About Me
I live in Sacramento, CA with my wife Sarah and our three boys — Cameron, Brandon, and Nico. We’ve been here since 2000 and have truly made it our home.
I was born in Venezuela to a Venezuelan dad and a Chilean mom, so I consider myself both Venezuelan and Chilean — but American first and foremost. I immigrated to the U.S. in 1991 with my mom and older brother when I was 10, and we settled in Northern California. I attended CSU Sacramento, earning a degree in Criminal Justice. My original plan was law enforcement, but my passion for technology and business pulled me in a different direction. My brother, a software engineer, was always tinkering with computers, and I was naturally drawn in.
Living in the Bay Area, where tech was booming, only fueled that interest. I was surfing internet forums and playing online games before it was mainstream.
Currently
I work at Plunge, a health and wellness company focused on cold and hot therapies. I lead technology across the business—from the design and development of our mobile app and IoT stack that power our smart products, to web development and optimization of our Shopify stores, to the implementation and management of internal systems like our ERP, CRM, and key integrations. My scope also includes IT and DevOps, ensuring reliability, scalability, and secure SDLC practices. I believe in our mission to bring cold plunging and sauna to the masses, and I’m a regular practitioner myself. Right now, I’m driving our AI strategy to enhance offerings, increase efficiency, and deliver innovative features that strengthen our competitive edge.
Previously
During college, I worked full-time at a local appliance and lighting retailer. That’s where I built a strong work ethic and learned the fundamentals of business from great mentors. I did anything and everything that was asked of me, eventually becoming the warehouse manager overseeing millions of dollars in inventory, before transitioning into sales and marketing. I developed the store’s first website, which sparked a bigger idea: selling products online. In 2005, I attempted to build an ecommerce site. It failed miserably, but I learned a lot.
After graduation, I was recruited by a manufacturer’s representative, where I covered all of Northern California as an outside sales rep. The housing market collapse made it an incredibly tough time to sell into the construction industry. Conventional sales tactics weren’t working, so I added value by helping customers with IT needs and even building websites in exchange for showroom space. Two of my customers were fast-growing online retailers. Though initially skeptical of traditional sales reps, they eventually discovered my ecommerce and technical background. One of them, based in Sacramento, recruited me directly — opening the next chapter of my career.
For the next 15 years, I worked alongside some great leaders, learning firsthand what it takes to grow a business and build software. I built teams, processes, and platforms that helped the company scale from $5M in revenue to $100M at its peak. During that time, I expanded my role multiple times, eventually specializing in building software, taking on several leadership roles, and growing my skill set.
In 2019, I decided it was time for a new challenge. I reduced my role to part-time and pursued entrepreneurship, launching a D2C brand and a consulting business helping brick-and-mortar retailers move into ecommerce. Things were ramping up and I was fortunate to have support from my company during this transition. Then Covid hit. Around the same time, one of my mentors became gravely ill, putting the company in a difficult position. They asked me to return full-time as CTO, and I willingly came back to help lead the company through an acquisition.
Fun Facts
I love coaching sports, especially baseball. With three boys, it’s become both a personal passion and my biggest outlet. Coaching gives me the chance to spend more time with my kids, sharpen my leadership skills, and give back to the community. Baseball was instrumental in shaping me growing up — my coaches had a lasting impact on who I am today. It’s such an unforgiving game that it doubles as a life lesson, and I use it as both a teaching and learning tool.
Outside of sports, I love music, play guitar, love all things tech, and lately I’ve been diving deep into AI.