For the General Manager of Masco, the new generations are more creative, intuitive and digital, so the manipulation of equipment is more natural.
By Richard Santa
Since he was in school, Gilberto Chaves Mesen had an interest in innovation and technology, a taste that became a passion and grew over time. These days it celebrates 30 years of being in the audiovisual industry, both in the integration segment, as well as shows and the MICE market.
In dialogue with AVI LATINOAMÉRICA, he recalled that from the Salesian school, which he attended, he had the opportunity to be an amateur radio, participate in the scientific club and witnessed the arrival of the first IBM computers with monchromatic monitor to his country of origin, Costa Rica.
Its link with the AV industry "occurred in 1986 when we introduced digital technology and compact disc in our country, we were the first to use and disseminate it; without knowing how much the world of information, connectivity and consumption would evolve". In this journey, he has served as a founding partner of the companies Avilco S.A. and Meeting and show company s.a, which since their inception have had as pillars technology and innovation and the continuous training of their employees.
He stressed that "during these almost 30 years of working in the AV industry, entertainment and the MICE market (Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), I have been able to learn and reinforce with each activity three pillars for success: 1- care of the details, 2- constant training, 3- work with passion surrounded by people who feel the same. Each person has something to teach you, as long as you are in the humble attitude of learning and evolving."
Quality work
Masco, under the outsourcing format, operates the technical and audiovisual production departments in the most recognized hotel chains in Central America and has been growing with its engineering area dedicated to AV integration. In addition, they are active members of InfoComm International, the Association of Professional Organizers of Congresses and related of Costa Rica, Aprocon, and their processes are certified under the ISO 9001-2008 standard with the aim of maximizing the agreed quality.
This is a reflection of the high-quality policy that Gilberto Chaves has imposed on all his activities. "I am always advising everyone to study and train. In 2016 we established that from the receptionist to the engineer in our company, he took the InfoComm courses. We are in the industry and we must be an integral part of it with our knowledge," he said.
And as there is no better guide than the example, our Professional of the month for this edition complemented his university studies in business administration and project management, with the certification in CTS of infoComm, with which he commemorates his career of 30 years in the audiovisual industry.
Strong AV industry
The audiovisual industry in Costa Rica has had an important growth. For Gilberto Chaves, in the last year it reached 30% and according to the latest data from InfoComm, it is an industry of hundreds of millions of dollars.
He also mentioned that the future of the industry is predictable in size, but not in customer valuation and the commoditization of services and equipment. "The markets are relatively small and that's why we're in five countries in the area. Interestingly, the difference in customer perception and valuation is very large."
The founder of Masco recalled that in this development of the industry, the evolution became more evident when many companies had access to online purchases, and in this way they were able to evade the need to go to fairs and train. "They dedicated themselves only to copy and buy. The positive thing is that the new generations are more creative, intuitive and digital, so the manipulation of equipment becomes more natural; as opposed to themselves who are unimpressible and believe they know everything."
Full-time professional
In order to respond to this growth, Gilberto Chaves maintains a fairly tight schedule in his day to day. "When I am not traveling supervising the operations of the central american and Caribbean countries, my day starts early, 6:30 am, among other things because the traffic is terrible. My management style is based on supervision and control of the administrative and operational areas through reports and metrics, this facilitated by compliance with the ISO-9001 standard in processes; I let work and we all know what we have to do."
He added that based on that managerial style, he implemented high-performance teams, with which the projects work together, because he assures that the time of being putting out fires and ending up worn out is over. "I have many meetings to keep in touch with clients and collaborators, I believe a lot in face-to-face and feel that we are going together in the projects."
On the objectives that a manager must achieve in the field of an AV company, Gilberto Chaves highlighted three aspects from the technological and the human:
- That the ROI is sustainable over time, hand in hand with innovation and organic growth of the organization.
- To customers, provide them with the solution tailored to their expectations.
- To employees, let them know that it is an industry that needs more and better professionals.
Family trips and golf
Gilberto Chaves is a family man. And so it shows when talking about it. "I have the blessing of a marriage for twenty years. Together with my wife and two children, we have as a hobby to travel to know new cultures, places and share with family; always from the hand of God."
Finally, he stressed that his favorite sport is golf, with which he has obtained many satisfactions and joys. "By playing I can interact with people from other business areas very different from my own."
