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Luis F. Pereira, Jr. '05 |
Luis F. Pereira, Jr. '05
Luis Pereira’s entrance into the information technology world was all but typical.
In fact, the sleuthing skills he developed in the banking industry led the Colombian native to his current employer, Neoris, a global services company owned by Cemex that provides business and IT value-added consulting, emerging technology solutions, and near-shore outsourcing services.
“Before focusing on the financial directorship and strategic management function I currently do, I was in charge of analyzing and investigating financial crimes that arose as a result of new technology becoming available in the banking world,” explains Pereira.
“At that point, skimming was coming into play – stealing identity and credit card information – so we, as financial institutions, had to react to it,” says Pereira, an alumnus of Thunderbird’s Global MBA program for Latin American Managers. “I was working with the FBI, Secret Service and local authorities, and I also investigated crimes related to counterfeit currency.”
Today, as Director of U.S. Finance and Global Strategic Planning for Neoris, Pereira says that he applies the same analytical skills he learned when working in the forensic accounting field. “Those same skills are necessary to make sure financial statements are accurate – and that no fraudulent or incorrect activity or misrepresentation occurs.”
Pereira also credits his financial analyst and corporate audit positions with General Electric (GE) and Telefonica for shaping the unconventional way he is able to review financial activities.
“After my banking career, I took a role with GE’s Latin American/Caribbean office,” says Pereira. “When you’re going to different countries, visiting different operations and looking at the way they are doing their financial management and reporting, analytical skills are very helpful.”
So are cultural skills, admits Pereira, indicating that Neoris employs consultants from all areas of the globe – from Sao Paulo and Barcelona to Miami and Budapest. “Whether it requires presenting a new strategic piece of financial information to a group of officers about our Madrid practice or analyzing information around our near-shoring efforts in Culiacan, Mexico, or Buenos Aires, Argentina, my daily work involves interaction with very diverse and interesting individuals.”
Pereira’s attraction to other cultures and human dynamics, he says, developed as a direct result of his family’s immigration to the United States from Colombia when he was only 14 years old. “Coming to the United States at that age, I didn’t have the fortune to study the historical backbone of U.S. society,” explains Pereira, who also holds a master’s of science degree in criminal justice and law. As a result, he says he was fascinated by history, law, and the way the U.S. judicial system worked.
“I always liked studying society and the way we operate,” says Pereira. “It’s tremendously important to look at, as business people – to step away from the financial structure and accounting roles and to look at the human dimension as well. It helps you understand why the Enrons of the world happen. I truly enjoy that aspect of my job.”
Pereira, 31, believes that his personal, professional and educational experiences to-date have placed him exactly where he needs to be: in an exciting global position that has taken him throughout Latin America, Spain and Portugal and that has relied on his business skills to expand an already global company into the U.S. market.
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