For over 10 years, Equinix has been preparing to meet the needs of the digital content industry. Its confidence in its strategy to predict the trends in technology has helped this NASDAQ-listed company to be a major player in Silicon Valley with gross profit earnings of $400 million in their 2009 annual report.
Helping Equinix to move along is our bachelor, Victor Barrios, the director of finance for this data center group. His friends call him “Lucky” but much of his success comes from hard work. His qualifications as a chartered financial analyst took years to earn and he topped it with his MBA from Anderson School in UCLA.
Today, our six-foot-tall bachelor also volunteers much of his time to helping the Filipino community thrive. In his capacity as president of the San Francisco Fil-Am Chamber, Lucky’s enthusiasm to unite Flipinos is catching on.
It is about fundraising since he needs to be certain there are funds available to ensure the operations and sustain the long-term goals. It is about having programs that create awareness for Filipino businesses. This means that he has to tap business leaders and politicians to figure out what interests them about the Filipino communities. What Lucky then does is to create business matchmaking program. For starters, there are certain companies in the US who are by law mandated to give contracts to minority-owned businesses and these are programs that Lucky makes his Filipino members aware of. Networking events and luncheons with executives and guest speakers are part of the activities he also promotes.
One of my goals this year is to be paperless. I want to be more efficient in doing my work and organizing my life with less paper. It’s a combination of using my iPhone with an application called Evernote, which allows me to type up all my notes, take photos, scan receipts and sync them all on my computer.
My personal style signifier would be my grooming. I am conservative but people think I have a modern edgy touch.
The last meal that truly impressed me was just last night. I had a meal in a Filipino-Asian restaurant called The Addict. I took my co-workers and they were all blown away by the crab fried rice with taba ng talangka, salpicao, garlic noodles, adobo honey glazed chicken wings. One focus in the Fil-Am chamber is to promote Filipino restaurants; we have some young professionals who have food trucks that serve sisig tacos. In this economy, people are very open to that. It is definitely a new medium.
One of my fears is being on my deathbed and realizing that I did not do enough to take risks and give back in some way.
What helped me to conquer fear is to use fear as a motivator. I focus on the future and know that I don’t want to be the person that ends up full of regrets.
My father would often tell me that in business there is a way to have integrity and it may be challenged but there is a way to practice that.
The last thing I bought and loved was my iPad. I use it to read books, check my e-mails, browse the Internet, play games. I am a loyal Apple fan.
The thing I’m hoping to buy next is a nice black Gucci suit.
If I had to limit my travels to one city it would have to be a choice between New York and Barcelona, but maybe I would choose Barcelona. I lived in Barcelona for four months and realized a lot about enjoying my life and the moment, and living a certain way.
A memorable place I have traveled to in the past year is Croatia with its exciting country feel. The food was amazing. Beautiful islands.
The site that inspires and moves me is in Barcelona. Every time I look at the Sagrada Familia, I take a moment to look at the sculptures and the architecture. So much emotion, so much story, even if it is not yet finished. I am so much in awe.
And the best gift I’ve received recently was from my friend, Liberty. She took me to the first game of our baseball team, the Giants, in the World Series. It was a magical moment
In my fridge you’ll always find it empty. I live by myself, so all I might have is water. Maybe milk.
My favorite websites are NY Times and Facebook (I am guilty).
My style icon is the brand, J Crew. It is a mix of preppy and rugged in a classy, sophisticated way.
In school, I learned how to work in teams. I had no choice but to work with them. I also learned about how to deal with ambitious, type-A aggressive people.
After being in business, I realized that more than making money, I would rather love what I do. Chasing the money does not give you the satisfaction that self-fulfillment does.
I choose employees who are happy people. There are five people working underneath me so they need their chemistry to work within the existing team.
My talents include developing relationships and making friends with people.
The book I am reading now is The Four Hour Work Week. It is about personal productivity; being effective at how you organize your life, starting a new business and how you consume information. The whole point is how to be efficient.
I remember an embarrassing moment at work when I showed up wearing exactly the same colors as my colleague. Light blue shirt, dark pants. We looked like twins.
The way I plan my day is I try not to look at e-mails first. I get my list and look at my calendar. Ask myself in this day what are the two things that will make me feel good if I get them done.
When dealing with people I realize that there are certain people who do not have the best intentions. There are pretty mean people. I cannot please everyone. If someone is at odds with me, I do not have to necessarily include them in my life. I try to treat them with respect but I focus on the people that I actually trust. In the past I used to be open to everyone but it just did not work out. Now, I am conservative in how I handle people. I choose to spend my time and energy with certain people. Life is all about pulling and pushing our own self-interest and so I choose who I want to have that exchange with.
* * *
E-mail aurorawilson@gmail.com.