Hispanic Heritage Month: ERG Employee Stories, Authenticity, and Learning

The Latin Network is one of 6 ERGs at Recorded Future and is also our newest. The Latin Network is on a mission to develop a network of employees interested in Hispanic/Latin culture, community and professional development of its Hispanic/Latin members. They promote employee-led diversity and inclusion initiatives to help create a supportive environment for the Latino/Hispanic community and contribute to Recorded Future’s organizational success.

The ERG provides Hispanic/Latin members a formidable voice, transparency, and openness in their endeavors to highlight cultural differences, encourage learning, professional development and success.

They are committed to building a united community that thrives on shared experiences and mutual respect.

Throughout this interview, we emphasize the importance of ERGs in fostering an authentic connection both in and beyond the workspace. A diverse and inclusive workforce not only reflects the broader society but also empowers employees to grow personally and professionally. By celebrating their heritage, sharing knowledge, and learning from each other, employees are paving the way for a stronger, more connected company culture.

Covering the Basics

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month we interviewed two Futurists from our Latin-Network: Armando Origel, ERG leader and Iris Salazar, supporting member.

From left, Armando Origel and Iris Salazar

“I work with customers throughout the Americas and Europe: Canada, US, Central and South America, and even Spain. Some of my Spanish speaking clients are from Mexico, Uruguay, Chile and Spain, which is awesome for flexing my spanish skills, specifically the cybersecurity and intelligence vocabulary.”

Armando, known as Mando, has been at Recorded Future for a year and works as a Customer Success Manager within our Intelligence Services. Day-to-day he works with customers, account managers, sales engineers and renewal reps to ensure customers’ priorities and goals are met and that Recorded Future is offering great value. In his role, he optimizes customer experience and helps clients get valuable and actionable intelligence.

“I am lucky to be working with amazing and talented teammates who are passionate about Recorded Future and customer education.”

Iris is at the forefront of client enablement at Recorded Future. With her team, she strategizes and delivers the best in class content to our clients. Whether through Recorded Future University, live instructor-led training, or via external partnerships with universities and other collaboration partners, her team is dedicated to providing high quality educational resources.

What It’s Like Working at Recorded Future For You

“From the start, I set up this network of team members and friends within Recorded Future that I can rely on.”

Armando: “I started in August of 2022 and just three weeks later, I was already traveling to Spain. It was my first time in Europe and it was really special connecting with the people I would be working with. Everybody here is not only intelligent in what they do, they also show great emotional intelligence.”

“It’s fast paced, engaging, and enjoyable.”

Iris: “I see our values and empathy shine through when there are tough conversations about work, or when someone is going through personal struggles. I also see it in our everyday work when a Futurist has an idea during a conversation and it actually turns into something really great!”

“I can see a great level of professionalism, and a willingness to help out.”

Armando: “My team is spread out all over the world, I have team members in Dublin, Italy, Singapore, the US and more. Sometimes it's hard to feel like you belong to the team, but we go the extra mile to make it work and adapt accordingly to better connect. My manager has been key in achieving that: she creates a diverse and inclusive environment within our team, she’s an ERG lead for Women@RF and an amazing ally and participant for all other ERGs.”

“We are encouraged to innovate and bring people together, internally and externally, this is paramount.”

Iris: “I’m proud of the many ERGs we have, I knew of only 1 when I started; I was privileged to co-lead it for a year. Further, ERGs come up a lot when having conversations with future partnerships because those future partners see us beyond our product and how we can help improve the life of their audiences!”

“It’s great to be able to have that kind of transparency between who I am as a person and what I do here”

Armando: “The people here are friendly and super supportive. I've been able to open up about personal things with my manager and with my team. Getting involved in the Latin Network ERG gave me another purpose and reason as to why I am at Recorded Future, beyond helping my clients protect their organizations. I’m proud to be helping Recorded Future become a more diverse and inclusive workplace. It’s been truly empowering to feel like I'm helping build a culture where everyone looks out for one another. As a company we’re trying to be very conscious of reflecting our society within the company and I think we're on a good path to build an even greater culture here at Recorded Future.”

