As a manager you must understand that the business has a unique "motive law", everything that is sold bears the seal of "sharing", and that more important is to be able to show that timeshare with AV technology is the most important.
Richard Santa
Since 1988 Jorge Andrés Biatturi works with technology. In 1999 he entered the AV market as a representative for Latin America of Virtual Ink and its flagship product, Mimio. That was the beginning of an extensive journey that has led him to found several companies and support the development of the industry in his native country, Uruguay, as well as in other countries in the region.
The guest to the Professional Section of the Month of AVI Latin America, was born on November 26, 1967 in Montevideo. Thanks to his initial bilingual education, it allowed him to later develop an international integration for his professional work.
He recalled that "I entered the University of the Republic (Udelar), where I studied engineering, chemistry, biochemistry and economic sciences, not concluding any intermediate degree, but 8 years of a lot of education, which generated my versatility in different subjects, and the title of bookkeeper. In the private university, I did several studies as a Marketing Analyst, Postgraduate in Business Administration, Diploma in Coaching, Diploma in Negotiation, and many studies in Sales.
Beginnings in the industry
Of his beginnings in the audiovisual industry, he commented that with Virtual Ink he went out to tour Latin America, as a commercial in charge of the region. His clients were mostly distributors of the audiovisual sector, and in his visits he grew interested in projectors and audio.
"My active listening detected a problem: the projector manufacturers at that time had 2 actions that affected the channel: the first, any distributor in Miami sold at the same price as the local representatives, which did not value the work of local brand. And the second, when they saw that it was growing, they appointed another local representative, with which the idea and development of the business plan arose to generate a cooperative company, where we developed an OEM VisionSystems brand, of which they were owners, there was no competition and they could each develop the local business without inconveniences. At first it was interesting, but when the time came, only Vission XXI Mexico kicked off," he said.
After a couple of years in the AV industry, he founded with the directors of Vission XXI in Mexico, Alfonso Aguirre and Francisco Díaz, the company Vision Systems, OEM manufacturer of projectors, occupying the place left by Kodak, with the same line, but with their names. In 2002, they opened Vision Systems Brasil, a company they sold in 2006, with a very large market position and a reference in the projector market. In 2001 he also opened VisionDirect in Uruguay, a company of which he is still a director.
In his career, there are several anecdotes he has had. In particular, he recalled that at the InfoComm fair, he has many stories. "In 2010, I had breakfast, lunch and dinner 2 times the 3 days of the fair. As the suppliers did not come to Uruguay, and I did not get their time, so they told me we had dinner, at 7, next to 9, and breakfasts 6.30 am, 8 am, crazy. I think that despite everything I ate, I came more skinny, so I ran, there was not one that chose a place near the other."
Vision of the future
When asked about how he sees the immediate future and the possibilities of expansion of the industry in the region, Jorge Andrés Biatturi pointed out that "from my point of view our industry ends when a customer buys the product on a shelf. Our expansion will depend exclusively on what we know how to do so that our products become massive, but knowing that we must be there. We have to differentiate ourselves from retail sales, and not have products that are there. If our products go to retail, our industry is going to have to migrate, and a lot, which is something we know how to do, if we look at the history of lines, first we start with projectors, then we add their accessories screens, supports. Then we went for audio and all its business, then we added video conferencing, then digital signage, videowall, interactivity, today we are in subscription video conferencing, looking at hybrid education to sink our teeth, we are born explorers, and evangelists at heart."
Therefore, he pointed out that one of the main challenges for those of us in the industry is training. "This technology sector is constantly changing, and requires continuous training. Which leads to our enemy being time, many times we confuse what is important and what is urgent, and we live in the urgent, and time is finite. My challenge is to make them see that continuous training is the most important time, because it is the one that will make a difference, and even who can help us in an urgent problem."
He added on this subject that "As a manager we must understand that our business has a unique 'motive law', everything we sell bears the seal of "sharing", and that more important is to be able to show that timeshare with our technology is the most important, and that it improves change, achieving continuous learning, and motivating customers and employees from there. "
AV in Uruguay
Thanks to his trajectory and knowledge of the regional business, through his role as a channel developer for American, Japanese and Chinese companies, the founder of Vision Direct highlights that they have the size of the industry in the region relatively measured, close to US $ 1,000 million.
And particularly on Uruguay, he commented that "the last year is not an example, given that the pandemic damaged the sector a lot. But among the different lines of business, I would say the average business without a pandemic is $20 million."
Family and hobbies
Jorge Andrés Biatturi is the father of 3 children, 2 boys and 1 woman, aged 23, 19 and 17. The 3 have worked in the company, at 16 they worked for 1 month in different positions, at 17, 45 days, and at the university 4 hours a day, with flexibility to study. Men are technological, and women a future lawyer, and politician.
"I'm passionate about football, I started playing at the age of 5, and I continue to play to this day at the age of 54. Always competing, with the exception of 3 years when my first child was born, I launched the company, many things, and it was left aside, but as soon as I could I came back. I am a fan of River Plate of Uruguay, which led me to be general secretary of the club, the year in which we qualified for the first time to the Libertadores, unique experience, and 15 years in the board in different functions, "he said.
He loves music, but until now he has learned to listen to the lyrics. He declared himself a passionate reader of everything related to the company, as well as an eternal student. This year he has 3 courses, the last one of coaching.
"I am a lover of nature, camping, hiking, outdoor living, and a travel dreamer. The work took me to know the 3 complete Americas, and some other countries, fascinating to discover how similar and different we all are," he concluded.
