Cesar Flores: Leading more countries towards automated elections

The smile is genuine and with the success of the automated elections in the Philippines, Cesar Flores can afford to rejoice. Being responsible for developing opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region is easier now for the bachelor. His burden of convincing countries like Pakistan and Indonesia to use modern technology in their elections system is lighter. These days, Cesar, 36, has been meeting with heads of states who are impressed with what happened in our elections.

Much of that success can be credited to Cesar, who hired 48,000 people during election month and, just as quickly, narrowed them to 30 employees. That’s all they need to run the office now. The camaraderie that this Venezuelan manager instills among his coworkers is obvious and affects the other employees, who seem helpful and eager to take on roles. Cesar has been living in the Philippines for two years, working, singing and charming the people he meets. His position today as Smartmatic’s president for Asia-Pacific has ensured his group’s standing as a trusted component of the electronic voting method.

When people are skeptical and insult me, I don’t cry. I think what happens is that we know how our system works. We know that it is accurate. We knew what we were doing. We understand also that there was lack of information and time. What I always do is to tell the truth and tell our side of the story. Those who choose not to believe, I guess now they know we were right.

After being in this business I realized that electronic voting is the right way to go. It gives the people the opportunity to have their votes counted correctly. The power of those who used to cheat was curtailed. I still want to be in this business for a long, long time.

I choose my employees if they have some experience but what I really look for in people is if they can communicate. If they can look you in the eye. Skills and experience are important, but it is the attitude of the person. I try to look for people who are able to leave their egos behind and work as a team.

I learned how to play as a team from the time I was in high school, playing saxophone in a band. Music is team management; every now and then, one has his moment to shine, like when you do a solo. I was also part of many organizations. When I was in university in Germany, I used to tutor the exchange students who would come from other countries and teach them how to adapt and guide them through the rules and regulations; organize their social activities. It has everything to do with dealing with different personalities.

A recent setback I had was professionally, the one setback we had with the compact flash cards, but we knew how to solve it and did it in record time. On a personal level, I injured my knee last year and have still not recovered. Stopped me from keeping my workout. I am a runner and like to run marathons, so I have to stop for a year, which has consequences. Trying to start again and my knee seems to be holding.

My talents include singing, running , playing some instruments, languages. I speak English, Spanish, German and a bit of Italian and French. I think one of my talents is to try and inspire people to work towards common goals.

The book I am reading now is Shantaram. It’s about this Australian guy who goes to India and ends up in jail. The book was a gift from the president and founder of Smartmatic. Another book is The Greatest Show on Earth about evolution. I have been reading a lot from this author, Richard Dawkins.

One of my fears is fear of death. That is the one fear I have. Everything else I am not so afraid of. Maybe snakes.

A memorable place I have traveled to in the past year was Palawan. My four days there showed me very nice people. I also enjoyed Shanghai a lot. One can see the city growing at a fast pace and observe the changes in the culture. It’s evidence of how the whole country is growing.

The souvenirs I choose to bring home are food-related things. When I am in Europe, I buy cheese, mustard. India or Thailand, I get spices. Maybe some clothes.

The site that inspires me is Machu Picchu. I don’t think there can be a place more magical than that. It is a combination of the culture and the setting in the middle of the mountains. These old cultures impress me because they were able to reap so much and then, for some reason, they disappear. When you are there, you can still connect to what was there, like the Aztecs and Incas.

My favorite websites are Facebook, Amazon, The Onion is very funny; Twitter, of course; local papers from Venezuela that I’ve always read since I was a kid.

The grooming basics I am never without are a good shirt, a good haircut and a good shave in the morning. And that’s it. Oh, a good watch. I don’t need anything else. If I get those things right, it won’t matter even what shoes or pants I wear.

In my fridge you’ll always find orange juice, whole-wheat bread, cheese and mustard. Always you will find those four things. Always.

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