I call myself an engineer: someone who solves problems. These days, my job is to find organisations struggling with data security, data privacy and compliance issues and solve these problems using off-the-shelf software. Life has always surprised me with unexpected opportunities, so my plans are constantly changing.

My enthusiasm for programming

When I started programming at the age of 14, I was impressed by how easy it was to change code when I found a bug compared to an electronic board. A year later, I wanted to use my programming skills to solve real-world problems. I developed a system for a sport club that allowed you to enter with your face if you forgot your membership card, but it was never used: Who would trust a 15-year-old to provide technical support?

At university, I was surprised to learn that a programme can not only resemble the steps of a recipe (imperative programming paradigm), but can also consist of objects and messages, many functions or a knowledge database with an inference engine. This gave me many conceptual tools with which I could solve the problems of my future customers. I also learnt tools to make difficult business management decisions with incomplete information, which helped me later in my career and personal life.

Development of my interpersonal skills

Over the next few years, I developed not only my technical skills and a deep understanding of the systems I was working with, but also my communication and negotiation skills. I soon gained experience as a team leader, architect, product owner and scrum master. I met people who spent hours explaining their business to me. Some developers and I spent hours finding elegant solutions to requirements, and I am happy to say that I am still in touch with some of them.

That’s when I started doing improvisational theatre and found a community with five other people who were as enthusiastic as I was. After four years, we had more than 150 participants, four theatre groups and workshops every three days. I learnt to always think positively, to listen carefully and to work together with others instead of competing against each other.

My start into sales

In 2025, I was offered a position in sales. After reading the book “B2B Lean”, which explained that a founder has two roles, one as a builder, which I already had, and one as a salesperson, I accepted the challenge. I realised that my role was similar to that of an IT Product Owner, solving business problems with standard software. I also help raise awareness of data security and data privacy in organisations and advise on data integration for decision makers. This gives me the opportunity to write and help others.

I am happy with the path I have taken and I look forward to future professional challenges.

Antonio Robirosa

Systems Engineer
Data Security, Data Privacy and IT-Process Integration Expert
Commercial Director for Northen Europe at DBLandIT S.A.