In this interview, Rodrigo Morell Sanromá, RSM Puerto Rico Consulting Principal, talks about music, finding opportunities, and sticking to your long-term vision.  

 

Could you start by telling us a little bit more about yourself? 

I am one of three siblings, father of two young men. In early 2017, I became a widow. After experiencing that devastating event, I am grateful to say I found a new love and have been in a relationship with her for over 5 years now. I went to an American school from 3rd to 8th grade, so I learned English at a young age and that gave me access to opportunities, later in life, that were not available for most. After graduating from Colegio San Ignacio, I went to Georgia Tech and earned my degree in Industrial Engineering, graduating with the highest honors, in the top 5% of my class (of over 1,800 students). I like challenges, puzzles and solving problems, which are great skills to have as a consultant!

Early in life, I was exposed to music given that my maternal grandfather was world-renowned classical pianist Jesús María Sanromá. With such a musical heritage, I learned to play piano, of course, but also guitar, and trumpet, which I played in a musical school band of over 20 selected students. While in that band, the drums always intrigued me, so I built a drum set out of boxes and pot lids when I was 13. I would “play” so much with it at home that my mom had my grandpa come hear me. He nodded affirmatively, validating my musical talent. I then took classes for one semester at the Conservatory and the rest has been self-taught. I still love playing the drums, and I actively do! I’m the drummer of a cover band called Silver Rebel, with another firm partner. My favorite song to play is the live version of “Joy to the World”, by Three Dog Night.

Tell us the story of how you came to work in the firm and your career path to partnership.

Upon graduating from college, my then girlfriend (later wife) showed my resume to a friend, and somehow it got into the hands of Arthur Andersen’s Managing Partner back in 1983. He was a Georgia Tech alumnus, so when he saw my resume, he decided to give me a chance and hired me. My first boss there was Carlos Cuevas, who was the Consulting Manager, and would turn out to be my boss for over 30 years.  In 1985, Arthur Andersen decided the Consulting practice was not profitable or growing, high billing rates being one of the factors. AA decided to close it and transfer personnel to other offices. Carlos found an opportunity of opening and building a new Consulting practice in RSM Puerto Rico (which had a different name then), and asked our group to join him. Wanting to stay in Puerto Rico, I decided to accept the offer. Together, we quickly grew to become the largest Consulting practice in a local accounting firm, serving Puerto Rico and the entire Caribbean region.  

My professional career in RSM started in 1985. I put in the work, earned my promotions, and moved through the ranks quickly, making partner (Consulting Principal) in eight years (1993). I think one achievement that put me in the path to partnership was developing EMAS in 1990, a modular accounting software that we then sold to 30+ companies mainly in distribution and manufacturing in Puerto Rico, but also to companies in other countries, bringing in new clients and a steady income into the firm. Supporting EMAS clients is still part of our practice, some of them depending on it for decades! 

I believe my story is an example that anyone who comes to this firm with the vision and the desire to grow and become a partner can make it happen. The goal is attainable and the opportunities exist. One needs to focus on the long-term objective, and not be derailed by short-term, tempting opportunities that are sure to appear along the journey. I had very tempting offers from other firms and even clients, but glad I decided to stay and reach the goal of becoming a capital partner. If you remain steady, put in the hours, give your best effort at all times, gain trust from clients and peers, and think in a long-term professional objective, you can also make it. In contrast, sudden “too good to be true” opportunities often result in short-term improvements that do not work out in the long-term.

In the past few years, RSM Puerto Rico has managed to overcome three natural disasters, two hurricanes (María and Fiona) and an earthquake—all of which devastated the island—and a pandemic that changed the way business is done. What has been your strategy to lead your team through such challenging times? 

The year Hurricane María hit, 2017, was very hard for everyone. In my case, it was hard for me both personally and professionally. Many of my distribution and manufacturing clients were hurting, and many opportunities and projects came to a halt. Additional hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemic events since, always disrupt the normal course of business and require finding opportunities and new ways to stay on top. Certain industries become very active during and after disasters, but not the typical manufacturing and distributions I usually serve. Being the problem solver that I am, and dedicated to technology, these disasters always bring new challenges. 

