My first year as a Racker

Beyond the start of a new year, the beginning of 2022 became another milestone: my first year as a Racker.??

As a veteran in the IT industry with more than 20 years of experience, I had the opportunity (and privilege) to travel around the globe, work for a Tech Giant for 18 years, and meet leaders, executives, and people with the most diverse styles and cultures and why not, priorities.

During the interview process, something caught my attention: all executives interviewing me had something different; some spoke about the strong culture we have at Rackspace Technology, and others just a contagious sparkle in the eyes.

When I spoke with Subroto Mukerji (that time our COO and now the President and GM of the Americas Region and my boss), he told me that here at Rackspace Technology, we want to be meaningful to our clients and talked about the Fanatical Experience, one of the companies priorities, I said to myself: I want to be a Racker.?

After that, I met Kevin Jones, the company's CEO, and even though I've worked with him in the past, I confess I was nervous. The conversation went well, and the rest is history.

I started my career here as the VP & GM for Rackspace Technology LATAM, a fascinating challenge to come back to my roots after a global role at HP. After a few months, the company decided to extend my scope. I became the VP of Americas Marketing and Demand Generation in addition to my LATAM role.?

Nowadays, I have about 150+ people reporting to me in our organization and, of course, an enormous responsibility to help us succeed in a great market.

When I was approaching this milestone, I've asked myself: why am I enjoying being a "Racker" so much? (we call all Rackspace Technology employees "Rackers."

After thinking about it, I decided to share these highlights with you.

More than just enjoying being a Racker, I believe this company has something very special, unique.?

The three highlights are:

1. Inspiring Leadership: our top-level Executives, such as Kevin Jones, Subroto Mukerji, Amar Maletira, Holly Windham, Neil Emerson, among others, have the experience and the drivers to constantly bring the excellence that we need to run a company that is growing and becoming bigger every day, but at the same time is nimble and operate in lightspeed. It's great to look up and see inspiring leaders that will not only help the company to grow but also will invest in our people;
2. Strong Culture: definitely one of the biggest highlights. Since I had worked for Compaq in 1999 (coincidently a company that had red as a predominant color as Rackspace Technology), this is the second time that I felt a culture that embraces teamwork, not accepting the "no, it's not possible" and has an environment where everybody is committed to help each other and win together. Pretty remarkable. The Fanatical Experience is an excellent example of rewarding Rackers who go above and beyond to ensure our clients are well attended;
3. Ever-evolving portfolio: the cloud market is incredible: almost every day, we have a new technology, a new business model, different customer needs, and astonishing growth rates. To be competitive and, more importantly, to continue to be relevant, the innovation and the "will to evolve" that we have here at Rackspace Technology amazes me. We are constantly creating new services because we understand that in the cloud world, what you needed yesterday will be different from today and what you need tomorrow will be different as well.

Of course, other Rackers probably would have more reasons about why Rackspace Technology is a great company to work for, such as our iconic HQ, The Castle, among other reasons. Still, for me, when you have great leadership, a strong culture, and an excellent understanding of how you serve the market you are in, it's tough to not get in love with your work.

Let's go, Rackers, let's continue our journey while I count my Rackerversaries (with 5 years, I will get a flag, exciting!).?