Albi Moctezuma, 39

Albi Moctezuma started at Cruise Car in 2009 as a vehicle assembler.

The growing Sarasota-based company manufactures low-speed vehicles and assembles Moke electric vehicles. “As the company grew, so did team I was working with,” says Moctezuma. To train team members, he started taking photos of the assembly process to make training manuals.

The initiative he showed helped Moctezuma stand out, and he was quickly promoted to customer service and parts manager. Earlier this year, he was promoted to operations manager. “It’s been a good journey — a lot of expansion and growth, not only with the company, but myself, too,” he says.

Moctezuma was born in Puerto Rico and moved into a rough area with his mom and siblings when he was 10. They didn’t have a car, so they had to walk everywhere. “I got involved with kids in the neighborhood that weren’t good,” he says. “My mom said that was the last straw, and she decided to move here.” As an adult in the U.S., Moctezuma worked for Verizon and did some cooking work before joining Cruise Car. He says his past experiences have motivated him.

At Cruise Car, his role is wide-ranging and involves ordering parts, assisting with the building process and performing quality control inspections. He also helps customers and fellow coworkers who come to him with questions. “I just embed myself in everything we do here,” he says. “I try to put myself into the projects and learn as much as I can.”

On a day-to-day basis, Moctezuma communicates directly with Cruise Car’s customers, including buyers, mechanics and the vehicles’ end users. His time with the company has also involved traveling to customers in different parts of the world, from China and South Korea to Saint Kitts and the Turks and Caicos Islands. When customers call or email him, as they do often, he keeps the Golden Rule in mind. “We all want to be treated like we’re No. 1,” he says.

Another key to his success? A cheerful disposition at work. “If you keep a good attitude and project a good attitude, people may follow,” he says. “I try not to let anything get to me. I calmly try to approach things just because there’s times you have to look at it from a customer’s perspective.”

Moctezuma’s favorite part of his job is the people he works with. “It’s always a pleasure to come into work knowing I work with a great team,” he says. “It’s almost like my second family. It just keeps growing and growing. It feels good to be a part of that.”

GAME STATS

Age

39

City of Residence

Sarasota

Employer

Cruise Car Inc.

Title

Operations Manager

Birthplace

Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Years on the Gulf Coast

25

Marital Status/Children

Single/2

Alma Mater/Degree

School of Hard Knocks – Masters

What community group or organization are you most involved with?

Cruise Car Inc.

What's the weirdest job you've ever had?

Hired to catch a tarantula

What's your top tip for being productive?

Focus and keep moving

If you could have a side hustle, what would it be?

Food Truck

What's your favorite off-hours activity?

Cooking

What's your favorite board game, game show or video game?

Assassin’s Creed

What’s your go-to delivery service? (DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub, Bite Squad, etc.)

Self

What do you use most — Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams or Google Meetings?

Zoom and Eyeson

What’s the best binge-worthy show you have enjoyed during the pandemic?

Mandalorian

What’s the longest virtual meeting you’ve been on since mid-March?

3 hrs

How many times had you used video for a work meeting prior to the pandemic?

0

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned during the pandemic?

I miss reading facial expressions and strangers now keep their distance

What do you miss most about the world pre-pandemic?

Social Gatherings/Interactions

What have you been spending more time doing during the pandemic?

Watching TV

Do you prefer working from home or working from an office?

Office - enjoy the banter

How have you kept up camaraderie with colleagues during the pandemic?

We all wear masks, social distance with the long distance High Fives or fist bumps. Humor is able to permeate the masks!

What’s the first thing you’ll do after the pandemic?

Remove mask, go to a Bucs or Lightning game with friends