“It is incredible to see the whole process where new things are created that do not exist, building different campaigns with a new strategy,” Ingrid says enthusiastically.
Ingrid Reyes always had something clear in her mind, to travel the world, to experience different cultures.
Since she was a child, she read a lot, she was interested in classical history.
“I spent hours reading books about the Roman Empire. I was very curious, very reserved, I didn’t have many friends,” says Reyes, Co-Founder/CEO, Americas at M&A Creative USA.
Ingrid, of Honduran origin, also had another fascination, business.
“I didn’t play with dolls, I liked basketball, and at eight years old, I asked my parents for a cash register,” she says.
Her father was a salesman in a very popular store in San Pedro Sula, the family maintained a cheerful, cohesive environment. However, the time came when migration to Los Angeles was necessary.
“It didn’t affect me. My parents always talked to us about L.A., about Disneyland, for me, it was a magical land,” she mentions.
Ingrid Reyes always liked fantasy, telling stories, “I believed them because they were good stories,” she says.
In Los Angeles, she enrolled in public high school leaving behind a different school experience back home
“I started studying French, playing tennis and basketball. I loved that there was a lot of variety; I consider myself a global citizen, I started reading world history,” she adds.
She also browsed fashion magazines, Cosmopolitan, Buen Hogar, she liked to be very organize, she longed to be an interior designer.
“I dreamed of marrying an Italian,” she says.
Not everything was easy. As migrants, they also suffered economic adaptation. They lived in a very small apartment but tried to focus on the positive.
“I have always been very competitive, I started working as a receptionist and in accounting, later I entered a private institution where I graduated as an interior designer. I was very disciplined, I would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning finishing my schoolwork,” she says.
Over time, the family improved economically and had greater stability. She also got a job where she traveled to different cities working on interior designs, which soon led her to work in the homes of recognized artists and businessmen, such as Sylvester Stallone and Olivia Newton-John, and some stablished hotels.
“My life was that environment. I was achieving only part of my dreams, the other part would happen shortly after, one night I went out dancing salsa and met my Italian. We fell in love and got married,” she says, laughing.
However, Ingrid is not a woman who settles for what she has achieved but always seeks to reach that next goal that will make an impact on her life and the world.
“I was bored, despite how well I was doing in my jobs, I wondered about the legacy I could leave, I felt that my work was empty,” she says.
She made a career change and entered the advertising agencies world, where she loved the energy that was breathed after each campaign, the originality of the ideas, the way of achieving the objectives.
“It is incredible to see the whole process where new things are created that do not exist, building different campaigns with a new strategy,” she says enthusiastically.
Ingrid considers herself a very confident person, she never felt affected by being Latina or being a woman.
After a few years, the marriage to the Italian came to an end. Before that, they had embarked on the opening of two Italian restaurants, a display of their love for this culture.
“I remember when I felt lost, I want other women not to struggle as I have struggled, I don’t know what will happen or how it will come about, but it will come,” she says.
“I kept the teachings he shared because of his love for wine. After divorcing, I dedicated myself to traveling; I spent a good time in Italy, visited the wine region. He was a good teacher. His life was eating and tasting good wines,” she says.
After that long journey, she decided to go on a retreat in the Amazon, she needed to clarify her ideas and choose her next step.
She returned to the world of advertising agencies, and one of the top agencies in New York called her and ended up offering her a job. She decided to take that offer, spent a few years working there, negotiating with high level companies in the market.
After that period, she returned to Los Angeles; Ingrid Reyes taste for wines remained, and her passion for understanding more about them also increased.
“One day I met a business man who shares the same passion, so we decided to found the current agency. In addition to our dedication to wines, we offer branding to different companies, product development, market positioning, and much more,” she adds.
The curiosity that marked her as a child still remains. Currently, she wants to build several businesses, continue reading about stories of ventures that have achieved success, “I want to become the best version of myself,” she says.
She does not intend to do it alone; she wants to make it clear why she is on this earth. She seeks to transmit her knowledge and experiences to other women of color, to found a non-profit organization that helps empower them.
“I remember when I felt lost, I want other women not to struggle as I have struggled, I don’t know what will happen or how it will come about, but it will come,” she says.
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