Back to EMC - 2015<>2019

To tell the EMC story the right way, I’ll need to split the ride in 3 chapters. The UN chapter, the Maritime chapter, and the final “moving to the US” chapter. It's only been 3.5 years, but these were full of intensity, sponge-period, fun, self-awareness and various ups and downs. I have mixed feelings about this article, since every single year was completely different and challenging in multiple ways, and the people I met along the way were key at these specific moments in my life. I’ll try my best to keep it simple and readable.

Jeff Kietzmann was the main driver of the “operation return”, additionally supported by Sal Salvador who did the background check and of course, Miriam Cunningham as head of HR making sure myself and my family were covered with the compensation package.

Let's start with the United Nations chapter. Jeff was leading the Service Managers group and I became the UN service manager. This included reconnecting with most of the UN accounts I used to handle and manage while I was running the Service Delivery team in 2012 before going to Neutrona, and the welcoming from the customer side was superlative.

The initial approach was to be as present as possible and keep services and reports on point. This meant a lot of traveling, so for the rest of 2015 and the first half of 2016, I managed to visit New York at least 4 times mainly for UNICEF along with Emily Ann Bennet who was running the account, and also going to Rome to meet World Food Program and UNFAO, along with Ezequiel Salerno who was living there at that time.

Jan Erik Kjaer was commanding the UN segment and both Ezequiel and Emily reported to him, and oftentimes he was part of the trips at New York and Rome and many other places. He was a singular individual that shared connections, routines, best practices every single time. Great negotiator packed with tremendous generosity.

During 2015, EMC acquired MTN, who was the leading maritime satellite operator with superior deals in cruise lines as well as in the yacht market. Between 2013 and 2015, EMC had acquired multiple other companies to enter the maritime segment, starting with STM over in Europe, who was similar sized as EMC but very strong on the commercial shipping industry. 

2016 was travel-intensive by nature. We went to Jordan, Amman, where along with Ezequiel Salerno visited a prospect that was soon to launch an RFP and EMC wanted to participate. This allowed us to visit Petra, the Dead Sea and when we returned back in 2017, taking an air-balloon trip in Wadi Rum. Another interesting trip in 2016 came with Lorraine Takahashi, who was the UN business developer and we embarked on a trip to Juba, South Sudan for 3 days. First 2 days were business as usual, getting to know multiple UN customers and prospects, and also witnessing Juba’s reality. 3rd and last day was hard since we got politely carjacked by 3 individuals for about 1 hour until we bargained our way out. This became a life-appreciation moment for us both. Once we landed in Nairobi again, when we headed immediately to the bar and "Ketel One" and "Johnnie Walker" were waiting for us, to celebrate life. Lorraine is a strong woman, who witnessed the situation with a great level of respect, seriousness and calmness, which in perspective related to the way she managed herself doing business. She was a great partner, and I’m grateful I got to experience this episode with her.

Before jumping straight into the Maritime chapter, I want to thank my partner in crime on multiple flights, Mr. Pablo Francisco Diaz, since he was the solutions architect of the land based solutions specific to the UN, and we shared trips to the US and Rome. Great work ethic, very methodical and consistent on his deliverables. Curious by nature, always trying to understand the processes behind each company, but most of all, the people. I’ll always remember our conversations, and of course, our mutual love for "OBAN 14" while in Rome.

I also want to thank Ezequiel Salerno for his wide-angle perspective, stone foot and cold decision making. His transformation from the PM in 2010 all the way to the account executive in 2017, always with the candid “people first” approach was very moving. He also knows Rome like the back of his hand, and I’m grateful he got my appetite expectations covered on multiple occasions.

Around May 2016, Global Eagle Entertainment acquired EMC. GEE was from the aviation world, so it meant we were now a company that provides connectivity and solutions to air, land and sea markets. It was a fun time to be around.

The Maritime chapter started to form around June 2016, when I got a call from Sal Salvador for an urgent meeting in Miami. Went over there with a one-way ticket, and got into a room with Sal, Jeff, Jorgen and Chris Rivera who explained the performance situation they were having in the commercial shipping unit in Madrid, where the former STM NOC support was still operating. To better understand how the STM worked and where the pain was being generated, I had to travel to Norway where the commercial shipping sales team was based, so I was on my way to Stavanger immediately after. 2 days packed with meetings where I met the sales team, lead by Jan Gustavsen, a candid individual that took the time to explain the main players in the “commercial shipping industry”, and was very patient with me.

