I saw him for the first time in 1998, when I was working on a network optimisation project for Telefónica R&D and his people were working on the Actions Manager, another route optimisation project. I would not see him again until 10 years later, but even so, his image was fixed in my mind: a robust man, with a powerful voice and a strange accent, which I later learnt was reminiscent of his native Argentina, an accent that would invade his voice again every time he returned from a trip to that country. I was also struck by his presence. I am sure he was wearing a suit and tie (he was visiting a client), but that is not how I remember him. I remember he was friendly and natural.
Although it was the first time I saw him, I had heard a lot about him. On the one hand, he had just left his position as General Manager of ILOG, now IBM and, since I had contact with some people in that company, he was often the subject of our conversations. On the other hand, he had just established with his wife, Claudia, the business of his life, INAD (INtelligent ADvisors), focusing, like DECIDE, on Decision Support Systems. I worked regularly with INAD employees, so I kept abreast of all his progress as an entrepreneur. He took care of his people, and his people appreciated it. Also, Guillermo Vázquez was very well known in Telefónica R&D. He was nicknamed “kilo more”, because to get you to join his company he would not hesitate to offer you a million pesetas more (€6,000 for you younger ones) than your current salary if he thought you had talent.
So, when I saw him then I already knew a lot about him. He came up to me and, although I did not work for his company, he showed interest in me and my work. We had a brief and pleasant conversation, and then he went for lunch with the INAD people to Los Chavales, a nearby seafood restaurant. As mentioned, the moment was fixed in my mind for 10 years, when I saw him again.
Shortly afterwards I joined ILOG, were I worked until Decide was created. Over that whole period of time Guillermo was present, sometimes collaborating with us, other times competing, but always present.
Guillermo’s relationship with the embryo of Decide (its partners) was continuous. He is the one who interviewed Alberto when he joined ILOG in 1997 and, years later, when Alberto had problems upon his return from the United States, he readily helped him. Eugenio was his employee for many years before founding DECIDE and, similarly, he was helped by him when he needed it. Manuel did not meet him in person until he joined DECIDE, although he heard all about his relationship with Alberto.
In 2008, just after DECIDE was created, Guillermo approached us, through Alberto, to propose some collaboration. INAD had been acquired by the Group Altran, and Guillermo, although he had no need for it, was looking for new challenges. Soon he became a board member for Decide, and shortly afterwards, our partner. I think what he saw in us was a second opportunity to found INAD. I think he was able to appreciate the enthusiasm all the partners felt for Decide, he was able to see our skills (at that time, essentially technical), and he went to work to turn us into real entrepreneurs. It is very difficult to explain what Guillermo meant for me and for Decide, but I’ll try to do so in this post.
For me, Guillermo was a friend, an advisor (in my private and my professional life), a colleague in sports and, above all, one of those people capable of introducing radical changes to the way I see things: in politics, Max Neri was the person who turned everything I thought around. In business, it was Guillermo. With him I went from being a geek to being an entrepreneurial geek. Those who know me, know I am a reflective person, and when engaging in a conversation or discussion I use well-entrenched arguments. But Guillermo was the light. He would talk and he would listen, he addressed things from your perspective, not his, and he was capable of making you see his standpoint from yours. He was an extraordinary communicator. And he cared. He cared about everything he did and about the people around him.
It is clear to me that to a great extent Decide is what it is thanks to Guillermo’s advice and dedication. I don’t know what Decide would be now if he hadn’t been there, but what I do know is that it would have been very different. He helped us with structure, he helped us with strategy, he helped us with sales. He helped us whenever he could and in whatever way he could. I remember him at all internal strategy presentations and how he followed it all sitting in a corner at the back, and I would be talking and looking at his face. With a gesture he would let me know whether it was going well or not, and just knowing he was there and looking at him, I felt confident. Every time I was unsure about how to act, how to approach something, I just had to call him. He was always available (occasionally I would catch him on the run and he would stop and talk to me), and I knew whatever he told me would be helpful. If any business owner is reading this, they will understand the importance of having someone like that by your side in such a lonely position. Always positive, always creating, and always communicating his strength and drive, the main traits of his personality.
On 18 May 2012, at the age of 50, and completely unexpectedly, he died.
His service was attended by people from ILOG, more from INAD and almost everyone at DECIDE. Here and on behalf of all the partners of DECIDE, I would like to thank you all for being there.
I would like this post to be a tribute to Guillermo, as advisor and as a friend, as a key element of Decide’s genome that will last forever. How many times, today, do we the partners ask ourselves, every time we face a problem:
What would Guillermo say?
