Ernesto Martínez Lara is the CEO of Thermokold and the Professional of the Month in this edition representing Mexico.
by Duván Chaverra Agudelo
The engineer Ernesto Martínez Lara considers his family as the main engine to get ahead since he has had to overcome many obstacles to get to where he is now, both personally and in the workplace, and it is in this last aspect for which he has been recognized as the Professional of the month on behalf of Mexico.
Ernesto Martínez is the current CEO of the company Thermokold and has a beautiful family made up of his wife, his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter and a baby who will come into his life in about seven months; In addition, his mother and brother are also fundamental in his life and a constant support for many of the decisions he has had to make.
Our Professional of the Month is a Mexican born on May 23, 1978 in Atizapán de Zaragoza, State of Mexico, and his family is of Yucatecan origin. "I received until primary education in the State of Mexico and when my father died (October 1988) my mother decided to return to her land, which was the first milestone of definition in my life, since that allowed me to settle, know and educate myself in this region that would later be the pillar of my way of thinking about business."
To learn more about the protagonist of this article, it is important to tell his story from the beginning: Ernesto studied Industrial Engineering at the Technological Institute of Mérida, from where he graduated in 2001. He came to Thermokold when it was already constituted and therefore "my first formal job, full-time and with direct responsibilities was that of microentrepreneur, since before that I only had project or part-time jobs, which even well paid, I could not compare them to the challenge of undertaking, with all the intrinsic risks", explained the guest.
The decisions he has made in his life have been vital to being in the place he now occupies within the air conditioning and refrigeration sector, which he says will remain intimately linked until the end of his days.
"For a brief previous job, in which I worked in an ice factory as a production supervisor, I had the opportunity to have the first direct encounter with the refrigeration industry, which motivated me to study on my own and read about it; later, from everyday experience, it would be the motivator to undertake an air conditioning and refrigeration business, but that in a short time would be fully defined and oriented towards advice, sale, installation and preventive and corrective service for residential, commercial and industrial air conditioning equipment".
With humility, Ernesto recognizes and thanks the teachings of all the professionals he has encountered on his way: "Taking into account that I started from the bottom, I have had the opportunity to be a student of everyday heroes, of the people who solve the great problems every day to bring sustenance to their families: from the assistant to the best technicians; from the draftsman to the most renowned designers in my region; from the counter salesman of parts and equipment to the directors of the big manufacturers in the industry. That is why I have been able to learn and recognize part of everything I need to know and develop, as well as forge and define the principles and guiding policies both for my working life and for the companies I manage today. "
This means that selecting the ideal staff is an important aspect in the success of a company, in addition to the good relationship with employees: "While I am convinced that great organizations are like that because of their people, I also believe that there are three types of people: those who make things happen, those who follow and help those who make things happen, and those that oppose and obstruct those that make things happen," said the engineer.
Large companies have great challenges and therefore, the main objective of our guest is clear: "In this section we have a lot of opportunity to improve, because the company is not yet on a plateau and continues to develop, but it is already defined, it knows perfectly what it wants, and it has a good number of valuable collaborators who have the right to development and training, as well as better job opportunities; I would like to think that we will get to the point where for each position we have the best job offers in the industry."
Other hobbies
Ernesto says that there are several hobbies he uses to get out of business routines such as traveling and knowing new places, fishing, diving, building scale boats; but it is also testing new activities.
"At the moment I am learning painting techniques for modeling, as well as how to keep firearms in optimal condition, because target shooting is also my hobby and I collect weapons within the current regulations of the country in which I live. In short, I enjoy what I have to do, so I can do what I want and share it all the time with those I want. The best teaching my mother could give me is that happiness is a decision, and my wife and daughter have helped me decide to always be happy."
Likewise, our Guest Professional has a very clear goal, and that is to try to share as much time as possible with his family, so he works hard to make it happen as soon as possible: "My most important personal challenge is to be a good husband, father, son and brother. For this I have the firm intention of being able to dissociate myself from the operation of the companies that I represent in about ten years, to dedicate more time to the education of my offspring at the time and to be able to venture into other areas of my interest. It is for that reason that the plans and objectives of my work are so punctual and my schedule so tight, but this end justifies the means."
Mexico: present and future
Throughout his twelve years of experience, Ernesto Martínez has experienced an absolute transformation of the HVAC/R market, for that reason he has the faculty to analyze in depth the current state of the industry in his country: "I think the most notable change is the boom of the residential market and the Asian maquila, as well as the increase of brands and competition in the market. Today, for the residential market, everyone can buy an air conditioning system in a supermarket or a department store, which has led to the growth of companies that have been able to adapt to this and the disappearance of those that have not. "
It is for this reason that the Professional of the Month highlights training as a fundamental aspect in the progress of the sector in our region: "The biggest challenge is not only to adapt to the changes that the industry has suffered but to understand that today the market is so dynamic that the only immutable thing is change; and it must be part of our daily preparation to continue to interpret where the opportunities are going and to prepare before the conditions are right."
Finally, the CEO of Thermokold gave his forecast on what awaits the HVAC industry in the future, highlighting the dynamism of the industry in Latin America because "Asian manufacturers want a bigger piece of the pie and not only for residential equipment maquila, but also with the development of their brands and with commercial and industrial equipment. Similarly, companies are regrouping, and we see purchases, acquisitions and mergers of transnational groups with great influence."
According to Ernesto Martínez, the added value is the key: "the opportunities, in my opinion, are in the companies that generate more value in both products and services, regardless of whether they are manufacturers, distributors or service providers; if they don't, the threat is disappearance."
