Latin America. Lina Alfaro is an electronics engineer with extensive experience in networking and telecommunications and vast experience in administration and technical support in Windows Server operating systems and video security applications. He is advancedly certified in Milestone XProtect products and typically designs general systems and dives into the ins and outs of configuring routers and switches for optimal deployment.
Given her outstanding technical and personal skills, as well as her recognized ability to work under pressure, it is no surprise that Lina was recently promoted from her position as Technical Support Manager for Latin America to the position of Technical Services Manager at Milestone Systems, based in the newly opened Mexico City office. In fact, Lina will continue to lead the technical support team, as well as the professional services and pre-sales area for Latin America. By the end of the year it is estimated that there will be more than 10 the total number of collaborators that will be in charge.
And as if these achievements were not enough, Lina explains that, in business, engineering and especially in the security industry there is a predominance of men in Latin America. It is still quite unusual in this region for women to pursue technology-related careers. Finding women in a managerial and leadership position is even more so.
"In Colombia, it is thought that there are "many" women in engineering if for every hundred men there are about fifteen women. That's considered "a lot," Lina says with a smile. "But in Mexico, for example, when I present myself as an engineer, they don't believe me. In the five years I've been in Mexico, I still haven't met another female engineer!"
Lina is an engineer from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (Colombia). He specialized in Telecommunications and Networks at the University of Sinú (Montería).
"Even from a very young age I have always loved mathematics and engineering. My childhood dream was to work for NASA," says Lina. "I realized that working at NASA maybe wasn't very realistic, but I kept studying math and engineering and this knowledge has been very useful to me."
Lina began her career designing, selling and managing video security systems in Colombia through Milestone partners such as Telmex and Axesat. While at Telmex, Lina established good relationships with the Milestone team and soon jumped at the opportunity to join the company and move to Mexico City. She joined the Milestone team as a support engineer, eight months later, she was promoted to team leader, and after six months, she was appointed technical support manager.
"Everything happened very fast, the market is growing very fast and I am grateful to Milestone for giving me this opportunity," says Lina. "The directors and mentors I've worked with at Milestone have been very supportive, for example, Michael Gaul. Everyone's support has made a huge difference in my process, and with my work I try to extend that same support to others."
Last October, Lina traveled to Denmark to participate in the Milestone Leading People (MLP) program, a comprehensive training program for employees in management positions at all levels of the organization. The program is geared toward ensuring that Milestone executives at each of the company's locations speak the same language and are committed to the same values.
"I love my team, they are very professional but at the same time very friendly," says Lina. "Genuine collaborations and relationships are critical in Latin America. Obviously we maintain a level of respect and professionalism in interactions, but customers really appreciate the relationship they have with our team."
Lina and the employees who work with her have set up a lab for the demonstration of the solutions and training within the Mexico City office and are currently looking to recruit a Portuguese-speaking team member to serve the needs of customers in Brazil.
"Our customers are very interested in LenelS2's access control integrations, as well as video analytics and cloud products," adds Lina. "Technological evolution is exciting, and we are all working hard to be prepared for the future."
Lina is definitely no stranger to hard work and will undoubtedly succeed in her new roles. Join us in congratulating Lina Alfaro on her rise as technical services manager (Latin America) and for all the achievements she has had in her career.
