On a day dampened by a relentless downpour, and jolts of thunder cracking throughout the afternoon, I thought there was no better time to set aside work for a moment, and virtually drop by one of UV’s most tireless warriors based in Buenos Aires.
Having no shared physical space to incubate the team’s chatter and laughter swirl among the office, calling into Zoom is the next best thing. So I stopped by Maru’s for a chat, a Production Director who joined UV in August 2014. Here are the highlights!
Tell me about your nicknames!
My “official” one is Maru, everyone knows me by that name! But there’s also an “unofficial” one that may be related to a term of endearment from at home that was “leaked” (which is the reason why I now block all my chat notifications while screen sharing) 😀
Can you share your secret behind doing good work?
I do my best to find the right balance between attention to detail, creative thinking and pragmatism. We GET SHIT DONE, right?
Share a little tip you use to make your clients love working with you
I would say empathy, and putting yourself in your client’s shoes. I think what really makes a difference is to always offer fair solutions that you’d like to get if you were them.
What are the non-work related activities are you passionate about?
More work? Haha naw… I could say I am a person with multiple interests (and never get bored!)
Some of my passions include:
- Entrepreneurism: I’ve had multiple projects since I was in highschool! For example, a couple of years ago I started a brand of paper products specialized for crafts (like scrapbooking or origami) which I continue to sell in my online store. Right now I’m also collaborating as a consultant on a friend’s project, related to public access datasets. I don’t care whose project is it, I enjoy being part of the ideation and creation process!
- Music! I listen to music every day and love to explore Spotify playlists. Funk and rock (in general) are my favorite genres. I also play drums, guitar and love to sing (which all of my UV teammates can witness at our karaoke parties!)
- Visual arts and photography: I love taking photos (you can see some on my Instagram @marianallr) and I follow a lot of photographers and artists! Some of my favorites include OKUDART or Hobopeeba
- Finally, DOGS…. I probably follow all of the pet influencers on Instagram (for example MayaPolarBear)
Who was your favorite UV client?
I get along very well with clients and some of them have even become friends, so it’s not an easy pick! But I would say GCSG is my #1. I’ve been working with them for 5 years! Their committee is a group of around 30 people and I haven’t met one of them that is not the nicest person! They’re also a lot of fun! I’ve been lucky to spend time with them in person multiple times at conferences… and we have stories that include mechanical bull rides, wooden beer barrels with taps, and tyrolean dancing at 3am.
What do you most love about your job, very specifically?
What I love the most about UV is that we are like a big family! We have lunch together at the office (we now do it on Zoom every week), we are good friends (and we fight sometimes, for 10 minutes) and we have fun! Plus the fact that we share an appreciation for dark humor! #sorrynotsorry
What’s your most challenging moment at UV? How was it overcome?
Working in delivery, constantly interacting with clients and managing teams: all of this gets you used to facing challenges frequently. The key is to know the talents of the people around you and work out the solution together. “Synergy” they call it! Luckily we have a great team that is always willing to solve problems!
What do you do to make inspiration flow easier?
Anywhere between 11:30pm and 2am with The Simpsons keeping me company in the background, or with my “musicology” playlist.
Any advice for future UVers who want to work with us?
If you have a passion for what you do and consider yourself a perfectionist, UV will get the best out of you!
