Latino Business Speakers Bureau: Leandro Margullis
story by: David Gomez
Before there were GPS devices most people who traveled to a new place depended on the availability of maps. Those red and blue lines that showed which roads connected with the highways and determined the distance between points were critical to navigation a few decades ago. Those lines connected places and locations and for sojourners they also connected experiences and people. Connecting is very important to Leandro Margulis. Not only is he the inventor of a durable RFID device to track high valuable asset through harsh environments but he also is one of the most connected people on LinkedIn. His connections are the product of necessity. When he arrived in the US,he soon became aware of how many people interacted in clusters and that he often felt like an outsider. Fortunately, he would not remain unconnected for long.
Leandro was born in Buenos Aires, Argentinabut moved to the US afterthe unrest that followed his homeland’s economic collapse at the turn of the century. There were several factors that prompted his relocation to theUS, the unemployment rate for his age group was very high, there were safety concerns, and additionaleconomic difficulties related to Argentina’s crisis. He arrived in Florida where he completed his B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering.He completed his MBA from Yale University with an emphasis on strategy and business development. After he completed his education, he made his way into the west coast and finally settled in San Francisco, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley. In contrast to the unrestand instabilityback home, Leandro’s career flourished in the US. He is a successful leader in thetech industry,and continuously looks for ways to innovate. He was awarded one of the RFID patents (for durable under harsh environments) andhas introduced applications that utilizeglobal positioning systems to matchemployeeprofiles, suggest food options, and gather customer data.For Leandro, it is important to help others succeed in their careers and he has an honest desire to help. His main advice for success is a novel approach to networking by rethinking the value of the “weakest” link.
When Leandro arrived in the US,he felt he was an outsider because people frequented certain clusters of connections and it was usually difficult to connect between them. Upon analyzing how to connect and enter these clusters he became aware of the power of the members of those clusters who were traditionally considered the “weakest” link. Those people connect more often and with more people simply because they are not intimately connected to their cluster;instead,they are loosely connected to many others. He understood that it was a choice to be the “weakest” link. It requires an intentional effort to be in many different groups. What this connector has in mind is looking for groups that can benefit from one another and to have a genuine motivation to help. What he has learned from the exercise ofnetworking and continuously looking to help others is that the more he gives and helps others,the more he receives back. One recommendation he gives to those who want to improve their networking is to take a fresh look at the group of people that they are usually hanging out with. He says, “If you’re only hanging out with the same people you are part of a cluster and you should try a new activity, sign up for a new event, or a new Zoom webinar and look at ways that you can bring value to others.”