Where was he born and raised
Hector Ali Ruiz was born in Lansing, Michigan, USA. He went to primary school in Red Cedar Elementary School, until one day his life changed when his parents relocated to Caracas, Venezuela. In this new country, he learned a new language, got to know a new society and a new system that was very different to the one he had been living up to that point. After finishing high-school, he majored in Mathematics at the Universidad Simon Bolivar. In his early years, he worked as a software developer when the internet was starting to emerge in our world.
How can Hector be described
“Driving Force” is one of the most accurate ways to understand the influence Hector can have in your team, your business and in your life.
A note should be made that “Driving Force” must not be confused with “hyperactive success coach motivator”, because while Hector enjoys speaking in front of public crowds, he dislikes preaching and giving messages that sell cheap philosophy. Instead, he prefers that his results do the talking. Therefore, “Driving Force” means: setting goals, visualizing and writing a general objective, creating strategies to achieve success and walking the path hand in hand with his team in good times and bad times, leading by example and not by authority, until the goal has been reached and beyond. He is a bottom-liner, straight forward and direct talker who will tell you the facts as they are, placing value in strengths and pointing out weaknesses as well as the proper way to fix them. Ultimately, he will tell you the only way to do things: the right way.
Give Hector a problem and he will tell you the solution. Standing still, sitting down and waiting for things to happen are not an option for him. His options are acting and finding ways to get things done. He enjoys developing strategic plans and negotiating with a win-win approach. His biggest strength is his decision making process.
He strives to improve processes and aims for efficiency. He dislikes excuses and justifications, although he may understand them up to a certain degree in a given context. The bottom-line is: Hector wakes up every day knowing that something -big or small- must be accomplished before he goes to sleep every night.
Achiever, doer, patient and disciplined are the words that best describe him.
How did he decide to write his first book
Hector returned to the US, where he graduated in Business Administration, and worked for a private financial firm until 2012, when he had to reestablish himself in Venezuela for a second time, this time due to personal reasons. It is during this period when he began to write How to Destroy a Country, being involved with the Venezuelan society as a manager of a multinational corporation and then as an entrepreneur, after starting his own consulting company on general management. He attended the Instituto Superior de Estudios de Administracion (IESA) where he received his MBA and he was also heavily involved in social work and proactive roles with his community, becoming a member of the board of directors and president of the Home Owners Association of the neighborhood where he lived. These experiences -along with the ones he lived during his teen years- allowed him to learn and gain understanding of the behavior of the Venezuelan people in all social classes all across the country. After the failure of the 2017 April-July protests to oust Nicolas Maduro, Hector decided the time had come to leave Venezuela and return back home to his country. He shut down his businesses, liquidated almost all his assets, and returned to the United States where he currently resides in New Jersey, and works as a Project Manager in a Construction Consulting Company in New York.
What does he like and what kind of person is he
His favorite hobbies are playing tennis, piano, guitar, bass, and of course reading and writing. He enjoys a well-done product or service, which is why he always is looking to provide a well-done product or service.
Hector is a typical bottom-liner and his life motto is: “There is only one way to do things in life: the right way.”
What are his favorite books
Niccolo Machiavelli – The Prince. Arguably his favorite book.
Maurice Druon – The Accursed Kings. His favorite book series.
Pete Sampras – A Champion’s Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis. The autobiography of one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Isaac Newton – Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. One of the most important books ever produced by a human being.