Getting to know Leydis Moreno

Let’s learn a little more about Leydis Moreno, our Purchasing Coordinator for Mar Azul Projects. This proud Santeña has been part of our company since 2015, and since then she has collaborated both in the Purchasing Department towards all projects and in the Administration and Commercial areas.

Leydis is a graduate of the Technological University of Panama and has worked in the construction sector for twelve years, dealing with purchases for different projects depending on their type: hotels, residential, beach houses, and even in a luxury car dealership.

Outside of her working life, Leydis defines herself as a cheerful, positive, creative, and empathetic person, characteristics that we can attest to throughout these years at Mar Azul. She tells us that it is difficult for her to say no, so we always find her willing to collaborate with whoever needs her. In her free time, she likes to read, spend time with her family, and she loves to travel to see new places. She is also considered an enthusiast of cultural activities; the theater, especially, for which she has participated in several children’s plays. She tells us about reading: “I really enjoy English literature, authors like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, they take me back to their time.”

We asked Leydis to share some curiosity that not everyone knows about her and she told us this: “I love coffee and I started a business with my husband and brother-in-law in the middle of the pandemic. Its name: 1903 Cafe. And now, more recently, I started another venture by producing articles using sublimation and vinyl: Pantone Rosso.”

About Mar Azul

At work, what are you most passionate about?

“For me, the purchasing area is totally exciting and diverse. You never stop learning, there are always new products, new trends, and you never stop discovering something new, plus, in whatever industry, you can always apply your knowledge, it’s very versatile. One of the things that I like most about working in purchasing is that no day is the same as another, and about working at Mar Azul, the confidence that the directors give us, the pride of being part of a company with good values, and with a very united team. Being able to develop and be listened to by our bosses, the camaraderie, and the work environment are the things that I value the most. In addition, I also contribute content for our website and social networks to the commercial department and I always learn something new in an area totally different from my previous experience.”

We asked Leydis to tell us about her career at Mar Azul Projects, what has been an important experience and/or teaching?

“When I joined Mar Azul, I think that in the final interview, they told me: “this purchasing position does not currently exist, so you have to prove why a figure like yours is required in the company”. This phrase created a challenge for me and, from that moment on, several years have passed, during which I was nominated and awarded Rookie of the Year and Best Administrative Management, which makes me very happy for what I have been able to contribute and, likewise, it challenges me to continue learning and improving.”

We asked her to share with us a personal anecdote at Mar Azul that she always remembers: “…uff, which one of so many and how to summarize? A very funny anecdote now, because at the time it wasn’t (laughing), was that one day, a beach project needed support with receiving some tires for a little mule, at the central office, so that the project engineer could pick them up. We coordinated that the engineer would be in the office just at the moment the tires arrived so that they could be transferred directly to her car and that they would not remain in the reception area, but guess what? It didn’t happen like that! The four tires arrived first at the reception and, just at that moment, Mr. José Ramón entered and the entire reception smelled of tires. From my position I only heard him ask annoyed what those tires were doing there and who owned them. Are we now a workshop? and the receptionist said, “From Leydis.” Horror! I went to see how and where to move them and just as I was taking the tires to relocate them, I came face to face with the engineer with the tires in my hands. Very kindly he didn’t say anything to me, but he was very upset. I wanted to die and take with me the project engineer who hadn’t arrived yet. Later, the situation was clarified and the tires were gone, but it was a moment that I will not forget.”

To conclude, we asked her, what does she considers to be the keys to achieving goals, both professionally and personally? Here are her five keys:

→ Teamwork, union is strength;
→ Empathy, we do not know what is happening or what situation the person next to us is going through;
→ See the good side of things, of bad or difficult things you always learn;
→ Do not take things personally, we are not the center of the universe; and
→ Knowing that every situation is not eternal, it can always improve.