Meet the PROS: Frener Garcia (He/Him)
In celebration of Pride month, our PROS are sharing the importance of inclusion and belonging. ✨
Meet Frener Garcia, Senior Project Manager, Products at PROS, and a certified International Food Chef. Frener oversees the entire lifecycle of our airTRFX product, ensuring every component works seamlessly.
Born in Venezuela, Frener brings his culinary engineering skills to the kitchen, where he enjoys cooking Italian cuisine and sharing meals with friends.
As a proud member of our PRIDE Employee Resource Group, Frener shares his passion for people, processes and the importance of inclusion.
Let’s get to know Frener better!
Tell us about your journey to PROS.
I was recruited to join EveryMundo in 2018 and started as a QA Engineer. After a few months, I became a Technical Project Manager, and after integrating with PROS, became Senior Project Manager – Products. It’s been almost six years now with the organization!
What’s your favorite thing about working in your current role?
I plan the sprints and tasks that we should perform and complete every two weeks. I do this considering the product roadmap and issues reported to me. The capacity is crucial when I manage the sprints because I must consider product releases, bug fixes, security/performance improvements and deliveries/implementations for new customers or redesigns.
What I like most about my role is being involved in the entire product development process. Being a part of various relative teams allows me to have a big picture view of the product, making it easier for me than others to help solve problems. It also allows me to demonstrate my most developed skills, effective communication and empathy. These are part of my personality, and I enjoy practicing them.
What are you a PRO at?
I love cooking and sharing with friends. My favorite dishes to cook are pasta, pizza, shawarmas, tabbouleh, falafel, spring rolls and tacos.
My passion for cooking started at a young age. I come from a big family of eight with three brothers and two sisters, so seeing my mom dedicated to attending to us when we were kids and doing her best to prepare us delicious meals got my attention. That was my number one pending task on my personal ‘To Do List’ after I graduated as an Electronics Engineer and earned my master’s degree. I then finally started studying to become an International Food Chef and earned my certification a few years ago. When I moved to Ecuador as an immigrant, I started working in a restaurant until I found an opportunity in Engineering.
You are actively involved in our PRIDE Employee Resource Group. What does it mean to you to be a part of PRIDE at PROS?
I want to feel safe and avoid judgment for being gay, as well as help others to feel the same. I want to help new coworkers avoid bad experiences I faced in the past with other companies and show them that this is a safe place to work and be authentic.
How important is representation in the workplace, and how does it affect your work experience?
Having representation in the workplace brings opportunities to help others struggling with personal/family issues. It also helps us to gain visibility to teach others about our community and minorities and how they can be allies and help.
In what ways can allies better support LGBTQIA+ colleagues in the workplace?
Understanding that we are humans, and we have feelings, we have problems, we love, we eat, we sleep as the rest of the people in the world. It is not only in June to bring support, but it’s the entire year, day after day. It’s not just wearing a T-shirt with a rainbow. Hugging you and asking, ‘are you ok?’ is simple yet more effective. Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community is not a disease. We are humans, and we are family.
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Learn more about PROS culture on our careers page and become a part of our growing team by applying to our open roles. Follow #LifeatPROS on LinkedIn and Instagram for more stories from the bright minds powering PROS around the globe.