The last book you read: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Favorite song: Felices los 4 by Maluma
Favorite food: Guacamole, Shish Barak
Role model / style icon: Jennifer Aniston
Something you can't live without: Family
Q. What's a typical day at work for you?
A. In the morning, I check my emails and respond to the immediate requests (because there are always some). Then, I prepare my meetings for the day. In my free time, I take the opportunity to move forward with my projects, follow up with our partners and colleagues, plan upcoming projects.
Q. How has your role evolved since starting at Ardene?
A. My role has changed. I had started by working on design projects with my colleagues only in the same department. Now I'm more and more involved with other departments, including marketing, visual and operations. My role has become multi and cross disciplinary, even within the construction department. I do various tasks not only related to design, but also to planning, development and management.
Q. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
A. One of the projects I'm most proud of is our Fashion District store in Pennsylvania. We did a remarkable design under very challenging conditions, a pandemic, very specific rules to get a building permit in the city of Philadelphia and very particular dimensions. We made it happen!
Q. What challenges have you overcome in your career, and what did you learn from them?
A. At the beginning of my career, I wasn't fluent in English. I forced myself to speak, even if I made mistakes or had an accent. Another challenge for me was to break through my shyness and lead meetings. Later on, I realized that I loved doing this. In construction, there are always unforeseen circumstances. You have to adapt and do the best you can. There are always solutions.
Q. What advice would give to someone starting a career in your field?
A. Store construction is a field that requires a lot of adaptability and flexibility. You have to get used to it. In design, a project is never complete; there's always room for improvement. Function guides design, and a functional and efficient design will always be good.