Opportunity is Achievement – Luis Portillo

Posted on: October 26th, 2020 by Emily Novotny | No Comments

For CITY’s Director of Operations Luis Portillo, it’s hard to stand still. From making sure everything goes according to plan, to ensuring everyone is safe, he’s constantly moving forward.

 

“I always strive to be better personally and professionally,” Luis said. “It was part of why I moved to Iowa because CITY gives me the opportunity for a brighter and better future.”

Luis Portillo is CITY's first hispanic Director of Operations.

Luis Portillo took over as Director of Operations in January of 2020 and is now overseeing several important upgrades to CITY’s plant.

 

Luis immigrated to the United States from his native home country of Mexico in 2003. After graduating from The Institute of Technologico in Chihuahua, Mexico with a degree in industrial engineering he started his career as an intern with a tool manufacturer.

 

His dedication and commitment led him to a corporate position. Throughout his 20-year career, Luis worked in quality control and held several management positions.

 

While it’s in his blood to always push forward and find new challenges, he knew CITY was the right place for him when the opportunity arose and in January of 2020, Luis accepted the position of Director of Operations for CITY.

 

“When I found CITY, I immediately said, ‘Let’s do it,” Luis said. “I love the way our president Colin Wetlaufer thinks. He wants to grow, and I want to be part of that. One of the biggest things for me is not just coming to work and just doing your job. I don’t like that. I like the excitement of doing new things and making everyone better.”

 

After safety, the most important thing is to be efficient and productive,” Luis said. “Do more with less and we’ll get there, that’s my philosophy. As a business, you need to make money, so you need to be efficient.”

 

In turn, CITY adjusted its strategy to continue to serve customers the best way possible while keeping safety at the top of mind. A new benefit to CITY’s workforce is the fact that Luis is fluent in both English and Spanish.

 

“I think diversity will help us to be better,” Luis said. “It brings different ways of solving problems. I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a benefit. I think it’s going to enable us to be better.”

 

As the Director of Operations, Luis is constantly analyzing the current status and what can be done to make himself and the people around him better.

 

From a young age, Luis knew what he wanted to be. His father and brother are both pilots. But when they climbed into the cockpit, they were more interested in the engine and how the plane worked. For Luis, that mindset made his interest in engineering and operations very apparent.

When Luis and his family moved to the United States, Luis said it wasn’t easy for anyone.

 

“It was hard,” Luis said. “My family didn’t want us to move out of Mexico because they wanted us and their grandkids at home.”

 

But like anything, Luis was focused more on what was best for his wife and two boys.

 

“I think it was good for all of us,” Luis said. Especially as a family, because I wanted to be better for us and I can do exactly that here at CITY.”

 

In the spring and summer, you can find Luis on the nearest soccer pitch coaching young kids to be the best they can be in all aspects of life. He has played the sport and coached soccer for decades. And just like for his players, at work, it’s about being better as a team and finding ways to constantly improve day in and day out because the opportunity is the achievement.

 

“There are plenty of things and huge opportunities that are still in front of us,” Luis said. “It’s not like, “Oh, we’re done.” No, we always have a long way to go.”

 


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