“In my CSM role, I'm also very proud to be able to connect with my LATAM clients and help them succeed. Through my work I’ve implemented more consistent communication both because I speak the language but also because I can connect culturally. I’m proud to be able to serve my community in both of these aspects.”

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

For Hispanic Heritage Month, employees will participate in themed activities such as an inclusion workshop, games, happy hours across our offices and other educational opportunities about the latin and cybersecurity world.

Armando: “As an initiative to engage our members and promote inclusivity in the community and beyond, the Latin Network is partnering up with NOTA Inclusion to bring an Inclusive Thinking Workshop. The purpose of this workshop is to discover what matters to us and to create an inclusive community through sharing of our experiences. We share our experiences to learn to love what makes us different, but also to identify what connects us. My goal is to foster a deep level of trust so that employees can feel like the Latin network is not just an ERG but a place where they can share things, be open, comfortable, feel loved and appreciated.”

Why Get Involved in Latin-Network / ERGs

“If you want to be a part of something beyond your work, ERG involvement is a great way to leave your mark and bring authenticity into the group. That's what it is for me.”

Armando: “The people we work with and our clients come from so many backgrounds. A company needs to reflect society, to reflect our clients. We need to have these initiatives in place in order to work towards a more diverse workforce.”

Read more about our other ERGs in these blogs: Pride Month, APIDA Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, and Black History Month.

“It’s about sharing knowledge of our heritage and learning from others’. Many times you’ll find a lot unites us.”

Iris: “I think being part of a company-wide initiative is exciting because of the opportunities to work with people you may not have otherwise! You learn more about what our business does. I think you also see challenges that come with being a leader, which hopefully give context in what your direct leadership may face, which gives you greater understanding. It's also an opportunity to connect with people personally - which is just a life skill.”

Growing at Recorded Future

“I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues on how they're able to inject their own authenticity to their day to day job. It's helped me grow into my own.”

Armando: “Working with my LATAM customers has been challenging as it was new for me. It’s rewarding to find ways to get them more engaged in the platform, to ask more questions, and get them to connect with us. My role has also challenged me to be a better team member. I work with many different internal stakeholders so I have to find a way to communicate effectively with each team member based on their working style.

“My experience as an ERG leader has been really wholesome. It has helped me grow personally. I’ve learned about the why and purpose, I’ve worked with people that come from similar backgrounds and also learned about other cultures, and other ERGs.”

“Leaning into opportunities without a clear sense of how it would go has been anxiety inducing, thrilling, and completely worth it.”

Iris: “Recorded Future is a unique place to work for me. I have worked in the airline, pharmaceutical, and finance industry prior to Recorded Future. Working here has offered me opportunities that I wasn’t sure I would get, such as leading an amazing team that is making a positive impact for our clients and business, co-leading the Women’s ERG, and leading projects across our company. Though we’re a big company now there are lots of opportunities to improve and ideate on what we have today. Recorded Future is open to all of it.”

Final Words

“We live in a world that’s very divided. Whenever you're involved in ERG work, you're trying to unite.”

Armando: “It can be intimidating sometimes when you see people in your company don't reflect your background. You wonder if you’re going to be able to be authentic within the company. And because we spend so much time working, belonging is important. Recorded Future is an open-minded, diverse place, and very in sync with society. You’re constantly reminded to look beyond your work, to get involved in broader initiatives, and to inject purpose into your day to day. It's a place where you can feel like you can have an impact.”

Armando and Iris’ stories highlight the power and importance of inclusion in a rapidly changing world. We’re proud to see our Futurists embody our core values of inclusion, ethics, and high standards (Read more: Setting The Scene: Company Core Values, Our Guiding Principles). They demonstrate the role of ERGs, D&I initiatives, and all employees in building a culture of empathy, respect, and innovation and testify to the meaningful impact of their work.

As we continue to grow as a company, these stories, insights, and values help guide us. If this resonates with you, there might be a path for you here at Recorded Future. Learn more about our careers.

Armando playing Dominoes with family

Iris with her sisters-in-law