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In our NORMAPeople series, employees around the world talk about their day-to-day work, how they came to the company and what they appreciate most about their jobs.
Alejandro González joined the ICT & Business Process Management team in November 2022 as an Integration Architect at our site in Barcelona, Spain. In the interview, he talks about his two passions – IT and writing.
Alejandro, what do you do at NORMA Group?
As an Integration Architect, I manage all the different interfaces – how we connect between NEMO D365 and each of the legacy applications. I also manage the Talend Integration Platform, which is a tool that we use to summarize every single integration and every single interface and make sure that they run through a certain logic and comply with NORMA Group’s standards.
What is the best experience you have had at the company?
I mostly work remotely with my colleagues. But some time ago we all got together in Frankfurt, Germany. It was a great experience to finally meet everyone in person.
I have been working in the IT industry for more than 17 years, and most of that time has been spent in banking, often working in an international environment.
“The approach to work and the close interaction at NORMA Group are new to me.”
I am really happy to be able to have this experience.
You have a very interesting hobby, you write books and poems. How long have you been doing that?
Since I was 12 years old. I am now 38. But I only started publishing books three years ago. I have now published a total of three books, all poems in free verse. They contain my thoughts on a wide range of life experiences. The first book I published I had actually written when I was about 16 years old. Since then, I have written a total of 18 books.
I also write novels, although my passion is poetry. But now, after publishing three volumes of poetry, my goal is to publish a novel.
Where do you get your ideas?
I have always been a very romantic person. Even as a child, I preferred to be indoors reading books. There are no limits to the imagination and I always try to combine my imagination with things I have experienced.
I’ve always wanted to work as a writer – writing is a big part of my life. But it’s not easy to earn a living. So, I started to work in the IT industry, which is also a great passion of mine. I started programming and developing when I was 14 or 15. I have already worked together with a number of well-known electronics and video game companies to help combat piracy.
I don’t have a degree in computer science, I studied business and journalism. I taught myself everything that I know with regards to technology, learned it in courses and tried it out over and over again for nights on end. I like technology and this kind of work. I solve puzzles every day. Trying to overcome a challenge that seems impossible is something that really motivates me.
I’m sure that takes up a lot of time. Do you have any other hobbies?
Yes, I tend to multitask and rarely get overwhelmed. I am pretty relaxed.
I love nature and like to go for walks. But because of my work and writing, I also like to spend time indoors. But my greatest passion is my daughter. There is nothing I enjoy more than spending time with her.
What are your goals for the future, both personally and professionally?
I try not to think too much about the future and the things that lie ahead.
“All my life I have always wanted to become a better person.”
That’s why cultural things are so important to me, like reading, writing, art and museums.
I would love to be able to take things a little slower in my life. Since I was a little kid, I have been able to travel a lot, to Morocco, Egypt and many countries in Europe. I lived in Chile for over five years because my father worked there. That’s something I would like for my daughter as well. I want to show her the most beautiful places in the world.
Professionally, I want to stay up to date, constantly develop myself and take on even more responsibility. There are no limits, only the ones you set for yourself. And if you set limits for yourself, you won’t be able to achieve very much. That’s why there are no limits to what I can achieve.
