KVS Credits: Jan Porema
Behind the scenes at KVS is a team of experts with diverse backgrounds. In our staff profiles, we’ll take turns introducing our team members, their backgrounds, their expertise, and what inspires them in their work. First up is KVS’s newest addition, Jan Porema.
Jan at the KVS Lounge, currently under construction at Superterassi.
Jan works at KVS as a lighting specialist and lighting trainer. He is also actively involved in sales and marketing, but considers his most important task to be helping customers find the lighting solution that best meets their needs. This includes advising, consulting, and training customers, as well as lighting design and, if necessary, assisting with implementation. Jan is the customer’s lighting partner, whether it’s a single project or a long-term collaboration.
Jan examines lighting specifically from the perspective of how light and lighting affect people and business. He wants to help customers recognize the benefits of better lighting and also explain to decision-makers why investing in lighting can be an important strategic decision and a sound investment:
“I can explain to companies how lighting is no longer a mandatory expense but a profitable investment that not only generates savings but also brings in revenue.”
According to Jani, the most rewarding part of the job is the moment when a customer understands the importance of better lighting.
From Programmer to Lighting Specialist
Jan originally worked as a programmer. Later, he changed careers and studied marketing and management in four different countries: Italy, France, Germany, and Spain. The years he spent abroad introduced him to international approaches to building brands and developing the customer experience. He, however, stumbled into the lighting industry somewhat by accident.
“Four years ago, my mother decided to move to Spain to play golf and asked if I’d like to rent her house. With her move, I decided to look for a new job and was recommended to apply for a position as a regional sales manager in the lighting industry. I applied and got the job even though I had no previous experience in the lighting industry. Now, four years later, I teach lighting design to interior designers and visualizers, as well as to corporate concept designers, and I’ve had the opportunity to work on many amazing projects all over Finland.”
Photo: Mirkku Merimaa / Ihana Elämys Oy
A long-term partnership rather than a one-time transaction
In his work, Jan particularly enjoys strategic partnerships, where he gets to serve as a long-term and trusted advisor to the client. The client could just as easily be an individual interior designer as a large corporation.
“I always want to be on the customer’s side. The customer’s best interests are more important to me than my own personal sales or the sales of the company I represent. I want to be a trusted advisor and lighting partner, and I will never sell anything that isn’t in the customer’s best interest.”
A good example of this way of thinking can be found in one of Jan’s most memorable projects. One of his clients had been left with a surplus of very high-quality light fixtures due to bankruptcy, while at the same time, another client’s factory outlet and showroom were limited by a tight budget when it came to lighting solutions. Jan managed to combine these two needs: one client was able to resell the light fixtures, and the other received high-quality lighting that the budget otherwise would not have allowed for.
“This didn’t result in any sales for me as a salesperson, but I was able to help a previous customer sell off their leftover light fixtures, and I was able to help another customer find lighting for their home that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford. So I was able to help two of my customers, and helping customers is always the most important thing to me.”
Outside the lighting area
Jan is an active content creator, and many people already know him on LinkedIn as #valaisija. In addition to his day job, Jan works part-time as an entrepreneur, providing services such as simultaneous interpretation. In his free time, he reads a lot and considers himself a board game enthusiast.
Photo: Mirkku Merimaa / Ihana Elämys Oy
Bonus question: If you could design the lighting for a movie, TV series, or concert, which one would you choose?
“That’s a really tough question, but probably a Marvel movie or series would be the most interesting, because I’d get to create a wide variety of lighting setups for different spaces and scenes—not just the light visible in the film itself, but also different styles for the fixtures in the spaces shown in the scenes. That means I’d be able to come up with a diverse and wide range of solutions on a large budget.”
Jan’s story is a good example of the many different paths that can lead to a career in lighting. In KVS’s “Meet the People” series, we’ll return later to feature another creator, another background, and another perspective.
