Describe your role at Rogers Communications
I lead competitive intelligence, device and compensation cost management, and I coordinate Commercial Planning for the Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) at Rogers Communications.
The competitive intelligence part of my team is constantly scanning the market to understand what our competitors are offering which informs our own commercial strategies.
My team also helps determine the strategic rationale of complex EBU commercial initiatives and leads their ultimate implementation.
What’s the best part of your job? What’s the most challenging part?
I helped make the case for the creation of a stand-alone Enterprise Business Unit within Rogers and built the rationale for approval by the Board. The most exciting part of my job is having a direct contribution in turning a strategy that I developed into reality.
The most challenging part of my job is turning that high level strategic rationale into reality. It is harder than what I imagined when we wrote the strategy.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
I frequently go back to advice that my mom gave me: “There is nothing anyone else can do that you can’t achieve” Many times as a child and young adult I would comment on how I would not be able to do things that others did and my mom reminded me how I was as capable as anyone else; I could achieve anything if I put my mind and hard work to it.
Life is full of choices and challenges that sometimes make you question your own abilities. Without her advice I would have not completed my M.Sc., immigrated to Canada, move to France to complete my MBA or pursued some career opportunities that were beyond my comfort zone at the time.
What did you learn at SATOV that you’ve applied at Rogers?
Almost all of the things that I did at SATOV are applicable in my new role. As a Consultant you learn to methodically analyze issues, define tactics to resolve them and communicate the recommendations to management in a simple and efficient way. All of those skills are key in everyday business interactions.
Internet of Things is a big telecommunications topic right now, how do you see it changing lives and businesses in the future?
IoT will eventually be everywhere and help both businesses and consumers with everyday tasks – from maintaining your house at the ideal temperature depending on your estimated time of arrival to optimizing garbage pick-up routes based on bin usage. Over time Telcos will work with others to develop the products that improve consumer lives or business outcomes – the applications are endless.
What’s something non work related that you do that has contributed to your success?
I’ve engaged in multiple things to balance work with other things. I find that most times stepping away from work for a while helps you find the path forward at work easier at the time that you re-engage.
I have done many different sports like swimming, squash, ultimate Frisbee; I got into reef aquariums and still have one; I have a motor bike which I have not used now for 3 years. As of late, I have focused a lot of time into ‘Do-it-yourself’ things for my kids and for my house which combines some of my engineering training and keeps my mind engaged in challenging projects.
You started at SATOV as a consultant and rose up the ranks to manager, what advice would you have to someone looking to follow the same path?
Work hard and be critical of your own work. It is easy to fall back into the comfort of knowing that there is someone else that will review your work but if you assume that your work may go to the client without any oversight you will push yourself to deliver a higher quality product every time. At some point you won’t need that oversight and you’ll progress to the next level.
What is your personal competitive advantage?
I care. I had to think about this one for a couple of days and ended up coming back to what many people have told me makes me valuable in their eyes and it is that I care that my actions and those of my team help achieve the goal we are striving for.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an astronaut! I remember spending long time looking at a book that recounted the race to space and asking my parents what I’d have to study to be an astronaut. There is no aerospace engineering program in Colombia so I went into Civil Engineering.
Read more about our other alumni here.