Alvaro Toro Never Stops Innovating

Alvaro Toro fell in love with IT when he was in college. As vice president of IT applications at Citizen Watch of America, he’s as excited as ever by the field’s propensity for transformation.

Alvaro Toro, VP of IT Applications, Citizen Watch of America

BY NATALIE KOCHANOV, HISPANIC EXECUTIVE

These days, it’s hard to imagine Alvaro Toro in any field other than IT. Back when he was an undergraduate student at Cal Poly Pomona, however, Toro was an electrical engineering major with a job in accounting.

“During that time, I had the opportunity to support an enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in the accounting area,” Toro says. “I never thought that the experience would change my career, but I found it so fascinating that I transferred my major from electrical engineering to business, with an emphasis in information systems.”

The change stuck, and Toro has been in IT ever since. In his current role as vice president of IT applications at Citizen Watch of America, he brings his years of experience to the wholesale and retail industry in which the watch brand and its subsidiaries operate. Although ERP implementation remains the name of the game, Toro and his team continue to face new challenges as the rules of that game evolve alongside the technology itself.

“Currently, I am leading our third ERP implementation, where we are reengineering our business processes to leverage new technological innovations. This is a great challenge for most companies. At Citizen Watch of America, I have the opportunity to lead an awesome group of professionals and executives from all lines of business, who are as passionate as I am about technology transformation.”

Alvaro Toro

Fortunately, Toro sees the ever-changing nature of his field as one of its biggest draws. “This path has always been very exciting to me because IT never ceases to stop. The innovation continues to evolve, and the learning never stops,” he says. In fact, he’s currently finishing a master’s degree in information systems with a focus on AI in the interest of staying up-to-date on the latest and greatest in business security and applications. “I strongly believe that companies no longer have the luxury of lagging behind like they used to,” he adds. “As technological innovations keep evolving, you either sink or swim.”

Toro’s commitment to continuous learning is just as evident in his overall career trajectory. His roles have spanned many areas of—IT from infrastructure to process improvement and everything in between—and nearly as many industries and geographies. “Now, I’m lucky to work for Citizen Watch of America, a company that is always looking to innovate,” he says. “Like IT, it never seems to stop, with one project after another.”

Photo by Jason Garcia

That rapid pace of innovation keeps things exciting for Toro, who collaborates with colleagues across the company’s business lines in addition to overseeing the programmers and business analysts who specialize in its various IT applications.

“I got to partner with our supply planning department to implement an enterprise application that incorporated the branches of merchandise finance planning, supply planning, and inventory allocation,” he says of a recent cross-functional project. “That was a great opportunity for our team, not only to implement new technologies, but also to leverage our enterprise data.”

His ties throughout the company have also served Toro well as he spearheads another major initiative, this one on familiar ground. “Currently, I am leading our third ERP implementation, where we are reengineering our business processes to leverage new technological innovations,” he explains. “This is a great challenge for most companies. At Citizen Watch of America, I have the opportunity to lead an awesome group of professionals and executives from all lines of business who are as passionate as I am about this transformation.”

The ERP implementation is still ongoing, with the company’s subsidiaries next in line to reap the benefits—including those outside the United States. Toro is quick to emphasize the importance of having the right team in place for the project at hand.

“One has to morph as a leader, depending on the situation. Sometimes, I may need to be a coach leader; other times, an authoritative leader or a more democratic one. And at times, I may need to be all three to make sure that our projects are successful.”

Alvaro Toro

“Forming the right group, ensuring the right chemistry among the people—those are the first milestones in any type of project,” he says. “Then, once you’ve formed the right group, you have to work through any underlying disagreements about priorities and facilitate an effective resolution for all parties.”

Toro meets those challenges with a combination of understanding and pragmatism. He seeks to lead by example, holding himself to the same standard of accountability as his team. “One has to morph as a leader, depending on the situation,” Toro says. “Sometimes, I may need to be a coach leader; other times, an authoritative leader or a more democratic one. And at times, I may need to be all three to make sure that our projects are successful.”

Photo by Jason Garcia

At this stage of his IT career, Toro is used to adapting, whether to manage his team at Citizen Watch of America or to keep pace with emerging technology trends. For those just starting out in the field, he offers two complementary pieces of advice. “No matter how talented you are, if you aren’t in the right place, you might not be able to be noticed,” he begins.

The second tip speaks to the path that Toro himself has taken—and to the success and joy that he has found along the way. “Discipline, practice, and perseverance make the master,” Toro says. “Then, your talent can be seen regardless of where you are, regardless of what kind of noise exists around you, because it has become your passion.”

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