Staff Spotlight – Quimi Luzón Tuells

 

 

In our ongoing series shining a spotlight on the unsung heroes of Sparta, we present Quimi Luzón Tuells, our Engineering Team Manager. Join us as we uncover the person beyond the title, tracing his journey in the IT industry, and unveiling the unique qualities that make him an invaluable member of the Sparta family. It’s time to give Quimi his well-deserved moment to shine!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH THE COMPANY?

I had my first anniversary in Sparta a couple of weeks ago, On January 9th.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR ROLE?

I am the Team Manager of the Blue Engineering Team, which means I’m responsible of ensuring that the team delivers value continuously while not compromising the quality of our products.

I’m equally responsible of ensuring that everyone in the team have all the necessary tools to accomplish our goals and to become better professionals.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE INDUSTRY?/CAN YOU GIVE ME A RUNDOWN OF YOUR CAREER PATH UP UNTIL THIS POINT?

I’d say I had a peculiar way of starting in this industry, where the usual path for launching a management career involves several years of technical work. After completing my engineering studies, I began working as a project manager, planning and executing projects among multi-skilled teams at the music technology company BMAT Music Innovators. We focused on developing cutting-edge real-time data processing platforms.

Later, I had the opportunity to lead R&D collaborations across the company’s partner network, which allowed me to travel and manage very diverse teams. This experience provided valuable insights into engineering organization, the music industry, and public institutions. After holding similar management roles in various start-ups and scale-ups, I felt the need for more hands-on involvement. After a couple of years balancing between technical work and team management, I decided to shift my focus exclusively to the latter.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF WORKING AT SPARTA?

The feeling of being surrounded by excellent professionals that are at the same time very nice people and the sense of purpose in everything we build.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?

It will sound stereotypical, I know, but the most important thing about it is the career itself. Being able to learn from many different points of view and work in a creative industry like tech is truly enriching.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE OUR COMPANY CULTURE?

Focus on our customers and the quality of your results, while being as autonomous and adventurous as you can.

WHAT DO YOU THINK SETS OUR COMPANY APART FROM OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY?

We take our values very seriously and everyone in here is devoted to improving their craftsmanship. I joined Sparta to work on a project and a product that made me feel that I was working on something that had value and made sense. I feel humbled every day by the dedication put in by everyone here.

WHAT’S THE MOST INTERESTING PROJECT YOU’VE WORKED ON HERE AT SPARTA?

Creating a brand new vertical (Jet) during my first months in Sparta has been a challenging project. I’m proud of it not just because of what we were able to deliver, but because of all the learnings I gained in the process.

WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF?

Trust your gut more, even if it doesn’t make complete sense at the beginning.

HOW HAS YOUR ROLE EVOLVED SINCE YOU’VE BEEN HERE?

Although I consider that there are parts of the work in team management that are cyclical, I think that during my first months here I was more focused on building the team while now I am more focused on execution.

WHAT’S THE MOST VALUABLE LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?

Understanding that functioning and valuable software is a combination of many factors, not only technical. In a very specialised world which is tech, understanding the power of effective and respectful communication is pivotal for the good understanding of many parts.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS/YEARS?

After one year of building and stabilising the Blue Team, I’d like that we all grow together and continue to have a great impact on what we’re building here in Sparta.

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOUR JOB

My job is impossible to do without the trust of the people I work with. It is an easy thing to say, but the only way to achieve it is to prove with your actions that you care.

CAN YOU SHARE A PARTICULAR SKILL OR EXPERTISE YOU’VE DEVELOPED IN THIS ROLE THAT YOU DIDN’T EXPECT TO ACQUIRE

I have learned the meaning of “fast-paced environment” 🙂

IF YOU HAD THREE WISHES, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

The first thing it came to my mind is that I wish that my family has the happiest life possible. Thinking more selfishly if I may, I’d like to be able to master every musical instrument I want. The third one would be something else related to music, like owning a venue or a music studio or both.

WHAT’S THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?

I just played “Now’s The Time,” a song by Charlie Parker, performed by Milt Jackson’s septet.

WHAT, IF ANYTHING, ARE YOU CURRENTLY BINGE-WATCHING OR READING?

I’m currently not binge-watching anything, but I would like to resume watching Better Call Saul’s third season and finish the series.

I’m reading Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, it’s a fun crime novel.

WHAT’S ONE THING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT THEY WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT?

Many, many years ago, I used to train Karate kata. Although I can I barely remember it now.

WHAT’S ONE THING ON YOUR BUCKET LIST

I’d like to live in the countryside, in a not so warm place if possible.

Quimi Luzón Tuells our Engineering Team Manager here at Sparta and can be contacted at
joaquin.luzon@spartacommodities.com

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Sparta is a live, market intelligence and forecasting platform that enables oil traders, refiners, banks, hedge funds and wholesalers to have access to real-time and global actionable insights to capture market opportunities before others.

To find out how Sparta can allow you to make smarter trading decisions, faster, contact us for a demonstration at sales@spartacommodites.com