About Me:
I am Jairo Pinzón, a Drupal evangelist with emphasis in the business and adoption perspective, since 2008. I have been member of the Drupal Association for more than 7 years and have participated in Drupal events and Cons as speaker and organizer. I am currently CEO at SeeD in Bogotá, Colombia, a Drupal Shop that has trained and has employed more than 150 Drupal developers, all over during our 10 years in the market. My background is in business administration, Radio and Internet for more than 25 years. I am willing and motivated to more actively cooperate with the community and that is why I am self-nominating my name for this year's election for the Drupal Associations's Board. I am pretty sure that this is a way of making a difference in the way we give back to Drupal.
Statement of Candidacy Video:
Board meeting attendence:
5+
Have you served on a board or committee?:
Yes
If so, tell us about it.:
From my positions as General Manager of Radio Latina (99.9 FM) and as Executive Vice-president of Caracol Europe in France, I was member of the board of both companies for 3 years (1996/1998) . I also acted as member of the board of Caracol Panamá during 1 year, company that I co-founded in 1999/2000. I am currently President of the board at SeeD and Exea Media companies based in Bogotá, Colombia.
What perspective will you bring to the board when discussing strategic topics?:
My perspective is mixed because I have experience as Business Owner but I have also been Open Source evangelist for many years, philosophy to what I have attachment and engagement. Due to the fact that I live and do business in Latin America I can also bring a regional point of view to the Drupal Association Board.
What existing board topics are you most passionate about? and why?:
Amongst the existing board topics the one that interest me and that I believe is the most important for assuring the Drupal Association's sustainability in time, is the Drupal Promotion Initiative; I believe that there is room for creating consciousness on that, beyond the Drupal agencies and shops. There are marketers, IT and digital teams within brands and organizations that use Drupal on a regular basis, that must be aware of the fact that Drupal as an Open Source project, needs to be supported by all of the involved in the transformation process of the software.
What additional strategic topics would you like to introduce?:
Training and certifications for developers through alliances with local universities and institutions on Drupal formal education would empower developers and professionals with other different skills, to undertake a solid career with Drupal. It is also important to give judgement elements to Drupal adopters and companies that are undertaking projects on Drupal on the companies and developers that they can really trust as Drupal services providers. Drupal is sometimes dealing with the bad image, unfairly inherited by inexperienced developers in more organizations than anyone can imagine, I have seen companies so moving off Drupal, because they suffered unrepairable damage to their digital business caused by having undertaken Drupal projects along with providers that had no proven Drupal skills , leaving the sensation that Drupal was to blame for the failure. I believe that the Drupal Association could find a way to give a bit more information to marketers and IT people on which companies and developers are making a difference with the quality of their work in every market.
What unique skills would you bring to the board?:
My past experience as a radio and media guy having turned into digital entrepreneur.
How have your past contributions to Drupal prepared you for board candidacy?:
There is a contribution that took me time, commitment and that I enjoyed a lot, it was helping the Drupal Association with the planning and execution of the Drupal Con Latin America that took place in Bogota in 2015. I got involved since the very beginning by holding up Bogota as the place for that Con, helping the Drupal Association's Team to choose the venue, local providers and information on the city for the attendees. My company SeeD served as Financial Partner for the event and as a result we had the opportunity to welcome drupalers from all around the world for the first time in a Con in Latin America. This experience gave me a lot of perspective on how to work hand to hand with an organization such as the Drupal Association.
Why should we vote for you?:
Because Drupal to me is a job and a career and I have the time and willingness to help. There is much to be done and with your support I can bring my experience and ideas to the board.
Questions for the Candidate