If you meet a Stradigi AI staffer, chances are the first thing they’ll say to you about their job is that their team “feels like a family.” Carlos Romero, our Vice President of Technology, has been with the Stradigi AI for 8 years now. He’s an IT expert, and, typical to start-up-turned-successful-business, during the early days of Stradigi AI, Carlos tried his hand multiple roles, like account management. No matter what, he always came back to his first love — IT.
Learn a little bit about Carlos, his background, and his expert career advice for people who want to grow their careers in a fast-growing company in this Q&A.
I’m originally from Colombia, and I came to Montreal about 10 years ago via Miami. I love Miami, but moved to Montreal because my wife is from here. In terms of my career, I had always been obsessed with computers and everything that had to do with hacking, tweaking, disassembling.. anything like that. I studied Computer Networking Studies at school.
At the time, the very first members of the Stradigi AI were looking for a system admin to make sure everything was set up properly. There were plenty of opportunities at big IT firms around me — but I was set on working at a small place where I could grow. I also loved the variety of products they were working on and, of course, that it was a Mac-only office!
It was exciting to watch everything evolve. I really loved the opportunity to have several hands in the company; I was even the office manager at some point! In the past 8 years I’ve tried so much. But I’m extremely happy to be doing what I love most and really providing my expertise to our clients and with the team being the Vice President of IT.
Be open minded. Listen to the market and listen to every opinion that you can, because you never know where you’re going to find that ‘golden nugget.’ Don’t be afraid of change and embrace the pace.
What I love most about my job is that it’s all about problem solving. If I can put my headphones in and tackle an issue and find the perfect solution in a short amount of time, that makes me happy. It’s very satisfying to fix something that’s making someone feel stressed. In IT especially, you’re typically responsible for setting everything up. But when the unexpected comes in, that’s where you really need to shine. Just say: ‘How fast can I fix it?’ Then put your cape on and do it.
I LOVE working on new projects. At Stradigi AI, we’re always using the latest technologies on the market, and we make sure we’re up to par with the best of the best. That means I’m exposed to new ideas and new technologies all the time, and that level of innovation is hard to come across!
I love to go to Mount Royal — it’s so quiet and peaceful that you forget you’re in the centre of the city.
