Welcome to “Unsung Heroes,” where we shine a light on those quietly making a big impact. In our new series, learn more about the incredible individuals who power Distillery’s journey.
Today we’d like to introduce Fran, the Head of our Web Department!
Introduce yourself, your background/expertise, and your position at Distillery.
I’m Francisco Maurici, Head of the Web Department at Distillery. I have more than 12 years of experience as a .Net developer. I’m a certified professional coach and a passionate person who is eager to learn!
What attracted you to Distillery?
When I joined Distillery, there were less than 20 people. It wasn’t the company that is nowadays, so I’m sure that what attracted me was the people. As soon as I had the interviews, I sensed a different approach. I knew that I was joining a place where the company really cared about the people.
How do you embody the “Never Settle” spirit in your daily work at Distillery?
I guess it’s my personality. I tend to be self-demanding, and I tend to always check my work and find ways to improve it. Leading teams, as well as programming, are two things that I find really fun and interesting.
How do you foster authentic connections with your colleagues and clients at Distillery?
I always thought, “If you are going to spend eight hours a day of your life on something, it better be something that you enjoy.” Although we often don’t enjoy all the things we have to do in a job, something that makes my day is having meaningful relationships with others. It doesn’t matter if it’s with a client, at Distillery, or just simply helping someone from outside the company; I care for others, and that goes a long way.
I think the key is being myself in front of others with my rights and wrongs and caring for them. (Adding to that, some of the skills I learned in coaching are useful to achieve those connections!).
Tell us about a time when you had to summon courageous ambition to tackle a challenge at work.
A lot of times! I’m grateful to Distillery for trusting me and promoting me to CTL, Stack Manager, and then Head of Department. Despite having led some small teams and done coaching, I didn’t have experience in any of these areas! So I would say that I constantly have to find ambition and courage to carve out the path that I have to follow in this adventure.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
My passion is Habichuela, my little dog. I always have fun with her, she always gets me out of sad or angry situations by giving me love or doing something funny. Then anime, gaming, doing barbecues, or cooking from time to time are things that I enjoy for sure!
What’s your go-to motivational quote that keeps you going when the going gets tough?
“This too shall pass.”
If you could sum up your experience at Distillery in one hashtag, what would it be?
#DoRightDoWrongAlwaysLearn
What’s your favorite way to celebrate a big win or accomplishment?
I don’t have a specific way, I guess it’s with the people I love. But something that I do for sure is to make the “happiness” last. What I mean by that is that when we are angry, frustrated, or sad, we entertain these thoughts in our minds, but when we are happy, it seems that these thoughts and emotions leave us quickly. So what I try to do is take some time to “force myself” to be happy about the things that I achieved. It might sound silly, but it works. That way I can enjoy more of the good things and worry less.
If you could have one superpower to help you at work, what would it be and why?
Having ChatGPT in my mind (But the premium one! Nothing free! haha).
I think it’s obvious why… to find Clicktime memes faster.
What’s your favorite “keep pushing forward” song that gets you pumped up and motivated?
“My Way” – Frank Sinatra
What’s your go-to stress-busting activity when you need a break from work?
Playing with Habichuela, my little dog, always!
When it comes to emojis, which one would you choose when a Distiller tells you a successful moment or gives you good news?
“😃” – But I use it for everything, if you talk to me in Slack, you will receive one of these every two sentences.