Arrive to Austin

IBM Journey

Tucson

Raleigh

Villenueve Loubet, France

Yorktown Heights

Rochester

Yorktown Heights

Cary

"Tarrytown"

Controller, Latin America Sales and Services Division, Mt. Pleasant, New York. Responsible for planning, budgeting, measurements, financial analysis, and business controls. The division is the sales, service, and distribution segment responsible for all IBM products in Mexico, Central, and South America.

Controller, Networking Hardware Division (NHD), Research Triangle Park, NC. Responsible for planning, budgeting, measurements, financial analysis, and business controls. The division is responsible for development and manufacturing of all IBM networking hardware products and the software that is dependent on that hardware. NHD also provides support to marketing and services on NHD products. The unit has over 4000 employees located in Research Triangle Park, NC; Somers, NY; and LaGaude, France. Worldwide revenue for the unit is over $2B. Received IBM "Blue Chip" key executive retention stock option grant award in 1Q94.

Director of Financial Plan Consolidation Corporate HQs, worldwide manufacturing and development, corporate controller staff, Armonk, NY. Executive responsible for consolidation of financial plans for manufacturing and development operations and implementation of management/measurement system for restructured product lines of business.

Director of Financial Analysis, mid-range systems, IBM United States, Somers, NY. Executive responsible for evaluating the risk/returns new products and marketing proposals. Consolidated worldwide business cases for AS/400 systems, RS/6000 systems, and PS/2 software products. RS/6000 selected one of the best products of 1990 by Business Week and Unix World.
Controller, Application Business Systems, Rochester, MN. Chief site financial executive reporting the general manager. Direct management of 150 employees responsible for revenue/profit planning, budgeting, accounting, payroll, and business controls for the 7500+ employee site. Site mission: manufacturing and development for AS/400 systems and workstation storage products. Selected to attend IBM International Executive Management School, Belgium (11/88). IBM Rochester won 1990 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Manager of Financial Planning, System Products Division HQ, White Plains, NY. Project manager for HQ planning operations with responsibility to consolidate financial plans for Rochester, Endicott, Boca Raton, Toronto and overseas (UK/Germany) development laboratories. Division managed as a profit center with responsibility for financial returns and development of financial business models.

Manager of Financial Analysis, Information Systems and Communications Group, La Gaude, FRANCE. Pricing responsibility for communication controller and modem products. Managed staff of senior financial analysts on international assignment that evaluated and optimized business cases with recommendations for product strategies, market sensitivities, and competition to division/group senior management.

Advisory Financial Analyst, Information Systems and Communications Group, Raleigh, NC. Pricing analyst with responsibilities for retail point of sale products.

Manager of Inventory Plans and Controls, General Products Division, Tucson, AZ. Managed professional financial/accounting analysts responsible for planning/optimization, measurements, physical inventory control/reconciliation. Vendor consignment inventory control and reporting. Team Tucson Recognition Conference.

Manager of Cost Accounting/Analysis, General Products Division, Tucson, AZ. Management of professional accountants responsible for cost analysis, measurements, reporting, and maintaining ledger integrity for work in process inventory for products manufactured in Tucson facility (disk and tape storage products).

Financial/Accounting Analyst, General Products Division, Tucson, AZ. Lead analyst on three person accounting team for 3851 Mass Storage System. Coordinated accounting transfer of product from San Jose to Tucson. Assumed responsibility as site physical inventory coordinator and primary interface to Price Waterhouse, external auditors.

Sales/Marketing Representative, Office Products Division, Tucson, AZ. Joined as sales trainee, and then assumed general marketing territory responsible for sales and account control for copier and word processing systems. Qualified for 100% Club and named Branch Office Representative of the Month for 2 of 16 months on quota.

Yorgy - Markie

JBoy - Justin

I can still remember the day when Brittany proudly declared, "...from now on, I'm going call Justin J-Boy!" It's pretty amazing how impactful something we say can be. :-)

Daughter - Brittany

Hmmm, I DO think Shane dies at the end!

Anyone that would ever try to figure me out based on the movies I like to watch would likely get TOTALLY confused. And everyone that knows me and knows that I can watch a particular movie over and over and over again no matter the frequency, no matter if it's half over, or whatever - I can't really "explain that?" By know, those reading this know that I am ridiculous about movie quotes... I try to apply them to circumstances I find myself in, regardless of how BIG a stretch that may be. Even if it's a stretch of a stretch of a tangent.... but, I makes sense to me.



Theme wise, I guess it's usually a 'herioc' like story of somekind.... good guys > bad guys, sometimes bitter sweet ending.

Some of the favorites:

Shane

It's a Wonderful Life

Shawshank Redemption

High Noon

Stalag 17

The Negotiator

The Rock

ConAir

A Few Good Men

The Great Santini

Bang the Drum Slowly

The Wizard of Oz

Dirty Harry

The Christmas Carol

Planes Trains and Automobiles

Father of the Bride

Les Miserables

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Jaws

Broken Trail

Kindergarten Cop

Conrack

Roots

My Man Godfrey

What about my spiritual journey?

Start of career and family

MASTER OF SCIENCE, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, University of Northern Colorado ("Executive MBA" program) in Tucson, AZ, 12/82.

