You’ve had an interesting career path could you share some of your career journey with us?
I graduated as a mechanical engineer in 1973 but started working in 1971 two years before graduation at a Caterpillar dealership in Venezuela. This was the beginning of my career. During the first seven to eight years, I developed my knowledge of mechanical engineering. As opportunities opened up in the company I was promoted to managerial positions, where I managed people, managing businesses, negotiations, and administration. These promotions allowed me to improve my knowledge in management and administration areas. I went on to do my MBA in administration at the beginning of the ’80s. I completed different programs with various institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, and the General Electric Management Institute in New York. My technical and commercial knowledge is with Caterpillar having spent 30 years, working for them, and the last 12 years of my career as general manager. I was in various areas of the dealership. I have been a management professional for forty-nine years with experience in consulting, solutions management, and negotiations dealing with international, national, private, and public companies in strategic planning, market development, investment planning, and financial solutions. I have extensive knowledge of servicing petroleum, gas, power generation, industrial, mining, and construction markets. I was a board director of a commercial bank, in Venezuela, because of my financial background. I have customers in different areas, and my experience has been very versatile because my concentration has not been in only one market.
What is the driving force that has led to your success?
Discipline, work and never stop learning.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that significantly shaped your leadership style?
A management program that I was part of and a personal meeting with Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric at the GE Management Development Institute in 1982. I am passionate about managing people. I love working with different people. It’s an exciting role that I relish as people are not the same. We have strengths and weaknesses, being able to use the strengths of the people I work with and help them improve their weaknesses and develop them through training, coaching, and teaching. I enjoy doing all the above. When I work with my customers, I work directly with the personnel, talking directly with the sales manager, and the finance manager, training, giving orientation, and preparing strategies. Planning with the people that work in different areas within our customer’s business. I have worked with people all my life it’s one, of my passions and this is practically the base of my leadership principle. I’m very open to helping people.
What inspired you to start Alliavant, and how has the company’s vision evolved since its inception?
My passion has always been to train and teach people to achieve goals. I love helping people, for example, one customer yesterday told me that he has a friend who has an oil service company and wants to sell the company. The conversation with the friend was interesting we talked about their plans for the company and they asked what recommendations or ideas I could share with them. I have a lot of customers who have different needs some only need orientation. Others are moving or processing their actions or developing plans, and only need to have a conversation with me twice a month on some of the ideas and actions that they have taken.
At Alliavant we concentrate on small and mid-size businesses. The idea is to build value for small to mid-size companies, providing services and solutions to help our customers improve performance, quality, and profitability. This is our goal and we enjoy it when our customers have a good result. This is our mission. When I retired in 2001 as General Manager of the Caterpillar dealer in Venezuela after 30 years of service, I founded my management consulting company in Venezuela.
The aim has always been to be of service, In 2017 I founded Alliavant LLC in Houston with my son Carlos. Upon my retirement from the company, Carlos will be able to take over and strengthen Alliavant in the areas he specializes in which are manufacturing, quality, processes, industrial processes, and technology. These skills will complement Alliavant, and he will be a unique owner when the time comes for me to leave the company as I’m 73 years old. I’ll probably be active God willing for the next 10 or 12 years more, I don’t know. But the idea is that Alliavant will have a long life and my son will be in charge in the future.
Our Mission: Alliavant builds value for small and mid-size businesses, by providing services and solutions in innovative and cost-effective ways that drive to the highest standards in performance, quality, and profitability.
Our Vision: To become the most trusted consulting company for its innovative solutions to small and mid-sized businesses.
What leadership principles do you adhere to, and how have they influenced Alliavant’s success?
Passion for listening, teaching, transferring knowledge, and achieving results.
Vision to establish plans, objectives, and solutions.
Long-lasting alliances with our clients.
Inspiring our clients to develop their maximum potential with integrity.
Creating and developing high-performance work teams.
These 5 principles are the key to gaining the trust of our clients.
How does Alliavant stay ahead of technological trends, and what role does innovation play in your overall business strategy?
We keep up to date in the following areas:
- Business Strategy
- Financial Management
- Organizational Transformation
- Process Continuous Improvement.
- Quality Management.
- Manufacturing & Production Systems
How do you plan to navigate and address challenges in your industry or market?
Listening to and understanding market needs and trends.
Combining past experiences with innovation.
Establishing alliances with professionals specialized in areas that require it.
Agility in decision-making, strategies, and priorities.
How do you balance maintaining company culture while scaling your business?
The company’s culture is based on its values, which will not change as the business grows:
- First-class customer service.
- Success is based on integrity.
- Passion for results.
How can organizations ensure that diversity and inclusion efforts go beyond surface-level initiatives and create lasting impact?
Build a truly aware and inclusive work culture.
Identify and develop strategies for creating stronger engagement in work
team
Design educational programs to reinforce psychological processes that impact the ways people interact with each other.
Engagement is the key factor that promotes higher performance and effort, greater returns, and lower turnover
Diversity and inclusion are much more than a legal or moral requirement, they are also a competitive advantage.
Promote behaviors and skills to be successful in shaping an inclusive climate
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing minority business owners?
- Management and financial skills.
- Customer-oriented culture.
- Setting priorities and following through.
- Competition
- Limited financial resources for business growth.
- Visibility
Do you think executives have a responsibility to pour back into the community? Why?
I believe it is very important for companies to give back to communities, and the best way is to give to people who live in the communities that they operate in. The idea is to create local job opportunities for them and at the same time promote projects in the community because these projects can help improve the quality of life creating a self-sustainable community. Starting workshops to train and educate the communities in innovation, technology, and projects. Having programs geared at uplifting the communities that they do business in.
Are there any specific initiatives or programs that Alliavant is particularly proud of in terms of environmental or social impact?
I love sports, promoting sporting activities in my community, and working closely with children in the community who play soccer and volleyball is a great feeling. I have played a lot of sports during my life, and I enjoy participating in all of these activities and the fact I get to promote these activities feels great. My grandson is a soccer player and my granddaughter plays volleyball, which are two of my favorite sports. We also partner with the community and ensure that we engage parents when we upskill young boys through our program, These boys learn technical skills and are then able to grow within the organization and be promoted to other levels within the company.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Select a business in which you have some experience or are passionate about. Prepare a business plan with a clear purpose to define the business model, goals, marketing strategies, financial projections, and growth plan. Your customers are key to your business. Focus on providing excellent customer service and building a strong brand. And focused on customer satisfaction. This is the key to success. If the customer is happy, the business will be successful.
How do you find balance while juggling a demanding role and busy schedule?
By establishing identified priorities between what is important and what is urgent.
What book has inspired you?
I was lucky to meet and talk to Mr. Jack Welch in 1982 who was the then CEO of General Electric. I have since read several books that he wrote. One of the books is Winning. It’s a good book for business. The second book is by Daniel Goleman and his partner Anne Mckee, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. This is a good book on how to manage emotional intelligence and how to apply it in business as an employer and in life. The third one is by Spencer Johnson: Who Moved My Cheese
What song can be found on your playlist at any given time?
I like all kinds of music depending on the moment. But there’s a song that is probably my favorite song of all time, A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
