Make Yourself Indispensable: Interview with Luis Berruga, CEO of Global X
I recently went one on one with Luis Berruga, CEO of Global X.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Luis: It’s great to connect with you as well, Adam. I grew up in La Roda, Spain. My childhood was very formative, particularly because it cultivated my passion for people and sports – two things I still carry with me to this day.
But the real influence is my father who, 50 years ago, founded the Club Polideportivo La Roda, a multisport club for young people in my hometown, with the goal of providing a healthy and safe environment for kids. The club has been tremendously successful over the years, producing top athletes across several different disciplines. There, I saw the impact of teamwork, persistence, and passion first-hand. We can learn all types of lessons from sports. To this day, I have posters of Rafael Nadal, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant in my office that serve as reminders of how great leaders have the potential to leave lasting legacies and inspire those around them (teams, fans, colleagues) to try to be and do better.
Anybody who knows me knows that I’m relentlessly positive, and that’s something that came from my upbringing as well. I like to think that positivity was my North Star during an experience I had in college when I came down with tuberculosis. I was devastated to have to put my studies on hold and be on bed rest for several months. This was one of the most challenging setbacks of my life, both emotionally and physically.
Now, reflecting on it, this experience really shaped my outlook as a leader and was instrumental to my growth. Beating this disease– and my mindset during it – is a big part of who I am today and how I lead. It’s from that experience that developed my four P’s of leadership – Positivity, Patience, Perspective and Passion.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?
Luis: I’ll start by providing some background on how I got to Global X. I was employee number 10 at the firm in 2014, which now has more than $40 billion in assets under management, 200 employees, and over one million investors across more than 90 countries. As someone who became disillusioned by the historically cut-throat culture of investment banking, I was looking for something different and was inspired by Global X right away. I thought the firm had a refreshing approach – operating in the often-rigid financial services sector – and I agreed with its aspirations: To be an industry challenger that valued curiosity and creativity in launching high-quality products that solve problems for clients. That was a lofty goal, considering the firm’s humble beginnings. The firm has grown rapidly since then and being part of that growth process for nearly a decade has been incredibly exciting and rewarding.
This journey has also taught me a lot about what it means to build a business that still has a personal touch, regardless of size. Scaling a business isn’t only about having the best products or hitting your numbers every quarter. Don’t get me wrong--those metrics are great to have but those alone won’t be enough to sustain an organization long-term. Instead, it all comes down to meaningful connections with people. Every person at an organization needs to feel like they have a stake in the game, and that they matter. Employee happiness and engagement are the ultimate competitive advantages. To me, it’s always been easy because I genuinely care about our people. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility towards them and their families. There are a lot of things out of your control working in a business driven by the markets – what you can control is how you treat your people. If they’re happy, your business will grow organically.
Over the past several years, Global X has worked to develop the infrastructure to be a leading ETF issuer, not just in the US, but in key ETF markets around the world. Global X’s future growth plans include continuing to execute against the global infrastructure the firm has put in place and accelerating what we’ve done since inception. Maintaining our culture as we expand into new markets is a top priority for me.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Luis: Exceptional leadership is built upon trust; that’s the foundation of all relationships, whether that’s collaborating internally, counseling clients, or deepening ties to stakeholders. Trust can seem like a nebulous concept, so I want to break down what that looks like in practice.
A trusted leader walks the walk. They mean what they say and say what they mean, exemplifying integrity and putting their best foot forward each day in the workplace. Given Global X’s humble beginnings, I’ve done everyone’s job at one point or another. I never ask anyone to do anything that I haven’t done myself.
A trusted leader is transparent and honest. They clearly articulate the company’s vision and goals so the entire organization has a grasp of what they’re working toward and what their mission is. Transparency means being real about performance, and where your company is at. It’s easy to do that when things are going well, but how you act when your back is against the wall is what shows real character.
A trusted leader creates an environment where others are comfortable to show up authentically. Every email I send ends with “Vamos” (a nod to my Spanish heritage), which literally translates from Spanish to English to mean “Let’s go.” It signifies passion, positivity, energy, and teamwork and is a phrase that’s been with me for a long time. “Vamos” is something I used to say to my team when I played basketball back in high school (and what I still say even today when I’m cheering at the TV watching sports). I hope that by being enthusiastic and authentic to who I am, I can encourage others at work to do the same. I also like to make sure that I impart just a little bity of goofiness to the culture, to make people feel like they can truly be themselves.
