In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., we’re featuring stories and perspectives of Hispanic employees.
Omar’s Hispanic heritage drives his character at work in four strong ways: hospitality, optimism, adaptability and engagement.
Tell us about your career path.
I began my career with Enterprise in 2015 as a Staff Accountant in Puerto Rico. I quickly progressed in Business Management and was promoted to Accounting Supervisor.
In 2018, I earned a promotion to Assistant Controller of Group C2 – Toronto. After my success in C2, I was promoted to Regional Business Manager in Group 32 – Southern California. In August 2020, I was promoted to Group Business Manager in Puerto Rico, the Group where I began my career. In August of 2022, I earned my most recent promotion as the Controller of Group P1 – Puerto Rico.
What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?
Hispanic Heritage month provides opportunities to reflect on challenges that we experience as a minority group, celebrate the success in overcoming these challenges and promote the education of our culture to others.
This month provides a platform to share with the world our pride and highlight our history. As a Hispanic leader, I believe it is important to share my culture and acknowledge the significant positive influence it has over my community and the world.
What aspects of your Hispanic Heritage would you like to share with others?
There are four words that come to mind when I think of Hispanic heritage: hospitality, optimism, adaptability and engagement.
Hospitality – One common trait among all Hispanic cultures is our hospitality. Our culture promotes being friendly and welcoming to all people: strangers, guests, friends and family are all treated the same. I enjoy sharing that warmth and approachability from my culture during work, whether it is in our Admin office or in the field.
Optimism – Optimism is not only rooted in our religious culture but also the foundation of our Hispanic culture to overcome the many struggles faced within our history. This hopefulness and the continued confidence of a successful future is what guides me to have a goal-oriented approach with my team, even during challenging times.
Adaptability – I have had the opportunity to work with three different Groups, in three different countries/territories. My Puerto Rican culture provided me with the skills to adapt to different cultures quickly and led me to be a successful leader for my teams, regardless of the country I was leading in.
Engagement – I come from a big family that lives close to one another. Our culture promotes being unified, living and gathering together, and supporting and staying engaged with each other. This foundation of my family influenced how I support my colleagues and keep my teams engaged, which leads to their success and high performance.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
It is great to work for a company that offers the opportunity for success and growth in different states, countries and parts of the world. I think it’s crucial to be reminded that not everyone speaks English as their first language. The ability to speak multiple languages, regardless of which is your first, should always be approached as a strength as it provides further opportunity for growth within our business and can lead to excellent results.
I am thankful to the company for providing this opportunity to share my culture, experience and Hispanic heritage.
