garmin smartwatch.

My biggest achievement in this role was working with CurveCard to integrate their all-in-one Mastercard into Garmin’s Pay

infrastructure, a huge job but which essentially enabled all Garmin users in the UK to pay with Garmin Pay no matter who they banked with.

Unfortunately, I found myself leaving Garmin due to an ongoing mental health concern, which led me to take some time out to focus on myself.

However, following my recovery (and a couple of holidays), I then speculatively applied for, and became the UK Market Manager for COROS Wearables just as they were starting to expand their operations across Europe – talk about good timing – and was quite quickly thrown in at the deep end; planning and executing various marketing projects including setting up ambassador programs; forming brand partnerships and also setting up an in-house PR agency for the UK and Northern Europe.

Fast forward 18 months and I now manage all English PR & Media worldwide; several global ambassador teams; as well as partnerships with some of the greatest athletes, ambassadors, and brands on the planet.

In addition, I have worked with various wearable tech companies in the industry such as mymo running, and I also have my own business which specialises in medical-grade Orthotics!

Could you tell us a bit more about wearable tech and what is currently hot in this area right now?

Wearable Tech includes a large array of devices including smart/ sport watches, smart eyewear, performance monitoring sensors, payment technology, hearables, and more – but is typically categorised into two main segments: lifestyle, and performance. Lifestyle wearables such as smartwatches and payment rings allow for an extension of the user’s phone, offering an often fashionable solution to everyday use for 90% of the market, whereas performance wearables, which provide more advanced health monitoring solutions are naturally received by a much smaller segment of the overall market. Two interesting performance-focused wearables that exist now include Supersapiens’ non-invasive glucose monitor which can give the user a deep understanding of their body’s reaction to different foods, and what they need to consume to reach their optimal fuel. In addition, Nurvv’s retrofit smart insoles can help a user run smarter by giving them real-time data on their pace, cadence, step length, footstrike and pronation, enabling them to run better, which can reduce the risk of injury as well as improve running power, comfort, and speed. Currently, the global smart and sports watch industry is facing a huge challenge as it considers what should be required on a watch and what should remain solely on the smartphone. Many watch brands have begun to focus too heavily on lifestyle features in a bid to appeal to the wider market, effectively creating a wearable iPhone on the wrist, and often carbon copies of their competitors. These over-supplied and under-demanded features such as Music, Wallet, Apps, and Games have allowed emerging products like the COROS Wearables PACE 2 to enter the market and dominate in performance and adventure-based sports where a more strippedback and durable watch reigns supreme.

How has wearable tech evolved and what are you currently promoting or working on in this area?

Wearable tech’s evolution from the launch of the world’s first GPS watch by Casio back in 1999, has been exponential – it has transformed several industries and has had applications in both civilian and the military. 22 years later in 2021 and COROS Wearables has just had its biggest product launch to date releasing the VERTIX 2, an Allsatellite Dual-frequency GPS watch that can talk to all five major satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and Beidou) at the same time – allowing for astronomical accuracy, making it the perfect companion for ultra-running and adventure elites.

Where do you see the future of wearable tech headed, what emerging trends can we expect to see more of in the near future?

With advancements in medical technology, I feel we will start to see more commercial consumer applications for performance and nutrient monitoring - which could include the ability to fully analyse foods as they’re being digested, giving a real-time display of your biomolecule carbohydrates, proteins, fats, sugars, and minerals, as well as liquid as they are being consumed – all giving the user a full understanding of their body for performance training and competition.

Although as I mentioned previously, the other 90% of the market will likely continue to be offered extensions of their smartphone in a more compact wrist-based system – just in increasingly better hardware. However, I would imagine that a savvy tech company will appear to captivate this customer by releasing a high-quality lifestyle smartwatch that focuses purely on getting the basics right, but at a price point that knocks out all of the competition.

What is the hottest piece of wearable tech you have come across?

I’m quite fascinated by the growing use of NFC/RFID chip implants under the skin that can enable a more convenient world, and there are various products on the market currently that allow for the opening of doors with just the wave of your hand! However, I would most like to see an overhaul of contactless payment regulations to allow for an extension of Apple Pay in your finger or hand (perhaps with a haptic password) enabling people to interact with the world in a much more accessible way... One can dream!