Next destination was Madrid and, where I met the former STM team with Nuria, Boris, Alberto, Pablo, Damian, Oscar and a few others. Christian Mejias was also working from that office, so it was a pleasure to see familiar faces once again. Before coming back to Buenos Aires, we jumped on a plane with Alberto Izquierdo and we flew over to Santander, to meet Carla Mendez and the teleport staff, all very open, collaborative and sharing persons.It was early July, and it was time to digest what just happened.

I was then offered to spend the next 3 months in Madrid supporting the team, but still keep the UN Service Manager hat while working remotely. Took the Q2 review meetings in New York and Rome for the UN accounts, and immediately headed to Madrid which became my base station. This included multiple customer facing trips and I was lucky enough to my family come over to visit me. This maritime chapter is often related to the initial EMC period back in 2007 when sponge-time was the norm. I was ingesting differences between land and maritime communications over satellite on the fly, understanding how the pain was generated and what these new set of customers were expecting. My buddy for these trips that included Hamburg, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Cyprus and Raisting, was Alberto Izquierdo who had the patience, perseverance and perspective to describe how to act and what to expect. The time spent with him was constant learning and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity. During the final part of my stay in Spain, I got to meet Ole Kristian Sivertsen (who later became my mentor) and the rest of the Yacht team.

During early 2017, such Maritime experience in Spain allowed me to support the Parana NOC which was recently supporting the maritime segment, and Jeff suggested I would be a good fit to aid their management. This was a very good experience since I got to witness first hand what type of support these customers were getting, from every single maritime business unit. Again, it felt like sponge-time.

After Parana and a couple of trips to US and Europe, I was offered to move to the US by Federico Fawzi. I knew Fede back from the 2007<>2013 run, and it was great to see him often in Miami. He relocated to Miami between 2013 and 2015, just before EMC acquired the multiple companies and he was already settled. He offered me a position to work at the Miramar office, and relocate with the entire family. Position, Director. Lot of thinking to be done. Mid August I get back home and made final plans with my wife, which were confirmed as “Let's do this, you go there, see how it's like, and then we move along”.

I remember talking with Miriam Cunningham, who was no longer part of EMC at the time, and she gave very useful advice on how life was in Miami, she helped with taxes as well as setting the right living expectations. I’m very happy she did this, as it showed she was still caring for her employees, even on the outside.

Between August and October, I did a lot of traveling, customers meetings and closing the year with a full summit in Miami where all the solution architects were grouped to optimize the way we worked. This was a key meeting and I got to absorb the group dynamics as well as the way the content was provided, how such extensive gatherings were handled and how to balance expectation with reality. I’ve certainly used that experience in the following years.

No more traveling after that for me, it was time to sit and wait until working VISA was approved, and this happened in early January 2018. My third child was born in January too and the first trip to the US was in February, this time around to meet a US Government customer with Jeff. Jan Erik left the company and Chris Ivory took over the entire LAND business unit, maximizing the right contacts with the UN as well as with other business units. Traveling with Chris was fun, but listening to how he addressed the situations and changed gears depending on who was on the opposite side was marvelous. He wasn't much interested in the technical aspects of it and was a shark by nature, but managed an incredible pace to keep tempo of the conversations so it would go his way. 

Moving to Miami pretty consisted in getting an apartment in just 15 days where the hotel was covered. I had to select the neighbour I wanted to live, the car, potential schools for the family and how to commute to work. Sal’s wife helped me visit a couple of places and described Miami's lifestyle. Pablo Rosman’s (Neutrona) twin-brother took me to at least 7 different places with different options. These 15 days were over and I had nowhere to go, just yet. It was then Daniel Vilchez (Neutrona), who offered me to stay with him until I got the apartment. I thank Daniel for this gesture, since it allowed me to get the location I wanted and he was very supportive all the way through, especially when getting the A4 lease :).

