1. What was your first job and what did it teach you?

From late middle to early high school, I worked seasonally as a porter at the Port of Norfolk. It involved nonstop handling of cargo and passenger luggage on and off trucks and cruise ships in the summer heat. The porters who worked there full-time showed me a different kind of grit and toughness that I had never seen before that point in my life.

2. What is your career history?

After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in finance, I moved to Atlanta and joined General Electric’s Financial Management Program. I was inspired by Dave Calhoun, then a top executive at GE and now CEO at Boeing, who visited campus and talked to a group of us at the business school. I made my way to Raleigh-Durham and joined IBM where I worked in Mergers & Acquisitions to integrate software companies. I shifted locally into the dynamic world of biotech in a commercial finance role at bioMérieux, which helped me find my way back home to the New River Valley to join TechLab, a fantastic medical diagnostics company headquartered in the Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg. Today, I’m nearing 6 years at Inorganic Ventures (IV Labs), a specialty chemical manufacturer in Christiansburg, and serve as COO & CFO.

3. What skills have you found vital to your job at Inorganic Ventures?

Having a foundation in accounting and finance is valuable. The knowledge I gained from those fields is translatable to every industry. While probably not considered a “skill,” I’ve learned that hard work, a good attitude, and an endless love of learning are even more vital than technical skills.

4. How would you describe your leadership style?

While dependent on the situation, I naturally have a mix of collaborative and servant leadership styles and am learning to grow into transformational leadership. You can probably see the common thread here: people. While I have a diverse experience background, I know that I don’t have all the answers, so I focus on building teams with great people who have complementary experiences.

5. What have you learned so far as a GO Virginia Region 2 Council member?

The council is a group of eager, connected, and accomplished advocates of the region, supported by a talented staff. We have a lot of opportunity in the region that requires both talent and monetary resources in order to advance it to the next level. The real work of the council is about connecting those resources to the right people to unlock the region’s potential.

6. Are there any specific ways your work at Inorganic Ventures has tied into your work on the Region 2 Council?

When we are successful as a region, we attract talented people, which grows the talent pool not only for our company but for other organizations as well. GO Virginia Region 2 is focused on attracting and retaining talent, which is necessary for any business’s success.

7. Can you talk about why a program like GO Virginia is important for community and economic development?

As a state-level initiative, GO Virginia has a large commitment to the commonwealth and has the ability to tangibly help communities with deliverables that grow jobs and quality of life. It has a real impact with real dollars and real jobs, which is refreshing.

8. Is there anything that you would like to see GO Virginia Region 2 do more of in the future?

I am still learning about the potential of the region. Though I’ve been back in the area for a decade now, I have only recently started putting together the pieces of what we are capable of. My vision is for the region to be a soughtafter destination, where people go to live, vacation, or start up businesses. It has everything for the right type of person, with numerous natural amenities and a charming pace of life. What’s needed is a catalyst to grow momentum in the region and help it flourish.

9. Who has been your greatest mentor and what did you learn from them?

The founder and chairman of IV Labs, Dr. Paul Gaines and the former CEO of the Virginia Tech Foundation and fellow Region 2 council member, John Dooley have been long-term mentors of mine. Both of these men have helped inspire my people-focused leadership style. They genuinely care about people, which is the best place to start when you want to become a leader.

10. What is the most memorable place you have ever visited?

The most memorable place I have visited is my father’s hometown of Lawy, a small village in the Philippines. My parents immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in the 1970s. My father’s hometown was rural and agricultural and had no running water, plumbing, or electricity. It was starkly different from what I had grown up with. Visiting the Philippines helped me better understand my parents’ philosophy of raising me and my brother and allowed me to learn more about my heritage.