Robert Reton (MBA ’89) on the Reward of Global Journeys
By Dave Hendrick
Robert Reton (MBA ’89) currently serves as manager of business development in Latin America for Nortek Security & Control, a company behind a suite of wireless technology and products.
Along the way, Reton has held a series of positions around the globe, including managing a cigar operation in the Dominican Republic and multiple roles with Diebold.
In a recent Q&A posted to Darden’s The Network section, Reton discusses leading global teams, his view of leadership and staying open to new opportunities.
I believe that attitude is more important than experience, knowledge or languages (although those things can be very helpful). You will never truly fit in and be one of the locals, so don’t try to be what you are not. Be open minded, flexible, adaptive, sensitive and respectful. Have the ability to realize that sometimes “the way we do it back home” may actually be the best way to do it locally, but work on how to persuade others that it is.
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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