Alumni Spotlight: Eliacid Heredia Pizarro

As CEO of Siemens Servicios Comerciales, Eliacid leads the lending operations of the Latin American entity of Siemens Financial Services. With over 17 years at the company, he serves as a liaison between Siemens’ network of businesses and the financing world.

Lifelong learning at Siemens is focused on developing, empowering and increasing both employability and resilience among its employees. Eliacid was part of a cohort of more than 25 Siemens Financial Services’ employees who participated in the Siemens-sponsored Data Driven Management Mini-MBA program. Within this cohort, teams completed Capstone projects that leveraged data to optimize current projects or pursue new opportunities with Siemens Financial Services.

How has your learning been applicable in your current role?

The program gave me a solid structure for thinking strategically and making decisions. I'm more efficient now, can communicate better, and have a better decision-making process. For example, I use a lot of what I learned from the program during challenging projects to help reorganize our internal mindset to meet customer needs. I better understand where I need to focus and what’s valuable. It gave me the opportunity to step into a new role and level up on my current skill sets.

What motivated you to pursue this program?

We are very lucky that our business unit is dedicated to offering different learning opportunities. I remember the day I saw the Mini-MBA program specifically made for us. Seeing its content and the strategic thinking, negotiation, and sales skills involved in the course, I knew I needed to take it. Since I’m located in a different country, I was initially a little hesitant about taking the program entirely online, but everything worked out very well. Everyone involved, including the mentors within Siemens, my boss, and Rutgers, were very supportive. They allowed the flexibility to travel and manage other obligations I needed to take the program. I also appreciated that we didn't have any issues from an infrastructure standpoint, allowing us to take advantage of the resources in each session fully. It was clear that Rutgers took special care to ensure everyone was connected.

What was your biggest personal or professional gain from taking this program?

One of my biggest wins was witnessing my strategic thinking evolve. Rutgers provided invaluable tools to develop this mindset, because while I can always read up on strategic thinking, it doesn’t compare to those hours I spent interacting with a team, and then further developing those skills for real-world use. The course also helped me prioritize my calendar, my energy, and so many other things in my day-to-day work. Considering that I don’t have a lot of face-to-face contact with my team or boss since I work in a different country, I need to stay focused during the time I do get. I’ve learned how to prioritize and communicate important things.

What does the term “reinvent” mean to you?

Reinventing means stepping back and thinking about what you need to do differently or better, both in your day-to-day and the long term. This insightful process extends beyond your career path. It’s the need to take a moment to understand how you work, what motivates you, and how you think about your challenges and problems. What makes you more efficient? What makes you more productive? What is the best way you can take advantage of your skills and make them better? I think this program helped reinforce my curiosity and gave me the tools to pursue these questions.

What does the term “lifelong learning” mean to you?

Lifelong learning means the willingness to let go of what you may have learned in the past, especially when you need to be flexible and learn in a new and different way. Not everything you’ve learned before will be suitable for the world today. Sometimes it costs you a lot when you think about the energy and work you’ve invested in past projects, but it’s important to dismiss those thoughts and realize that today, things are different. Be patient and move forward. Accept the need to refocus, then make that new focus a priority. Take what you can from your experience and move forward, because that’s the only way you will get the job done in the future. It’s very important to reflect every year, consider what gaps need to be filled, and decide what deserves your energy and focus. Because everything is constantly changing, it’s important to continue rethinking, especially your mindset. Stay curious about what you still need to learn.

In looking back on your program experience, what stands out to you?

One thing was the ability to immediately apply what I learned into practice for my work within a couple of days after completing a lesson. Also, since we were able to mingle with a diverse group of people, I was surprised by how their views on so many different topics could give me new perspectives. I was able to directly benefit from everyone’s individual approach when working on a specific business case. The last thing that really stood out to me was the networking. I still talk to many of my colleagues from the course, and I’m actually using a couple of their projects for my work. Overall, the program provided a window for me to discover new things and gain a new perspective, which I’ve been able to carry over to my own work.

How do you think your learning has benefited or could benefit your broader organization as a whole?

This program gave me the tools to better communicate and explain how my work adds value to the company. When we face real challenges, we can present them to leadership in a new context, creating an opportunity to recognize and develop new talent. Any company could benefit from fresh, original ideas from employees who are able to look at problems from a different perspective, a skill learned from a program like this, and we’ve already seen successful examples. The goal isn’t for every idea we present to be applied, but for everyone to gain value from each team’s unique approach.

What advice would you give to fellow professionals or colleagues that might not have considered this type of program?

You should go for it. Take the opportunity if it’s given to you, because it’s amazing how much you can learn from this type of program. It’s changed so many things for me and has given me a fresh perspective on what I thought I knew. Your personal motivation might come from wanting to develop your skills or from learning how to tackle daily tasks in a new role. However, it could also apply to someone in any department who wants to communicate new ideas to leadership more effectively. You don't often see universities and companies come together to fill the gap in what managers, leaders, and employees need to do their everyday jobs, and that’s important to recognize.