Career Mirror -- by Mark Sproxton

Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton, the Queen of England and other international figures are there. Many are standing alongside a tall, dark haired, neatly dressed man with a warm smile. These photos, hanging neatly on Francisco Gomez's office walls, are a perk of the job; a job earned from concentrated effort and passionate pursuit.

Working as the Delta Bow Valley's General Manager, and as Regional Vice President for Delta Hotels, Gomez remains thankful for those opportunities. But he remains more closely connected to those not in the headlines. His place is in the hotel. "I'm in a role that still allows me to be in a hotel and dealing with people," he said. "If I went to the corporate (headquarters)... I wouldn't want to spend 14 hours sitting in an office somewhere. What I like is the people side of it. I like to see the customers and the employees."

Francisco Gomez enjoys building a strong team.

For 28 years, Gomez, has been working alongside hotel customers and employees. But his entry to the industry came almost as a fluke. After completing an accounting degree, Gomez landed his first hotel job in the accounting office of a hotel owned by his family. From there he developed a love for the industry, and through continual hotel-related education and training, the native of Mexico moved into payroll, to human resources, to the front desk, to night auditor, into management training to become an assistant controller before becoming a controller, and then onto becoming an assistant general manager before earning his current position.

The 13 year climb up the ladder included working for three different companies and in numerous North American cities including Edmonton, Chicago, Houston and Vancouver. The move to Calgary seven years ago was his family's 16th in 18 years. And even though he's reached the top of the ladder, the hard work and long hours continue.

"I work a little less today than when I started," Gomez explained. "My day is 12 to 14 hours. I'm in at 6 a.m. and leave at 6:30 or 7:00. And I try as much as possible to be off on the weekends, although a couple of times a month I'm in on a weekend."

Unlike other industries, where general managers are expected to produce a certain amount, Gomez said his role remains different. "I don't get paid for what I do, I get paid for what I make happen. General managers, we're not the ones that come in and see everything's done. There are so many areas of expertise, you will have a number of experts on staff and they are the people that make the departments (run). My role is to make sure I have a strong team." While the Delta Bow Valley GM spends most of his time in Calgary, about 30 per cent of the time he's travelling to the other seven hotels in the region and reporting to a corporate-wide manager on their progress.

Even after years of work and educational pursuits in the hotel industry, Gomez believes he'll be around for some time to come. "I personally don't have any dislikes, or I wouldn't have stayed for 28 years in the business. You set the tone, atmosphere and ambience for the staff and customers. If you have people that you work with who are not at standard, it's up to me to make changes. It's challenging. A big challenge."

While the hotel industry isn't high tech, Gomez said those who have a continual thirst for knowledge, and are able to introduce new technologies into a "high touch" industry will do well. "You have to continue to educate yourself, have a thirst for knowledge and stay up with technology and new trends." Because in the hotel industry, you never know who you'll meet.