Once settled, I was expecting to keep on traveling as much as 2015, 2016 and 2017 but it went the opposite way. The only traveling was from MIA to EZE out of my own pocket so most of the accumulated miles were gone, to remain cash-flow positive. I was supposed to report to Federico but things changed on the GEE agenda and ended up reporting to Jespert Powell, and in time to Greg Hill. I knew both of them when visiting the office but never got to work back-to-back. They made it look super smooth and accepted and trusted me from the very beginning. They took the time to explain how their processes worked, how their deliverables happened and what was expected at each Cruise, Yacht and Commercial Shipping solution. They both were OK with my traveling back and forth to Argentina and constantly asked about my family. I’m very happy I got to meet them.

David Pineda was very important while in the US as he opened up his know-how on the Yacht industry and shared how things worked on the former MTN operations and engineering teams. These 2 teams were reluctant at first to support an outsider, and David stood firm from day-one sponsoring my role and energy, even when our time together was short. We became friends and we both know we would have nailed it, should we had more time together on the road.

Brian Govanlu was running the advanced solutions team and he was friendly, sharing and always working on ways to optimize our customer issues. He was also a Bourbon lover and introduced me to the monthly Whiskey nights. On top of this, is a sharp individual who spreads knowledge and innovation. I'm very happy I got to work multiple projects with him.

Alfredo Hurtado was managing the satellite capacity part, and he was gentle to discuss alternatives, show trends and options on how to do better. He was a tech geek and answered multiple credit and economic concerns I had back then. I enjoyed our lunches together along with Gaston Jara and I’m grateful I met him.

Gaston Jara used to sit next to me in the US, and became the UN service manager once I fully transitioned to the maritime segment. His approach with customers was very different than mine and he embraced challenges every single time. His support during my relocation to Miami was key, since he helped me with taxes, forms, health-care options and was an extended reach of the HR department. Meeting his family and his previous life experience was very interesting and I’m thankful for the time, the gentle + respectful approach and the laughs we had together, multiple times.

One key individual was Adrian Klinger, who along with his wife and daughter became “my family” while living in Miami. He was always doing “Asados” and inviting me over, and checking that I had a smooth adaptation. He is kind, he has a great heart and generates an excellent work-life balance which I often envy.

Jeff Kietzmann and his wife, Lisa, were also an extension of my family while in the US. He was open, candid and by far the more genuine person I found in the office. Never hidden intentions, always talking upfront, always challenging and evolving with the flow. Lisa was smart, well intended and genuinely considered for what was happening to me and how I was adapting to the new air. Thank you both very much.

Pablo German Diaz along with Pablo Francisco Diaz and Marcelo Garcia Tu?on were the remote team that worked the LAND business unit from Argentina. They were always willing, enthusiastic and collaborative when it comes to work. They made it look easy, they shared best practices and knowledge, and I’m glad I got to spend time with them.

Javier Gail dealt with processes and audits. He was king at documentation, keeping track records and facilitating options to improve and automate workflows. He was kind and open to share knowhow and curious to make sure he kept it on-point. Strangely enough, we always met while away, such as Nairobi, Raisting or Miramar, but never in Buenos Aires office.

Alberto Pla and his family were very nice to me while in Miami. He always says yes, no matter how hard it is, but he always “delivers”.

The Norwegian trifecta with Andreas Luteberget, Havard Wangesteen and Ole Silversteen was super fun to work with. They all had a level of mindfulness I wasn't used to. Their cultural differences and direct ways of talking, followed by action, was enviable. All three of them were masters of execution and getting things done. They were also heavy drinkers and knew how to party big time.

Special side note for Ole, since he kept me on the radar and under his wing from the time we met in 2016 back in Spain. I can now see that he was somehow slow-cooking me for the next chapter of my life, giving me tools, options, and flight hours in the corporate world as well as individual soul-search. His summits and conferences, reflections and people dynamics were mind-expanding and I was able to use a few techniques in Neutrona later on, so I’m grateful for the time, the opportunity, and the trust to get things done, together.

There are at least 35 other colleagues that are left unmentioned in this article. Trust me, my memory can only do so much. I thank everyone I met back from October 2015 to May 2019. It was a wonderful cultural ride and it took me only an extra couple of years to absorb and understand what I’ve been privileged to witness.

Thank you!