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The beach,the sea, the sun, and the magic sound of waves hitting on the rocks… A fantasylandscape where more than one of us can but imagine ourselves in any season ofthe year.
Yet, who could think that awell-known executive is also a fan of waves and surf?
When Julio Ernesto Gutiérrez Conte was19, he had already established the Bali Company. The firm was engaged inimporting neoprene suites and in the manufacture of surfboards and surf apparel.Now he chairs Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 and is a partner in CorporaciónAmérica, a multinational company with more than 5000 employees around theglobe.
However, his passion begana long time ago in the city of Mar del Plata. When I was 13, the executivesays, “Just at the age when we all want to change the world, I was dreaming ofthe sea.” Those were the first waves he got to know, run after, and climb forthe first time. Yet, they are also the ones that made him realize that in both sportsand business, and more particularly in life itself, there is always a magiccombination of adrenaline, intelligence, reasoning, and caution.
Julio Ernesto Gutiérrez Conte has learnt a lot from these early experiences.Those first shocks caused by the waves, their movement, and strength showed himthat rigidity causes agitation and that calmness and relaxation allows movingalong and adjusting to any extreme situation, even a suffocating one, up to thevery right moment where one can come to the surface and fill one's lungs withfresh air.
Nevertheless, Julio Ernesto Gutiérrez Conte wasnot pleased with climbing only the waves in Mar del Plata. He has surfed inBrazil, Peru, the West coast in the United States, the North and South Pacificcoasts, Indonesia, and Europe, among others. In addition, he lived some time inthe heavenly Huahine Island in Polynesia, which is famous as the place with thebest waves around the globe. However, he came back to Buenos Aires because hewas anxious to come back to the business world and its challenges.
It is very interesting tosee that Julio Ernesto GutiérrezConte takes this sport very seriously and in a very professionalway, and not as a mere hobby. “For me, the sea is a symbol of every situationin life. It goes from apathy because there are no waves to extreme momentswhere you can even risk your life,” he says. Moreover, he adds that beforemaking a trip to places such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, or Tahiti, he trainshimself rigorously, and more particularly when he travels to Hawaii, as “theexperience is very intense: The waves are very strong, and perhaps they are themost dangerous ones in the world.”
All along the year, theexecutive manages to accomplish a healthy balance between surf, and his role asexecutive and business leader. “Both in business and in surf, everythingdepends on timing, on managing times and getting enough training to go out and win,”Gutiérrez Contesaid.
