Julio Agredano
Informático, 25 años como directivo en multinacionales de tecnología ocupando diferentes puestos en áreas de I+D, Desarrollo de Negocio y Dirección.
Desde 2011 paciente de ictus, Fundador de la Fundación Freno al ICTUS, deportista amateur, marido y padre.
A computer scientist, 25 years as director in multinational companies of technology, working in different positions in several areas as R&D, Business Development, and Management.
Since 2011, stroke patient, Founder of Fundación Freno al ICTUS, amateur athlete, husband, and father.
"Con seguridad tu mundo va a cambiar, prepárate y aprovecha la oportunidad."
Q&A WITH JULIO
Define your experience in the IMBA in one word.
Intense
What were some of the main challenges that you encountered on your way? How did your master program and IE help you through these challenges?
In 2016, I was living an important professional change, changing from the Research and Development area (as back office) to business areas with direct responsibility of the sales of our solutions.
That transition was not easy, from never having to present our solutions to our future clients, to be an important part in the sales process.
The MBA was fundamental in this professional development, I acquired knowledge about sales, marketing, and commercial strategy that were very useful in my career. It also helped me to get out of my comfort zone and show myself to other professionals who are the ones that really help you grow.
How did your experience at IE prepare you for your professional career? In what ways do you think the program has changed your life professionally and personally?
Since 2006, I feel everything is a new opportunity, an opportunity to change, to do things in a different way, and an opportunity to grow, personally and professionally. IE gives you the tools so you can build a new path.
What was networking like in the program?
It is the “core” part of the program, the personal or professional relationships that you build are unique, we experience a very intense period of our lives together and that creates strong bonds.
What was your favorite memory from your time at IE?
There were many beautiful moments: the group meetings, some of the work presentations, master classes, but I specially remember the weekend of coexistence that we had in Segovia, an experience that helped us all get to know each other better.
If someone was considering going to IE, what would you tell them?
Do it! Prepare yourself for a difficult year that will undoubtedly be worth it.
What is one thing you wished you knew, when you were a student? What advice would you give to students who are about to begin the program?
There is time for everything. The program is intense, but it has an end date and it is necessary to keep the balance between personal and professional life; the balance cannot be one-sided.
Tell us about the IE alumni community and the impact they have had in your life and/or career. Why do you think it’s important to engage with the IE alumni community?
You never know who can help you or who you will be able to help, being part of a community like IE alumni is a benefit, you can always contact someone to help you find another person, give you advice or open a door. 15 years later and I still regularly get together with some of my classmates, people who have helped me at some point in my life both professionally and personally.
Can you tell us about your foundation Fundación Freno al ICTUS?
The objective of Fundación Freno al ICTUS is to reduce personal, family, and social stress that a stroke can bring to our society. If I tell you that strokes are the first cause of death in women, or that there are 120,000 affected by strokes every year, or that every 1 out of 6 people will have a stroke in their life, it will surely surprise you and call your attention. The more important question is that is there anyone who does not know a case? Unfortunately, everyone has a close case, so why aren’t we more aware? Our goal is to achieve that social awareness that reduces the impact that the disease currently causes.
I invite you to watch this video to learn more about the disease and the situations that we work in the foundation: Freno al ICTUS Foundation – Presentation
How did you start your foundation?
Like almost every organization focused on the third sector are born from a personal experience, in this case, it was my own experience. I had a stroke when I was 39 years old and after a tough period of recovery, I started to read information about the disease. That is when I realized that the impact of having a stroke and the knowledge that the society has about it, do not go hand-in-hand and at that moment I decided to dedicate my efforts to make strokes a more well-known disease, more visible, with the goal to reduce its impact.
Why is this an important cause?
Did you know that 90% of strokes are preventable? Would you know how to recognize it if it happened to someone in your environment? Would you know how to react? Do you know the disability it generates? Do you know that there has been a clear increase in young adults? What hospital would you go to? Currently more than half of people that suffer a stroke do not overcome it, either because they die or because they have serious conditions after, so it is very important to know how to answer these questions. If you know the answers, you can change someone’s life.
Strokes are a time-dependent disease, meaning that the period from the first symptom until entering a hospital to be treated, is only a few hours. For this reason, it is essential to spread this knowledge with everyone, to try accelerating the chain of survival from the first step, us.
Can you tell us more about the projects you are working on to raise awareness about strokes?
As an example, I am going to tell you about three projects that we are carrying out to try to change things:
- To create brain-protected spaces – A Brain-protected Space is a place where your employees have the appropriate training to detect and act if a stroke occurs in the facility among colleagues or customers. The creation of brain-protected spaces attempts to accelerate the chain of survival during a stroke. Check out this link with a success story and where the project is explained CLICK HERE.
- To form Heroes at home – Heroes at home is conceived as an educational program, based on informing and teaching a group of young people (our children for example) what a stroke is, the risk factors, how strokes can be prevented, what are the signs for early detection, and how to act. This is to create little heroes who know how to act if something happens to their families. This link further explains this project CLICK HERE.
- To facilitate labor and social inclusion of the affected person through physical activity and sport. This is a disease that can kill you, however, if this is not the case, it is quite normal that the survivor is weakened, and reintegration depends a lot on the support you receive afterwards. At the foundation, we have launched a program focused on young people and their reincorporation into all environments thanks to sports. More information about the program can be found here.
Any of these projects is part of the CSR of organizations and they comply with the SDGs. From your place in your organization you can do a lot, join us and help us help.
What has been your favourite moment of your career so far?
There have been many, at different ages and with different responsibilities, but I would certainly stay with the ones I have been living since the creation of Freno al ICTUS. I can feel that the daily work has indeed a positive impact on people, any of the testimonies we have received in the last years were thanks to our work and how we have managed to change someone’s life.
What’s a valuable lesson you have learned throughout your career?
I am a passionate about setting goals, professional and personal ones. By setting an objective you work to achieve it, but it’s not only important to achieve it (sometimes you do not), it also matters to prepare yourself to try to achieve it.
Are there any daily habits that you attribute to your success that you’d like to share, especially now with COVID-19?
Since 2011 (the year of my stroke), I have understood how fragile we are and that we must maintain the balance between a professional career and a healthy life. The best tool to achieve that balance is sport. I encourage everyone to practice some physical activity on a regular basis.
What’s the best career advice you have ever been given?
Better than some advice, it is a phrase that I was told in the first job I had, “Find your life.” I always apply it; in the face of any problem, I always try to find a solution.
If you had a billboard you could display to the entire world, what would you put on it?
Life is too short, ENJOY!