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It was a choice that still makes Luis Enrique Duran Amaya cringe a little bit. In his first role that wasn’t a fast-food job, Duran Amaya quickly became the smartest tech guy in the room. His bosses were more on the accounting side of the business, and therefore they were willing to defer to the expertise of a barely-twenty-something. When Duran Amaya’s boss transferred into a new role, he assumed he was a shoo-in for the manager role. When he didn’t get it, his immaturity rose to the surface.
“I freaked out,” Duran Amaya says frankly. “I told them I was the best person for the job. I told them that I would give them two weeks to reconsider, otherwise I was leaving. And I was told that the company didn’t need two weeks to think about it and that I could leave that day. That led me to not finding a job for three months.”
The things that have helped Duran Amaya become a vice president before he was thirty were also what started his professional career off on a rough note. The young man only had three years of experience that wasn’t fast-food related, and he assumed he was going to be able to rise quickly. When his bluff was called, it was a humbling experience that required him to rethink his entire approach.
The current VP of global information technology at Inter-Con Security Systems isn’t the same man. Sure, he’s only twenty-nine, but his growth has been steady, purposeful, and, maybe most importantly, imbued with a serious sense of humility.
That isn’t to say Duran Amaya didn’t understand it in the first place. He grew up in Miraflores, a small town a few hours outside of Mexico City, in a resource-limited household led by his mother. The future VP’s fascination with technology started early, though his access to it was sparse. Eventually, cyber cafés began popping up in his community, and he’d later assemble a personal computer, painfully slow, but still his own.
Duran Amaya’s commitment to creating a better life for himself is also the reason he was so feverishly focused on his career from such a young age. It doesn’t explain away his early outburst, but it puts it in context. It’s also greatly influenced the way he leads.
“My mom and my grandmother were my biggest inspirations,” he says. “Their strength and resilience showed me that success isn’t just about titles or promotions—it’s about how you take care of your people.”
“People forget your title and credentials, but they always remember how you made them feel,” the VP says. “I know that’s a well-worn statement, but I believe in it strongly. I try to lead with empathy first, and as my hard edges have softened, servant leadership has become a foundational part of how I try and lead my team.”
At Inter-Con, where Duran Amaya has served since 2022, he initially joined as the first IT manager for Mexico, but that role would quickly expand.
To Take Care of Others, You First Must Take Care of Yourself
Luis Enrique Duran Amaya was a vice president before he was thirty. That kind of desire and drive can accomplish incredible things, but it can also endanger its host. Duran Amaya says that an endless pursuit of excellence applied to everything in his professional life, but it’s only recently occurred to him that maybe he should take some of his workplace excellence, combine it with some grace, and build a more stable personal life for himself that wasn’t structured entirely around his work schedule.
Since the beginning of 2025, Duran Amaya has taken up boxing, built a home gym, been more conscious of his diet, and regularly started seeing a therapist. This wasn’t prompted by some huge crisis, but by the recognition that he felt a disconnect between his career success and his life at home.
“I think there have been a lot of things that have happened in my life that I just pushed down and ignored,” the VP explains. “That’s how I dealt with them. But that doesn’t fix those issues that you need to give some attention to.”
By learning to care for himself, Duran Amaya found he could lead with greater clarity and empathy. “I want to keep growing,” he says. “I’ve realized that the more attention I give to my well-being, the better I can show up for my team, for my family, and for the people who trust me. I’m a work in progress, but I think that’s what makes leadership real.”
When he arrived at Inter-Con, the Mexican branch’s technological infrastructure was virtually nonexistent. As IT Manager, he led the charge to establish inventories, secure networks, and implement robust security protocols. His success was rapid: he achieved monumental improvements in just eight months, outpacing parallel teams in the US. His outstanding performance did not go unnoticed. In a surprise turn, Luis was promoted to take over as IT Manager for the US branch, a responsibility he undertook just weeks after arriving in Los Angeles.
Later, as he rose to VP of Global IT, his vision became clear: growth isn’t about climbing alone, it’s about bringing others with you. “Nothing I’ve achieved here would have been possible without my team,” he says. “They teach me every day that leadership isn’t about standing above others—it’s about walking alongside them.”
Duran Amaya wants his story to remind those who may have made their own journeys to the US, or have come from challenging backgrounds, that even though they may have to undergo some personal evolution, they can make their dreams come true. It’s not always pretty, but that’s how growth works. It’s not always supposed to be. He is now grateful for his early humbling because it’s made him a better person.
“Today I understand that true success isn’t about getting there fast. It’s about arriving in peace with yourself, bringing others along, and leaving behind a clearer path for those who come after you.”
Unipro International is a leading manufacturer and distributor of quality uniforms and accessories for Security, Public Safety, Hospitality/Concierge, Transportation and Industrial Clients. With a focus on quality, price and service. Unipro has earned the reputation as a strategic, reliable partner offering expert guidance and support to our loyal customers and unmatched value-added services. We proudly congratulate Inter-Con’s Vice President of Global Information Technology Luis Duran and his team and appreciate the support they offer Unipro International as a valued partner. For more information visit www.uniprouniforms.com.
