Q: Are you where you’ve always wanted to be?
A: No, I am always striving for more in my life; to be a better person.
Q: What is your biggest professional challenge?
A: My challenge is coordinating a global operation with many moving parts, cultures, personalities, time zones and work capabilities to meet our guest demands for all our resorts and casinos.
Q: What is your biggest life challenge?
A: Quality time with my loving wife; that I work to live, but do not live for work.
Q: When you look to the future what do you see?
A: In my profession, it is always a changing environment and staying ahead of the curve to meet the guest demands for hospitality. New technology, design concepts, restaurant food and beverage menus, casino gaming is ever demanding. A guest is always seeking the newest in quality or at least try and see if they like it the new product.
Q: What is your favourite pastime?
A: Watching and playing sports. I am an avid basketballer, surfer and sailor, plus a wannabe golfer. I think I am decent in my own mind.
Q: What is your favourite meal?
A: I am Mexican-Italian American, so I am from the melting pot culture of the United States of America. My comfort food is Mexican and Latin foods, it always reminds me of home from my mother and grandmother’s days of cooking.
Q: On Saturday nights where are you likely to be?
A: Coming from a nice day of sailing and relaxing on a soft lounge chair with a cold cocktail to watch the sun set. At my age, I do not stay out late unless I am working on a new food and beverage concept and design.
Q: What upsets you the most?
A: People who are close-minded and racist. I was raised to be opened-minded and always be friendly and polite. I do not tolerate closed minds and racist individuals anytime, anywhere.
Q: What is your guiding philosophy?
A: Strive for a better day in life, each day.
Q: If you had the chance to manage Barbados for a day, what would you do?
A: Find more planes from other countries to continue to build the economy. Open up to more markets, look at the CARICOM islands surrounding Barbados, they have mass tourism year-round and all of them are past the recession with record numbers in the hotel sector.
My company is ready to re-invent Barbados hospitality, but we cannot take the risk when there is no reward out the window. We need more flights, more guests in this global economy of hospitality.
