With more than 20 years of experience, our Professional of the Month talks about his connection to the industry and what he has learned in these years. It emphasizes that the continuity of human talent in an AV company is fundamental for its progress and growth.
Richard Santa
Rafael de la Fuente, the Professional of the Month for this edition of AVI LATINOAMÉRICA, is a Peruvian who at age 10 moved with his family to Panama, a country in which he did his basic studies, became a professional and ended up linked to the audiovisual industry by accident, as he defines it.
This Graduate in Marketing and Advertising from Ulacit, says that the 'west' happened one day that his wife was in charge of organizing an event and had a series of problems with the supply of sound equipment that made Rafael come to his aid.
He comments that "That day I had to help him get the equipment with several fellow musicians and from that moment I began to give the audio service as a way to make some extra money until, I had to dedicate myself full time to the events".
That experience was maturing and the work increasing until VAAS was born in 1997, a company dedicated to providing audio and video services for events. But this company would last only two years, because due to the success it ended up partnering with three more experts and thus Meeting & Show Technologies was born in 1999.
He explains that "when I merged we were four partners: Pablo Dalía, his strength was sound and simultaneous translation; Janios Jaén, was dedicated to sound for concerts (he separated from the company to dedicate himself only to concerts, we still have good relations); Diego Fernández de Córdoba, was dedicated to the organization of events, fairs, exhibitions; and my forte was corporate sound and video."
A rewarding job
Holding a managerial position in a company in the audiovisual industry is a time-consuming job. In the case of our Professional of the month from the sales and marketing management, the days begin much earlier than they are in theory.
His day usually starts at 8:30 in the morning in the office, but due to cell phones and computers from much earlier he begins the work. It is assumed that around 6:30 in the afternoon it usually ends, except when there is an event that needs to be monitored or a problem that needs to be solved.
He notes that "due to the growth of the company and in order to continue maintaining the level in our work, we hold several sales, management and operations meetings a week. So in that way we are aware of what happened in past events, scheduling of upcoming events, technical needs."
But despite the long working hours and the long time demanded, there are many experiences that make you feel that your work is worthwhile and that it is very rewarding. Rafael shares two of those anecdotes.
"Within the many experiences that one has in this medium, two anecdotes come to mind, one was during the inauguration of special Olympics last year in Panama, where I lived one of the most emotional moments of my career to see one of the athletes crying with emotion, at that moment I felt that it was worth so many hours of wakefulness and that I would do it again in order to make all those athletes happy."
The second anecdote he mentions happened at a fair in the interior of Panama, in which, due to heavy rains, the nearby river began to erode the place where they had the equipment, and although access was restricted in the area for security, some of his collaborators, of their own volition, took risks to be able to rescue the equipment, "That showed me the value of the company to them."
A broad view of the industry
It is precisely the second anecdote mentioned by Rafael de la Fuente that becomes one of the main challenges for his company today, to be able to keep the staff willing to make a career with them.
"We try to maintain a pleasant work environment, encourage the technical and human improvement of each one, providing them with varied courses in teams, attention to the public. Also rewarding them with trips abroad to courses, exhibitions and with economic recognitions".
And it is that the qualified and committed personnel with the company becomes a fundamental part of the development and growth of the same and more now that there are great expectations of growth of the audiovisual industry in Latin America.
These growth expectations are based, according to our Professional of the Month, because there are better communication channels, more efficient transport of personnel and equipment, as well as events that bring together media professionals such as InfoComm. "Those of us who are dedicated to this industry have the opportunity to meet colleagues from the region and thus expand our services to each other and support each other in holding events that we would not have been able to achieve otherwise."
He adds that in his view the industry will not only continue to grow but will also be of better quality and greater complexity, forcing them to invest in better and new technology, as well as training staff for the optimal management of such equipment.
Growth is supported by encouraging figures in a world economy still with turbulence, because only in the case of Panama has been growing between 10 and 15% in recent years and the expectation is that the trend will continue for several more years.
He also points out that today that lack of interest in wanting to invest in equipment was lost, which he lived at the end of the 80s when he began with the first steps in this industry, because the client made the events thinking of spending as little as possible and not complicating life.
"Over the years the client has become more demanding because they see events in leading countries in the market and want to do the same or similar, forcing us to make investments to carry out the different projects," he says.
Today in his work he seeks to be able to provide a service complying with the objectives established in conjunction with the client and stay updated in equipment and work systems. "The client is the reason why we exist so we must provide the service that he expects, and without the staff motivated to be part of the projects and the company, we would not be able to satisfy them therefore we would not exist."
**Of Spanish origin
Although he is Peruvian by birth and Panamanian by adoption, Spain is a third country that marks the life of Rafael de la Fuente, since his parents are natives of that nation, more precisely of Valencia. Therefore, when making one of his passions, travel, he includes Spain as a destination, either to meet or visit relatives.
Another of his hobbies is music. "Since school I have been linked to music, participating as a singer in several rock bands such as 'Fósiles Mecánicos'. In addition, I am a sports fan, currently I play football and golf. And there is something I share with my brothers and my parents, is to be a fan of Valencia C.F., in the good and in the not so good".
Our guest is married and father of two girls, and is already ensuring the continuity of the family's business, as his eldest daughter has already started to get involved in the business.
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