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For Miguel Angel Garcia Tamargo, people are the greatest resource.
With a resume spanning industries and crossing international borders, Garcia Tamargo’s approach to connecting with the market is grounded in his ability to manage people. As vice president of general services at Avangrid, his people-management skills, positive leadership style, and commitment to diversity have yielded healthy department synergy and effectively disrupted the industry at large.
Born in the north of Spain, the idea of home includes many places for Garcia Tamargo.
“I think you can feel [at home] anywhere you are happy,” he says. “When you have lived in different places, your roots are [in] more than one place . . . and I love that feeling.”
His teenage passion for soccer took him on his first international escapade, where he played in Scotland and the Netherlands. Later, he studied political science and law in Madrid. Inspired by the array of people he had met while traveling for sports, he thought diplomacy was an appropriate goal once in school. “I was a young person who focused on public policy and [trying to] save the world,” Garcia Tamargo reflects.
He spent summers in different African countries working with nongovernmental organizations on projects focused on helping children.
After completing an MBA in public administration, Garcia Tamargo worked for the regional government of Madrid, where he focused on land management and real estate. Later, he transitioned to private sector work for a large real estate company, also in Madrid.
In 2006, he accepted a position as international market director at Iberdrola, a multi-national utility company based in Spain. There, he cultivated an expertise working in international markets. By 2010, he became the portfolio director and reported directly to the CEO.
In 2017, he was asked to join Avangrid, Iberdrola’s American subsidiary, to run the optimization of its real estate portfolio. This meant relocating to the United States for one year. “I came alone without my family. My plan was: finish the project and return to Spain,” he reflects. “[Then] I got an offer to take responsibility of the whole asset management team [and] I extended my commitment to three years.”
A year and a half ago, Garcia Tamargo accepted his current position as vice president. His entire family has since relocated to Connecticut, where he resides now.
The scope of Garcia Tamargo’s role extends across corporate services. This includes oversight over building asset management, fleet operations, land management, environmental remediation, workplace experience and workplace services, and performance and budget management systems. “We are service providers for the company,” Garcia Tamargo says. “In the United States, we have seven thousand employees. That means we have seven thousand internal clients every day.”
Garcia Tamargo and his team consistently support and respond to an array of requests, complaints, and daily concerns across Avangrid’s 256 buildings, 4,500 vehicles, countless cell phones and tablets, and any company property. “I manage assets, buildings, vehicles, and devices,” he explains, “but, at the end of the day, I love working with people, [and] that’s the most important part of the job.”
“Working with a diverse team—with different languages, with different views of the world—is interesting. You learn every day.”
Miguel Angel Garcia Tamargo
As a leader, this means maintaining positivity, leading by example, making effective decisions, and being resourceful. In turn, he expects his team to do the same. “Today, I had lunch with our technicians because they were working on a specific project here,” he says. “Creating these types of personal relationships is the right way of leading people. We don’t [focus] on hierarchies, but [instead] work together.”
Even when confronted with little data, Garcia Tamargo makes quick informed decisions and takes the responsibility for unforeseen consequences. If resources are limited, he imagines solutions and actively takes the innovative steps possible. “I like to fix things,” he says. “[When] something isn’t working, I talk to people, find a quick diagnosis, and make decisions.”
Garcia Tamargo’s colleagues and partners also praise this work. Ariana Durollari, manager of corporate marketing at Savills congratulated Garcia Tamargo: “We are extremely proud of your work for many years at Avangrid. You have built an amazing and talented team to execute very challenging real estate transactions. I know your team is appreciative of your leadership and we, at Savills, are as well.”
Currently, Avangrid is adapting its workplace to a post-COVID-19 hybrid model. Coined “Working Better Together,” this initiative welcomes remote work and cultivates a better life-work balance.
In accordance with current the company’s environmental social and governance (ESG) plans, Avangrid is also working to reduce its environmental footprint by investing money into the electrification of its fleet, its buildings, and into solar panels. For Garcia Tamargo, this kind of positive industry disruption stems from having a diverse and representative team at the decision-making table.
“Diversity is a real requirement of a company who wants to be successful today because we are working in a market and in communities that [are] diverse, so you need to understand the diversity around you to be successful,” he says.
On his 180-person team, around twenty countries are represented—including Spain, the United States, Romania, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Russia, and Ukraine. “Working with a diverse team—with different languages, with different views of the world—is interesting,” Garcia Tamargo adds proudly. “You learn every day.”
His positive attitude is reflective in his personal life, too. He enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with his wife and three children. “Enjoying the moment—it’s like therapy for creating positive energy . . . that you can later serve on your team,” he says.
GLC Business Services is a team that is eager to support Miguel Garcia Tamargo’s goals, and proud to see his success. We share his vision, and aim to provide administrative services that are operationally appropriate, consistent between office locations, and scalable to support growth