Adam: What are the keys to building a winning organizational culture?
Luis: Strong organizational culture is derived from having a workplace where prospective talent wants to work and where current employees want to stay and contribute and can see a future for themselves. Giving people a sense of ownership over the work they are doing is essential.
Keeping employees as happy and engaged as possible should be every executive’s number one priority. It’s certainly mine. Many companies pride themselves on things like professional development and training modules – to me, these investments are moot if there’s no substance or intentionality behind them. CEOs must stay close to what employees are thinking, feeling, and needing to not only drive value for the organization but to ensure their people feel fulfilled themselves.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Luis: As I touched upon earlier, the four P’s of leadership – Positivity, Patience, Perspective and Passion – are qualities that I think help make leaders effective. It’s about staying positive when times are tough, having the patience to trust the process – as well as having confidence that things will turn out okay – and maintaining perspective with a level-head, regardless of the challenges that may occur.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Luis: Leaders are never done learning, adapting, growing, or honing their craft. No matter how successful someone is or how well-established in an organization they are, there’s always something new to learn and improve upon. Being open to criticism, feedback, and coaching is essential. None of us knows it all, and we must count on support from others to help us get to where we want to go and build our skillsets. Part of the benefit of surrounding yourself with talented people is that they are going to be best equipped to provide you with the feedback you need to improve even further, and I have often benefitted from the advice of my team.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Luis: I’d like to talk about being nice, empowering others, and making yourself indispensable:
Being nice. Perhaps most importantly, every leader (and person) should aspire to be someone whom they would want to work for and partner alongside. Regardless of industry, the health of a business is dependent on building strong relationships, and that starts with human decency, and going back to the basics. Kindness never goes out of style, and it’s not something anyone should think they’re exempt from, even at the highest levels of an organization. People are a company’s most important asset. There’s a great excerpt from Robert Fulghum’s book of short essays: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” that was published back in 1986. It outlines lessons like “share everything,” “say you’re sorry when you hurt someone,” and “clean up your own mess” that are still poignant to this day and reflect how we should interact with one another – both in and out of the workplace. In the business world, we can actually learn a lot from children and how they treat one another. It might seem simple, but it’s an important reminder.
Empowering others. I’m proud that Global X fosters a culture in which a great idea can come from anywhere – regardless of experience level or tenure in the workforce. That’s served us really well in the past because some of our most innovative ideas have actually come from unlikely sources. It’s all about giving people an opportunity to rise to the occasion and maybe even surprise you with their innovative thinking.
Making yourself indispensable. When I first moved to the U.S., I was an unpaid intern at Morgan Stanley and worked incredibly hard. I understood that I had to demonstrate my value in big ways, especially as an immigrant who experienced adversity given the language barrier, cultural adjustments, and having to adapt to an entirely new environment. I did this by owning and excelling at tasks that others weren’t willing to do, like replacing printers and rewiring office equipment.
As a result, I was a sponge, learning everything I could about my department. That investment in gaining intuitional knowledge served me well. I made myself indispensable to the organization; my colleagues valued my work ethic – and the unique value that I brought to the table – in profound ways. Eventually, I was able to get my first full-time job in the U.S. and progress from there.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topic of investing?
Luis: It is important for investors to consider their specific financial goals. For example, are you saving for retirement? Looking to afford a down payment on a home? Paying for children’s education? Nailing down your specific goals will help to guide your go-forward investment strategy.
With the recent proliferation of the self-directed retail channel, we are seeing first-time and younger investors access the financial markets. The democratization of investing is very exciting, however key to making smart investment decisions is financial education. Investors have a lot of options when deciding where and how to invest their money, so it’s essential to become informed.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Luis: Stay positive and focus on what you can control, rather than what you can’t. It’s human nature to fixate on things that are simply beyond our control – like geopolitical events, market volatility or a global pandemic. But that isn’t necessarily productive nor is it conducive to achieving success.
Optimism does not equate to naivete. It’s about understanding that not every day will be easy, and not every task will be straightforward, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. A leader’s steady approach during times of strife – and their ability to remain calm, stay positive, and instill confidence – helps define who they are and what their legacy can be.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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