Juan, forever in our hearts

I met Juan, the Godfather, in the 2006 P&G IDS event for students in Bucharest.

Juan was the sort of person that best exemplified how a job could be more than just work. He put his heart into every moment of that week, filling each day with new surprises. One day he was singing and dancing, the next he was putting on a show as an enraged CEO…

He was passionate, humble, caring, wise and truly inspirational.

On one of the days of that week, we had dinner at the People’s Palace in Bucharest. In that wonderful setting, Juan was presented with a reward for his lifetime achievements at P&G. Juan accepted it with tears of gratitude in his eyes. I looked around and saw everybody’s eyes glistening with the emotion of assisting to something special. It was clear by then that he was an exceptional person.

When we got back from that week, Juan wrote us all an email. Amongst other things, he said the following:

“Life is an act of creation, of creating you every day, every second and experience who you are and who you want to be, who you want to be in your dreamed best version of who you can be.”

His words were backed up by his great example. He left a big impact on me and I will miss him very much. My thoughts are with his family.

It is very difficult to summarize Juan in words. Juan was, above all, emotions, Juan had an ability to touch people, to create bondings, to make everyone feel better that I have not seen matched by anyone else.

Juan had a genuine interest in people. He listened to you, he valued you, he understood you and he made you feel it.

There are so many memories, so many emotions, so many ways we touched my life, it is difficult to choose a few to share here.

As with many other people, he persuaded me to join P&G. It was back in 1996 and the whole process took 9 months!!! Still, he made me a passionate of the company before I joined, he talked to my parents to reassure them that P&G was the right company for me (they still remember him) and he pulled a magic job offer from the sleeve a week before I was going to go to a consulting company.

He was the perfect “Spanish” GENTLEMAN. A noble by birth-right, a descendant of Kings and Emperors, he deserved every single letter of the word, every day, every occasion.

These days we talk a lot of about creating “experiences” for the consumer. He was clearly an early adopter and a master of the art. Juan was able to make an event of almost anything. Back in April 1997, we had the first WE MSD summit in Madrid for CRP. After a long day, we thought we went just for another business dinner. Instead, he had a special bus for us, gave all of us a master class on Madrid on the way to the restaurant and took us afterwards for a tour of old Madrid that many have not yet forgotten.

He had an encyclopedic memory. He could remember everyone he had met, their names, origins, anecdotes and preferences. Impossible for many, just another proof of his passion for people for most. In exchange, everyone remembers him. I often joked that if he went to the Vatican and showed up in the main balcony people would wonder who was that person in white talking to Juan. His knowledge on almost every other matter was unrivalled: An engineer by training, a historian by passion, a Wikipedia before Internet was born.

The one thing you could not do with Juan is to get angry with him. For a while he was responsible for SWING, one of our first attempts of centralized PC support for CBD. The PC of a Spanish team leader broke and got sent to Newcastle for repair. Somehow, it got lost. Not only that, two backups made by the team leader did not work. Still, he managed to tell the story in such incredible way (it included the laptop falling from a plane over the English Channel) that the team leader ended up laughing, knowing all his data was lost, still unable to have a bad feeling.

Juan was never sad. Never in public, at least. Even during his illness, he taught us so many things and inspired all of us so much that it was difficult to know who was supporting whom. He even dismissed the word “patient.” It meant being passive and waiting. Instead, he was active and forward looking. Once again a role model.

He taught all of us many things: to confront life, to live to its fullest extent, to make mistakes and recover from them, to reinvent ourselves continually, to be optimistic and make reality conform to our desires.

His body has left us, his soul is now in Heaven and his memories, his teachings, his legacy now leave in each and every one of our hearts.

And I will just finish with one of Juan’s favorite words, one of his trademarks, the way he would want all of us to feel right now: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFENOMENAL

Juan was a gentleman in every meaning of the word. His grandmother was a Scottish peasant girl from Argyll and how he loved that part of the world and his Cameron heritage. He is much loved and greatly missed.

Sobre o Juan nunca ninguém tinha um “mas” para acrescentar quando se enalteciam as suas múltiplas qualidades humanas e profissionais. Tendo trabalhado em alguns momentos com ele, achava interessante nunca dar um murro na mesa ou mesmo soltar algum palavreado menos cortês tão ao gosto dos falantes do castelhano quando as coisas não corriam pelo melhor. Em seu lugar, tirava os óculos que segurava na mão direita, sustinha a respiração por momentos até ficar de face rosada, respirada de novo já com os óculos e um sorriso pronto e declarava “vamos resolver isto!”. Era consensualmente um fazedor, um amigo, e porque utilizava aqui a língua portuguesa de que era exímio falante, fica este Post nesse idioma que tão bem acarinhou.

First, I want to thank Juan for his kindness and love which he shared with me personally. Though we had only met two or three times, he invited me to be part of his “family of friends” and found a seat for me next to him at the Madrid bullfighting and explained to me the culture, art and drama of the Spanish people in one fabulous evening which I treasure! He yelled out for “More Red Wine” or “Pass the Bread” or “My friend Tony needs more cheese!” I thank Juan for creating a “force field” of trust and he invited everyone to his tranquil environment. Nothing could break his deep trust and appreciation of others.

Second, I appreciate Juan for all of his care for people of all cultures. He saw the breath of life in each person — refrained from judging others and appreciated each person for the infinite value of being a human being, with each of our qualities, including frailties.

He reflected on a daily basis the love, compassion and hope of the Creator to whom he returns. Wonderful!

Anthony Y. Tsai

When somebody like Juan leaves us, all of us die a little bit.

I met Juan in 1999, and he was the one that persuaded me to leave Siemens for P&G. The fact that I could learn from him and enjoy his friendship was well worth it.

Juan taught us business, values and a sense for living. That kind of “angels” that are among us and keep the world up and running. He was so good, that he decided to go somewhere else where he could lead us even more.

His everlasting smile will never abandon us.

I am writing this note with the conviction that Juan is still with us, because he has left an amazing footprint in me and in several others.. Juan was more healthy that many other people I know during his disease.. he was an amazing pacient and more impressive friend during these last years. As a person, as a peer and with the reference of the family and friends he was unforgettable..! As one of them said, Juan was the closest person to a saint I have ever known!. I thanks God for having met Juan. He was and will continue being in my prayers!. GRACIAS DON JUAN!.

Many years passed since I met Juan… Actually, I met him only once face to face but I do remember him very well. Fortunately, I had a chance to work with Juan remotely for quite a while and that was a great experience in the early days of my career. Rest in peace Juan.

Juan was “Heart and Soul”. let us all carry this legacy forward, forever.

Superb text above, i did felt a temporary emptiness in my heart but then i wrote this. hope it helps us all, shared pain is less pain
“Dead People are Invisible, they are not Absent” Said Saint Augustin. We never get confortable not seeing them but one shall quickly sense they suround us… specially a person like Juan. Juan, we will continue do our best to make you proud of us