Aser

Careers

Before McKinsey, I worked for a telecom startup for several years back home, in Spain. I came to McKinsey with a desire to work with a variety of clients and industries, but expected to eventually continue working in telecom, or perhaps high-tech. When I started as a summer intern, I thought I should try another topic area, just to make sure that I liked the job for what it was, not because I liked and knew the industry I was working on. So I began working with financial institutions, and to my surprise, I really, really liked it. It's been four years and I'm still working in this industry.

A Moment in Time

I've been working with financial institutions for several years, but nothing compares to the time I spent serving these clients in 2008, during the financial crisis. Guiding my client through a moment in time when the whole fabric of their business, everything they've worked on, and everything they've done was being questioned, was just an amazing experience.

These are people who had invested 30 years of their lives in their business, and during the crisis would wake up every day, not knowing if their company would survive the day. And I was there with them through it all. I was still a counselor and an advisor, but in a completely different fashion; the human connection became so much more powerful. I sat and listened, mostly listened, and once in a while talked. I was just there for them when they needed me.

The Power to Change

I realized the power of collaboration when I was working with a client, a large insurance company, which was trying to completely redesign the way they source, recruit and retain talent. You can only begin to imagine the challenges of changing a system that has been in place for almost 100 years. Coming up with alternative models that have the potential to change how the whole industry does business would have been impossible without the collaboration that happens naturally at McKinsey. When you put all of these minds together - from different industries, geographies, backgrounds, going over every single possibility, the change that we can generate and the impact we have are fantastic.

A Common Bond

I joined McKinsey before the Hispanic and Latino consultant (HLCSS) community formally existed. Being from Spain, I never thought of myself as Hispanic. The only common bond I thought I shared with the Hispanic population was a common language. But, funny enough, that bond was extremely important for me, especially in my early days at McKinsey. I found a group of people that I could connect with and easily relate to.

I found such comfort in those connections during my first months at McKinsey, that its only fair that now I give back to the HLCSS community. I've attended all of the HLCSS conferences, and helped plan the recent ones. They offer an amazing opportunity for the whole group to gather together, and the attendance is really impressive. Through the events, I've met mentors who've helped me in my career, and connected with new associates, whom I enjoy mentoring.

What I do in my free time

I have very young twin daughters, so all of my free time goes to them. My other passion is photography. I used to focus on landscapes, skylines, and street photography, but now my daughters are my primary subjects. I'll most likely have every second of their lives documented.