Our professional of the month has been a man of challenges and today he is in charge of one of the most prestigious companies in the audio and video market in Peru: TelViCom. He defines himself as an entrepreneur, visionary and family member.
By: Claudia Guzmán
Julio Villar was born on October 25, 1952 in the Constitutional Province of Callao, the most important port in Peru and the second most industrialized city in the country. Graduated from the National University of Engineering, but with a strong inclination to commercial activity, he has always considered that training is the main tool for the achievement of objectives: after graduating he continued with postgraduate studies in sales and marketing and then did a Management MBA at Centrum, from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
Driven by his academic training, on December 18, 1998 he assumed the position of general manager of TelViCom, an engineering company that serves two well-differentiated markets: broadcasting (TV channels and production houses) and institutional (education, corporate sector and Government, which are the ones that demand more integral technology solutions in multimedia, audio and digital video today).
Initiative, creativity and training
Villar today has more than 25 years of experience in the audio and video industry, during which he has represented the leading manufacturers in the world.
His activity began in 1984, at Carsa Profesional, where he served as head of sales of security systems, then was sales manager of telecommunications and, finally, sales manager of professional video and multimedia systems, division that offered professional video equipment for the institutional business, dominating an important portion of the market.
His path was very promising, but due to internal changes in the company he decided to retire at the end of 1998. "It was an initially difficult decision to make, since I had a stable situation that allowed me to support a large family, it was a great challenge; while it is true that he had confidence in me, there was also a fear of his own that generates this type of venture". He added that he was convinced that "with a lot of imagination and creativity you can achieve very positive results in our activities."
He recalled that the first thing he did was knock on the doors of his entire network of contacts and, with such good luck, that the opportunity was presented to implement one of the most important auditoriums of a higher institute of technical careers that was inaugurated for its anniversary, which was about to come. For two days in a row they had to work 24 hours a day. "It was an interesting project that put us to the test and that we were able to fulfill to the satisfaction of the client. At that time there were only three people who started with this adventure, now we are 26; we have recently acquired our own premises that we are conditioning to have all the facilities for our staff, and give a better comfort in the attention to our customers".
According to Villar, he can proudly highlight the effort and commitment of the staff working with TelViCom. "Each of them plays a very important role in achieving the achievements and objectives of our company and I really feel happy to have them with us, since in difficult times that we had to live they responded with a lot of dedication," he said and attributed to these aspects the privileged position that his company has today in his country.
Contribution to technological development
In the opinion of our Professional of the Month, technology allows us to approach and size the world in many ways, so he is proud to have the possibility of contributing prominently in the field of communications in the national and international market, bringing culture, education and entertainment, which in turn allows him to generate better living conditions to his society.
"In a clearly globalized world, in which information and communications technology plays a very important role, it is essential to do an efficient and effective work with clear objectives in the organization, where services are the most productive and competitive," said Julio.
And consistent with the above, Villar is always at the forefront of integral solutions and even plans to implement a CMR system for the optimization of sales and service processes, a fact that he hopes will allow them to increase the effectiveness of the sales organization, among other benefits, in order to differentiate themselves from the customer.
Good winds for Peru
When the Professional of the Month was consulted about the future of the industry in his country, he saw opportunities for business growth in the sector due to the geographical location of Peru, as it is in a strategic position, as a gateway to the southern hemisphere, to the Pacific basin, a region that has aroused the interest of the countries where a third of the world's population lives: "The ancient cultures of China, Japan and Russia are located, there are also the four tigers (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan), with whom free trade agreements are being negotiated, as well as the new tigers: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand so it provides an opportunity for investors from these countries."
He knows that in the East they are expectant to find the right time to invest in Peru, as Sony recently demonstrated with the launch of a professional camera that records in Full High Definition (1920 x 1080 pixels) in memory stick without tape and whose launch for Latin America occurred on Inca soil.
Training is key
At the end of our interview, Villar recognized the great possibilities that exist in the sector, so he considers of vital importance the training of personnel who are in this industry, as it is the factor that allows us to provide solutions complying with world standards in the installation and technological implementation, in addition to enabling companies to face the challenges of new audiovisual technologies such as HD, 3D and 4K.
But after working and working there is always room for fun and entertainment, and Julio alternates his work with reading, karaoke, swimming and his family, a space he shares with his eight children, two of whom work in the company; he also departs with his granddaughter and to all of them he dedicates the weekends touring the different gastronomic places that make up the greatest attractions of a promising land and great delights: Peru.
