Marketing Media Manager Adriana Tovar

As of now, I'm the only Latina working in the company, but I'm not the only Spanish speaker! I joined the team in October 2014, and in that summer Genelec launched the 8351A, the very first model in our The Ones Series of monitors. The state-of-the-art technology and people behind this brand really impressed me from the moment I arrived.

As I'm based in Madrid, I generally do my work from home, which has been the case since I started here. To me, it's important to be able to separate work and home life, despite them happening in the same place. So, for example, as I wake up, I try not to check my phone straight away and instead put my focus into stretching or running – as long as I don’t have any early work meetings!

Every evening, I plan the next day and then look at my to-do list, which I keep in a notebook nowadays. I like to handwrite the details of my tasks and outline our response to any surprise media that pops up, which I refer to as 'mystery content'! As I've reviewed my plans the night before, the start of my day goes very smoothly – I know my top priorities and what's urgent. Of course, all plans should be flexible because digital channels can throw up their own surprises at any moment, so my team and I are always ready to adapt.

Typically, once I've gotten started with work, I'll check my emails and then follow up with our analytics data. Reviewing our performance on social media and YouTube has become a very important part of my day. Aside from finding out how much impact we're having, I have the pleasure of reading the positive feedback and nice comments we get from our wonderful community, providing a daily boost to my motivation. Usually, I spend the rest of the morning moving between online meetings and reviewing any content we have in the pipeline for our digital channels.

During my first seven years at Genelec, I was sharply focused on social media. Since February 2022 however, I've held a much broader role. I’m now the leader of a creative team of young and talented people that produce the content you see on our website, social media, video channels, email marketing, adverts, and a range of other mediums. We do a great job of staying in sync with each other, despite the time difference. All my breaks are adjusted to Spanish times though, so when I'm having lunch, my colleagues in Finland are usually clocking out for the day.

My work is never boring, and this is partly because of Genelec's role in revolutionising the world of audio. My previous career as a journalist was full of adventures, but I always had the feeling that something else awaited me. During only my second alignment meeting at Genelec, I had a fantastic chat with our Co-Founder Ilpo Martikainen, whom I remember very fondly. He asked if I could ever have imagined venturing from my home country Colombia to end up working at Genelec. In that moment, I shared with him one of my most personal experiences. When I was 13 years old, I spent a whole month deeply sick at hospital, and the doctors there struggled to figure out what was wrong. Eventually, we were told that my chances of a cure were very low, but I got through it. So, yes, I could imagine coming all that way to Genelec, no problem!

Thinking back, I have a lot of great memories here. Five years ago, during Genelec's 40th anniversary party, a few of my colleagues – who've been part of the company for more than ten, fifteen, even twenty or thirty years – received medals. That was touching because it demonstrated just how highly valued employees are at Genelec.

2019 was a special year! We launched more 'The Ones' monitors that year, and as part of that I got to travel to London for the first time. Getting there was a tricky process, because I needed a visa, but once there, all the content we produced, our live-stream and getting to be the director made me fulfilled. Our huge team effort was worth it, and each time I see the pictures I travel right back to Metropolis Studios and feel the excitement of good work in my chest. That same excitement struck me the day my legendary colleague, Lars-Olof Janflod, called me and said, “I'd like you to go to Ibiza to make a video with David Guetta”.

My husband also works for Genelec, so we make very good use of our home office! He's from Spain and oversees Genelec's activities in Latin American regions. As you can imagine, it can be quite challenging to disconnect from work here after hours. We have a little daughter together, who's growing up surrounded by Genelecs and immersed in the audio world. She's not a fan of loud noises and seems to already have a good ear for high-quality sound. She's been to Genelec's factory in Iisalmi, Finland a couple of times already, and we're considering a visit to Santa Claus in Rovaniemi at some point. We all love Finland!

Family life is precious. I enjoy so much the time we have playing with our daughter. I spend much of my other free time baking and reading. I especially love making brownies, muffins and cookies. During the pandemic I got into baking sourdough bread, which I enjoyed a great deal and hope to make more of in the near future. Speaking of the future, I'm glad to work for a company like Genelec that highly prioritises sustainability. I learned everything I know about the subject here, and I've been truly inspired by the many stories of my eco-friendly colleagues. Even a few of the most basic habits I've picked up, like visiting flea markets, have come from my work friends at Genelec!

Greetings from a colleague:

Hola Adriana!

I remember when we started working together to develop our presence in social media, we had plenty of fun and laughs along the way, even though we had to solve problems. You’re a true professional, and I have learned so much from you over the years. Now you have even more responsibility in your work, and once again you have shown that you face new challenges head on, never taking no for an answer!

Adriana, you always bring energy and joy to other people, and I feel very grateful that I've had the chance to work with you. I hope there's many more years to come!

Keep on being the heartfelt, warm and friendly person you are.

You colleague, Mikko Martikainen