My instinct was to assess where we were in terms of damage and capacity, and from there, identify opportunities to help companies operate while recuperating their systems. For instance, due to event such as María and Fiona, we have been actively engaged in projects to have mobile systems operate “off-line”, when there is no data signal, connecting to company servers only when returning to their office, where the company is operating using a power plant. Disasters force you to re-think day to day systems and how to make them work remotely. As another example, we at RSM had to re-deploy our time report and accounting systems to work via the Internet when the pandemic hit us and forced us to work from home. We have been successful in responding to the challenges, and feel satisfied for being part of the team to commit to addressing and finding solutions for them.

What do you uniquely contribute to the team of partners?

Without hesitation, I can tell you that I am the most technical partner. Systems and infrastructure have been my core strengths for many years, and I still do development work and design applications. Also, Excel is my playground (laughs). When my partners have a technical issue or question, they know they can come to me, and I’ll help them find a solution. Fun fact! While I am not the oldest of the partners, I am the partner with the most years of experience as a partner. 

How are things changing in the practice of your specialization that is reshaping businesses?

In technology, everything changes very quickly. Now anything can be connected to the Internet. One advantage that we have as consultants is that we are exposed to practical knowledge in the field. As our role continues to require specialization in different technologies, systems, and processes, this gives us the opportunity to learn from one experience and transfer that knowledge into other experiences. That said, finding competent resources continues to be a challenge. 

Changes in technology turn past systems into obsolete, and you have to continue re-inventing your “bag of tricks”. For example, for the past 4 years I have led an effort to have RSM Puerto Rico become partner with Sage for selling and implementing their Sage X3 system. We are the Sage partner with exclusive rights to selling Sage X3 in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. I foresee a Sage X3 practice can become a determining force in our Consulting Division in the next 2-3 years, representing an annual revenue-generator of services behind the product.

How do you envision the future of the firm?

The current generation of partners has been able to nearly double this firm’s growth. We’re currently in an upward spiral and I foresee that it will continue growing through new clients, collaborations, and business lines, from Consulting to the rest of the firm. I would like my legacy to be that I contributed to establish and build long-term relationships with our clients, relationships that transcend me as an individual and which set the stage for further business growth once I retire. We as partners approaching retirement age need to ensure we are preparing our up and coming stars to pass the baton.

And what about you as a person outside of work – what do you like to do in your free time?

I have to start by saying music is my main hobby. Playing drums in a band takes continuous practice to maintain agility, speed, and endurance. A drummer’s arms get tired during long “gigs”, so you have to be ready to sustain the rhythm. I like to watch drummers in videos, to learn how certain songs are played. I also like to go to rock concerts, particularly to see bands that play 70’s and 80’s rock and pop music. Neal Pert, from the Canadian group called Rush, was my favorite drummer. Phil Collins is also one of my favorites. I learned to play drums playing along to early Chicago’s (the band) music, and must admit my playing was greatly influenced by Danny Seraphine, Chicago’s drummer.

I have recently taken golf as a hobby, and have played in several charity tournaments representing RSM. Since my early years, baseball has been my favorite sport, and I still enjoy watching every single game of my team — go Braves! Outside of sports, I enjoy traveling and want to keep checking off destinations from my bucket list. One place that impressed me was Dubai, not for the obvious reasons, the opulence, but more so thinking about everything that has been built in what used to be a desert. 

I enjoy cooking, thanks to my mom who taught me when I was very young – that helped me survive college in the U.S., and may have saved a couple of my roommate’s lives too. 🙂 Afterwards in life, I have always been the primary go-to-guy that cooks in my home. A few of my go-to dishes are rice and beans, pastas, meats on the BBQ, and serenata de bacalao con viandas (Puerto Rican codfish salad). I usually get good reviews from those who try it. In more passive activities, I like to watch drama and mystery series on Netflix. Breaking Bad and Peaky Blinders are two of my favorite series.

Music, of course, is a must in my life. I play piano to relax or to inspire me when I feel down. My favorite band is Chicago, particularly their second double album (Chicago II, released in 1970). I still enjoy listening to that record!

 

This is the eight delivery in a series of interviews to our partners and leadership, in lieu of the firm’s 45th anniversary celebration and inspired by an internal communication initiative by RSM International.