My Bio and What Moves Me to Write on Medium
Our lives during the post-World War II were challenging. Less so to what could await our children and expect our grandchildren.
I enjoyed a peaceful life in primary and secondary school in the west of Venezuela, where the main economic activity came from oil refining. At the age of 17, I entered the engineering school of Central University in Caracas. Those were times of great political turmoil. I had to move to a couple of universities and finally graduated as an engineer at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge (USA) at the end of 1974. I worked in a chemical company in Charlotte, North Carolina, till the end of 1975, when I returned to Venezuela.
I worked at PDVSA, the state-owned O&G company, for 28 years when another political crisis forced me -and the rest of the board- to retire at the beginning of 2003. I was 52 years old then and was left with no options other than going my own way or leaving the country. I decided to stay.
For the next five years, I tried becoming a cattle raiser and a financial. But under the political crisis, being an entrepreneur was not the right choice. In 2007, I joined my wife, who ran an NGO to support SMEs and Startups. This activity led us to reside in Spain, Venezuela, and Chile and to advise more than 100 founders of Startups and owners of SMEs in Venezuela, Peru, and Chile in the past 15 years.
My wife and I have been holidaying in France since 2000 and, from there, we have traveled frequently to Poland and the UK to visit our children and grandchildren and to Italy and other Mediterranean countries as tourists. We speak Spanish (our mother tongue), English, and French (conversational).
From my work experience, I received training in management and science and technology. Since my retirement, I have read books on philosophy, sociology, and history, as well as articles and essays on politics and economics.
I feel fortunate to have been in the USA, LATAM, and Europe after post-World War II. It has been a difficult period, but the policies of the governments of the countries we have lived in were economically and socially sound. Nowadays, more old than wise, I have concluded that the life that awaits our children, and especially our grandchildren, will be radically different. They will take place in an environment of physical, economic, and social restrictions that technological advances might solve, but at a very high cost.
I am concerned above all about the lack of ethics and transparency in politics and the ends of technology (on the developments of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data).
I write at 72 years of age, for the generations between 20 and 50, with hope based on the sage of humanity and my religious beliefs.
I hope to argue clearly and concisely in favor of
Greater involvement and commitment
In the corporate world, among individual citizens and public servants on social responsibility issues such as:
- The preservation of the environment.
- The fight against discrimination based on religion, sex, race, and minorities
- Threatened institutions such as democracy.
- A correct use of science and technology
- Genuine respect for the spirit of free commerce
I consider myself a liberal of thought, respectful of the rights of others and opposed to radicalization on political and social issues.
