Hero Barrios: From Harvard Business School to Wall Street
Being a vice president at a $10-billion private equity fund in Los Angeles, California, is a position that thrills Hero Barrios. It seemed a natural job for him to assume after he graduated from Harvard Business School in June 2008. He had worked as an investment banker before Harvard and had paid his own tuition fees and living expenses for his MBA program. Upon graduation, the economic outlook was optimistic; people were happy and our bachelor landed his dream job. A mere three months later, Wall Street was seemingly on the brink of collapse and many people were uncertain of their future. His first year and a half at work was challenging. Existing investments were challenged by the recession. No new deals were coming through. Hero persevered. Amid the financial and economic chaos, he took the opportunity to keep in touch with his classmates. Today, he is busy making new investments. His role consists of evaluating potential investments in multi-billion-dollar leveraged buyout transactions.
Hero, 32, believes that the opportunities for investing are shifting to the East as emerging economies become the engines of worldwide growth. He eagerly looks forward to doing his first deal in his native Philippines. His next holiday scheduled this February will be engaged in furnishing his condominium in McKinley Garden Villas, Taguig.
I get inspired working on Wall Street and the finance industry. You are pumping out against some of the smartest minds and when you are surrounded by that and competing with them, it pushes you to be the best.
My personal style signifier is my Persol 649 sunglasses. I’ve owned my pair for years — it’s classic. If I’m wearing them, that means I’m out and about enjoying the sun.
What makes me happy is when I’m able to spend time with my entire family. We are spread out all over the world so I truly cherish the moments that we spend together.
The last meal that truly impressed me was at Urasawa in Beverly Hills. The chef, Hiro-san, personally serves each of the customers at the sushi bar — there are only 10 seats in the entire restaurant. Hiro-san, who has two Michelin stars, creates innovative and delicious omakase dishes including shabu-shabu foie gras and an amazing variety of sushi flown in from all over the world.
Some of my fears are death and failure.
What helped me to conquer fear is realizing that we all have a limited time to walk this earth. There is not enough time to live a life of fear or worrying.
Best quality about me is my loyalty to my friends and family. I am fiercely loyal to the important people in my life.
Worst quality is my pride. I guess I’m a typical Leo.
A recent find is my pair of Tellason jeans. I’ve owned many pairs of jeans but the fit is perfect on the Tellasons. It’s entirely made in the USA.
The last thing I bought and loved was the game Angry Birds for my iPhone. It’s incredibly addicting. I recently read that people worldwide spend 200 million minutes a day playing this game. The best $0.99 I’ve spent!
The best gift I’ve received recently is a watch winder. I have a couple of watches that need to be rewound. The winder moves the watch around so it is always on.
If I had to limit my travels to one city it would be New York City. Despite having lived there and visiting many times, there’s a certain vibrant energy that’s unique to Manhattan. It truly is a world city that attracts people from all over the world.
A memorable place I have traveled to is Montenegro. It’s Croatia’s less-touristy neighbor. We went from the beautiful beaches in Sveti Stefan to Njego’s mausoleum atop the mountains in Loven.
The souvenirs I choose to bring home are pictures. In my apartment, I have a wall with snapshots I’ve taken during my travels across the globe.
The site that inspires me is the city of San Francisco. I grew up in “The City.” Whenever I go home and see what’s arguably one of the prettiest cities in world, I always ask myself why I don’t live there.
In my fridge you’ll always find coconut water. It’s tasty and has plenty of electrolytes!
My favorite websites are www.gizmodo.com and www.jalopnik.com.
I am proud of the San Francisco Giants. Growing up as a fan, I experienced so many heartbreaking seasons. They were underdogs up until the very end — no one expected them to be World Series champions.
Beside my bed are the latest issues of The Economist and Monocle.
My style icon is Steve McQueen. He was “The King of Cool.” His style is timeless. Plus he raced motorcycles and cars — that’s just cool.
If I weren’t doing what I do, I’d be a racecar driver. I’m a car fanatic. I love racing my BMW M3 at the track.
The grooming basic I am never without is hairstyling cream. My hair gets crazy without it.
In school, I learned the importance of networking. Business school had 900 people in my class, which were broken down into sections of 90 people. In the second year, we intermingled with other classes and met up at the bars and parties. One of the best things is the diversity because a lot of people are from different countries and now, I have a friend in almost every country.
After being in business, I realized success is a product of hard work and little bit of luck.
The sport I do the most is CrossFit. It’s my workout. It consists of high-intensity, functional body movements: pushups, pull-ups and Olympic lifts.
The book I am reading now is The Big Short by Michael Lewis.
The way I plan my day is through the use of to-do lists. I prioritize and complete each task.
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E-mail: aurorawilson@gmail.com