College

Junior High and High School

I attended John Spring Jr. High for 7th and 8th grade (John Spring was the first integrated school in Tucson (http://www.thedunbarproject.org/). I don't remember alot about Jr. High. Used to walk to school with a friend that lived on the way whose name was Jimmy Lopez. School work continued to be fairly easy for me. I remember one teacher in particular. His name was Mr. Baker, my history teacher. He was a gruff old guy with a big beard. As a hobby he was a member of a group called the "Tucson Mountain Men"... they'd dress up in rugged outdoor western leather garb with the fringe and everything and ride horses in the annual Rodeo parade. Anyway, I do remember that as part of his class we had to memorize the preamble of the US Constitution and "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."

My sports interests continued in Jr. High, but I was never the real "natural gifted" athlete. I really had to work hard and follow instruction to do well, but I managed to continue to develop. I played baseball and flag football both years and our football team won the city championship over Mansfield Jr. High where Ron Hassey and Mike Dawson went to school. Basketball was kind of weird. I hadn't played much basketball, but I enjoyed it. I decided to try out for team in 8th grade. But I guess EVERYONE tried out... the coach and PE teacher decided to "test" every 8th grade boy on a series of basketball relevant skills (plus including some things like pull-ups, etc... which I didn't understand) and then pick the top 12 or so boys to be on the team. Well, my "skills" weren't that good, so I didn't make the team. But the coach asked me to be the manager so I agreed. As a manager I learned the plays along with the players, but was responsible for the scorebook and normal "gofer" work. The team was pretty mediocre as some of the "skilled" guys turned to be not so good basketball players. Meanwhile, we started to play basketball in PE class - and I was doing really well. Well, long story short, the coach put me on the team and I wound up being a starter on the team by the end of the season. It was fun because I got to play against some guys that wound up being teammates in high school like, Ron Hassey from Mansfield, Jinx Johnson, Michael Price, and Kelly Langford from Roskruge.

Tucson High School - later called Tucson High Magnet School. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_High_School)

1970 5A State Football Champions - won championship game 54-16

1971 5A State Football Champion

1972 Tucson High wins State Baseball Championship going 25-0 and was declared National Champions by the AP, coaches and sports writers of America. (http://www.ths100.com/timeline.asp)

Elementary School

"Roots"

One of our favorite movies from way back was Roots. It is about Alex Haley retracing his family heritage to Africa and the first to land in North America as a slave, Kunta Kinte. Over the years I have come to affectionately regard my side the family as the "Kuntas."

I never met my grandfathers. They had both passed by the time I was born. My dad, Alfred G. Lopez, was born in Tucson, Arizona - son of Anastasio Lopez and Carmen (Carmelita) Gamboa. My mom, Pastora Almazan Lopez, was born in Oquitoa, Sonora, Mexico - daughter of Reymundo Almazan and Josefina ("Fina") Sandoval.

I used to visit Oquitoa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oquitoa) pretty regularly especially in my younger years before I got super distracted with my sports schedules. Oquitoa as a very small town... almost literally two streets that intersected... the main street and the cross street that my nana Fina's house was on that headed up the church on the hill (http://www.nps.gov/archive/tuma/Oquitoa.html). The church was actually part of the series of "mission" churches built by Father Kino - who built many churches in Mexico, Arizona, and California. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusebio_Kino) The town didn't have indoor plumbing or electricity until well into my teenage years. As a kid I used to prefer to go down to the 'rio' to bath vs. the galvinized tub in the house. We'd draw water from a couple of main wells in town. Judy knows that even in the late 70s indoor plumbing was a luxury. It was a simple but nice life. My relatives down there made most of there living agriculturally and most lived fairly modestly.

My nana Fina's house was across the street from the grade school that my mom went to.... but I don't think she ever finished. The cousin I spent most of my time with down there was Jesus Maria Chaira de Almazan (that's the way names are strung together in Mexico.) We played ball games, we explored the outskirts of town, at one point he had a motorcycle we rode, rode horses on "el dia de San Juan" (a celebration that for some reason included horse back riding and races), and basically hung out. We played alot of baseball and I guess I was the gringo ringer..... Jesus Maria would pitch and I would catch (w/o any catcher's gear - not even a mask) and play locally and even challenge the town team from the next town, Atil. I can't remember our team ever losing. We were very close growing up. He died a couple of years ago in a construction accident.

My nana Carmelita lived right next door to us in Tucson with a couple of my uncles. My uncle Rudy and my uncle Gilbert.... every once in a while my uncle Carlos lived there too. Uncle Rudy was special and close to me growing up. He worked at the Air Force Base. He had a stroke when he wasn't that old, don't remember exactly when, but he became disabled. When he stopped working we'd spend alot of time together. He loved to tell me stories - especially hunting stories. I remember having some great laughs with Uncle Rudy. "Llego bien!"

Where does one start?

Who am I?

Alfredito (what mom/nana calls me), Afert (what Moni calls me), Al (what Judy usually calls me and sometimes Sally), Father (what Britt (or daughter) calls me), Pops (what Jboy calls me), daddy (what Markie calls me), Mr. Lopez (what Greg calls me), MrLo (what Alli, Birches, Houligans/Usual Suspects call me), or Tata (what the grandkids call me... :-) ?)

I think I'm definitely turning into a Tata. I like being Tata. But most of all, I am blessed and thankful to have been called and adopted by our Lord through the redemptive work of His son Jesus.

Brittany and Sally have blogs going for their families. When Alli and Mark started their Lopez4Life, I've decided to start to put some things down... for posterity like. I am thinking they may wind up being kinda random and may get edited over time... but it may be a good way log some things when I get a thought, a memory, or inspiration of sorts. I hope I can stick with it. I was always very impressed with what Judy put together for Boppa a few years ago.