Edwin Figueroa Shares The Secrets To Building Partnerships That Last a Lifetime
Twenty years ago, Edwin Figueroa met Jorge Blanco at a conference.
He walked up to him, expressed admiration for his work, and said he would stay in touch.
Today, Jorge is the Chief Strategy Officer at Altus, one of Euvic's largest clients. And Edwin sits on the board of Jorge's nonprofit foundation in Puerto Rico.
This is how Edwin Figueroa builds client partnerships.
As Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Euvic, Edwin brings 30 years of IT industry experience to his role. His career has included leadership positions at Honeywell, Avaya, Cisco, and Accenture.
When we introduced Edwin in his welcome post, we shared his impressive credentials.
In this piece, we go deeper into what makes his approach to client relationships different.
The Friendship-First Philosophy
When a customer relationship ends at the contract, most people start from zero with the next opportunity.
But when a friendship transcends the transaction, it compounds over time.
Former colleagues become clients, former clients become advocates, and former partners from two decades ago call you when they need help again.
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I want to know about their families. I want to know what moves them. I want to know how they're compensated. I want to know their final goals and what they want to do."
Edwin’s second-largest current customer illustrates the point well.
The CEO was a former partner at N3, where Edwin helped sell over a billion dollars for Cisco.
They stayed connected after the company was acquired by Accenture, and when the CEO needed software development support years later, he called Edwin.
All because of trust built through years of genuine relationship.
Owning Your Partners' Problems
Ask Edwin about success factors in sales, and he returns to the same theme: understanding what keeps clients awake at night.
Putting myself in the shoes of our customer was very important. Making sure that we deliver. Making sure we surpass all the expectations. That is how you continue to earn trust and friendship."
That customer advocacy extends inside his own organization. He views himself as the customer's representative within Euvic, fighting internally to make sure that promises made become promises kept.
One recent example: a former colleague needed an MVP built in under three months. The Euvic team delivered, the colleague presented it to his company, received a standing ovation, and got promoted. Outcomes like that validate the entire approach.
The same principle applied to teams during his Cisco years, when Edwin led inside sales organizations with 400+ early-career professionals.
Understanding what moved each individual allowed him to help them succeed, and many of those people are now vice presidents and presidents at companies across multiple industries.
Trust As The Foundation Of Business
Trust takes years to build and moments to destroy.
Trust is something that you earn, and it's something that you can clearly lose. But if you're out there, it doesn't matter if I was with Honeywell, if I was with Avaya, if I was with Cisco. If they knew me in any of that time, they will trust me. They know that I will bring that same commitment to any business."
The career trajectory reinforces the point. Edwin could be associated with any number of large enterprise brands, but clients associate him with himself instead.
When he moved to Euvic, his network followed because he had earned their confidence through decades of consistent behavior.
One customer that started with three engineers now utilizes thirty. They stopped hiring internal resources for certain functions entirely.
Why Edwin Is Excited About Euvic
After three decades with household names, Edwin describes Euvic as a "hidden gem."
The characterization reflects his relationship-first values. With Euvic’s 6,000 engineers, Edwin found a culture that matches his own approach: young professionals who challenge the status quo and leadership that prioritizes results over billable hours.
"They're all hungry to show the world that they are great. And they're always challenging the status quo. They listen to a customer and ask, 'Why this way when we should do it this way? We could cut a bunch of months.' The Euvic team constantly looks for efficiencies"
Gratitude Is A Growth Engine
At this stage of his career, Edwin speaks frequently about gratitude.
His first boss taught him how to survive in the Miami sales environment, while a mentor at Avaya gave him the opportunity to lead an entire region.
Colleagues at Cisco never let him fail, and his father, a business executive himself, provided guidance for the first decade of his career.
You don't do this by yourself. What is important to me is helping other people because I was helped during my career."
That sense of reciprocity shapes how he approaches current opportunities.
Former colleagues who need guidance receive it, customers who require an advocate find one, and the network that elevated his career now benefits from his willingness to give back.
The world is moving very fast and companies that don't modernize are going to struggle. Euvic helps customers to compete and be more agile, and they do it at a scale that is hard for companies to do with internal talent.
Connect With Edwin Figueroa
Edwin is always interested in catching up with former colleagues, exploring how Euvic might help solve technical challenges, or simply reconnecting with people from his network.
You can find Edwin on LinkedIn at /in/edwin-figueroajr.
Outside of work, he is usually fishing or supporting causes that matter to him, including the Boy Scouts of America and nonprofits promoting the communications industry in Puerto Rico.
Euvic is a competitive advantage for us. The technical excellence that Euvic has brought is not easily matched and their support has become integral to our growth strategy.
Euvic is a competitive advantage for us. The technical excellence that Euvic has brought is not easily matched and their support has become integral to our growth strategy.
Euvic is a competitive advantage for us. The technical excellence that Euvic has brought is not easily matched and their support has become integral to our growth strategy.
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