Author
July 14, 2023
I had a truly joyful discussion with the charismatic, funny, and insightful Rafael Nóbrega, our recently-named Product Chief of Staff. His energy is infectious, and I’m sure I could’ve talked to him for hours about his exciting work at Digibee, his plans for the future, and how he delivers a high performance at work without giving up his personal life.
Why Digibee?
After a long career in the tech industry, beginning with IT services and then moving to the product side, Rafael was looking for a new challenge. Although initially hesitant about the Product Marketing position at Digibee, a recruiter encouraged him to apply, believing he had the ideal skill set and experience for the role.
Already intrigued by Digibee’s integration solution, Rafael reached out to his network and found a friend who was such a satisfied Digibee customer, that he championed the product to other CIOs. Rafael then connected with CTO and co-founder Peter Kreslins Jr. to discuss the opportunity. That conversation was crucial to his decision; it sparked his professional curiosity, confirmed that his skills and experience aligned with Digibee’s goals, assured him of a cultural fit, and convinced him that Digibee’s platform was worth believing in. After two years (and three different roles) at Digibee, Rafael is confident that he made the right choice in joining the team.
Life at Digibee
Rafael has just taken on this new Chief of Staff role. His goal is to support the needs of the product team to allow the CTO to focus their efforts on the strategic agenda. He’s dedicated to overseeing each part of the product organization and understanding how the areas can most efficiently connect with each other to bring the most value to Digibee.
The challenge, Rafael says, is figuring out which strategy will produce the most impact. Digibee is a sophisticated organization working across many regions, with a range of skills, a diverse workforce, and complex technology. Rafael brings value through the many roles he’s held throughout his tech career. He laughed that he isn’t a specialist in any one area, “I’ve changed my role so many times that this has become my skill. I can connect the pieces and be a liaison because I understand all the smaller parts and how they connect to the larger whole.”
Digibee offers both a technical and social challenge to align organizationally. Rafael came equipped with the technical background, but he has also found enlightenment through researching human behavior. In addition, incorporating therapy into his life has provided an incredible tool for self-understanding and strengthening his relationships with others. He believes both helped him gain valuable interpersonal strategies that contribute to making him a more effective manager and leader for his team.
The Future Ahead
Rafael is highly enthusiastic about Digibee’s future and the chance to revolutionize the way the world does integration. He thrives in the fast-paced environment, embraces the shifting priorities, and even loves the uncertainties of the startup world, recognizing that all these factors fuel innovation. Rafael said “Digibee is different from its competitors, so there’s no recipe, but also no limit to the impact we can make on the industry.”
Digibee is different from its competitors, so there’s no recipe, but also no limit to the impact we can make on the industry.
Rafael believes that to bring about effective change both now and in the future, the key will be to align vision, strategy and execution on a global scale. Like many of the “Digibees” I’ve interviewed, Rafael believes Digibee’s workforce is unique and exceptional. He’s eager to support and contribute to the continuous growth of the team. He’s also cognizant of measuring and evaluating each area of the organization to ensure a balanced workload, effective performance, and alignment with everyone’s individual professional goals and purpose.
Balancing Work & Life at Digibee
The ability to work remotely has been a significant blessing for Rafael in achieving a balance between high performance and his personal life. As a self-proclaimed “family guy,” he loves spending time with his wife and two daughters (ages 3 and 6). He values how working from home has afforded him more time to really connect with his family. Family trips, particularly to the beach, hold a special place in their hearts. Growing up near the beach, being close to the ocean allows Rafael to reconnect with nature and recharge.
Of course, like many parents, having young children means priorities shift, and many of your hobbies get put on hiatus for a while. Rafael, being a beach lover, used to surf. He hopes when his daughters are older, they’ll get on board (pun-intended) with his hobby and he’ll return to it.
Rafael has also been devoted to meditation for the past four years. At first, he joked that he assumed he “was too anxious to meditate,” but a friend encouraged him to start out slow. While it took a while to build up to a routine, practicing mediation has changed his energy, outlook, and life for the better. Rafael commented that meditation has “taught me a skill that has transformed me into a new person. I can face challenges in an entirely different way. When there’s a lot happening in my mind, meditation provides the tools to process and deal with the problem.” It was really fascinating and inspiring to discuss mediation with Rafael and hear the way it has affected him and improves him both personally and professionally.
At Digibee, we have a team of truly incredible individuals working together to bring our innovative enterprise integration solution forward in the US and globally. It was a pleasure talking to one of our exceptional “Digibees,” Rafael, about his experiences at Digibee. Keep reading our employee highlights to learn more about this amazing team of people working to make Digibee’s mission possible.
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