Latino Business Speakers Bureau: Julio Echegoyen
story by: David Gomez
One word to describe Julio Echegoyen is passion. He is aware of his unapologeticpassionate personality. He cherishes this part of his personalitybecause he is aware of the power of being himself. His culture and heritage are hisvalue proposition. He attributes his heritage asthe foundation of his work ethic and dedication. He doesn’t limit the reach of his passion; he brings it to work every day and shares with his team members. At work, he has builta culture that enables his teamto care deeply and that allows them to be themselves. Seeing Julio share his lifestoryand his thoughts on leadership is an experience on its own. He shareshis vision and his thoughts like someone who has found a great treasure and wants to share it with the world.
Julio’s story isfilled with positivity and lessons about the beauty of letting life happen. He attributes faith and family as the most criticalfactors to his success. Had he controlled and pursued his goals in the order he set for himself he would have missed out. He credits God for the twists and turns that brought him to the US from El Salvador through a Walton Scholarship. His wife came to the US from Guatemala through the same scholarshipand he is aware of the unlikely odds for them to have foundeach other in their own terms. It is only througha grand design that Julio’s life has been aligned for these greatthings.His advice is to let life happen and to know God’s plans for our life is better than our own. Allowing his faith to lead the course his life takes has opened great opportunities. Currently he is the Manager of Procter & Gamble Walmart international team. The opportunity to work for this great company brought Julio back to the US, to the Northwest Arkansas Region. How allof these amazing events fell into place preciselygives him the assurance that God has his hand on his life, and that gives him great comfort.
Among the great qualities in Julio’s leadership is his clarity of vision and methodical approach to networking. It’s refreshing to hear his perspective on personal growth. His advice is simple yetpowerful, “become an expert at what you do.” What makes his advice challenging is thatit requires a mindset change. “You must become a life-long learner,” he says. Becoming an expert takes ownershipand pride in the work one does. It’s a continuous effort to be a valuable member of the team and to find creative ways to contribute to the organization.Those efforts are geared towards learning, studying, asking feedback, networking, and bouncing ideas with mentors. Following his approach will open up doors and earn the respect of peers and leaders. Julio has seen how these activities have led to a successful career and he wants others to find success in their careers by applying thesm. One of the most recent projects he is working on is being a part of LatinXNA and SERVE2PERFORM, two companies based of Northwest Arkansas that provide services for Latinos (LatinXNA) and career development (SERVE2PERFORM). He sees thevalue in these organizations because they helpLatinos grow in their professional careers. He feels that giving back and helping others is a way to fulfil his life’s purpose.