Enrique Jara: An inspiring boss

I worked for Enrique in Buenos Aires as Latam Business Manager for six years from 1986 to 1992, and I never had a more inspiring boss.

We had a background in journalism, but more important we both loved talking. Arriving home late almost every day from the office, I told myself that it was because chatting with Enrique at the end of each day was always so interesting. 

Enrique's management style was his own, talking through everything to the point of exhaustion (ours, not his) but it got the job done.

He was also great company, with a barrel laugh and an impish sense of humour. On a long plane trip he went through his ideas for big management reorganisation. When the plane had still not arrived, he laughed and said "let's do it again" - this time with an entirely different conclusion. And on the return journey, he declined an invitation to board a long-delayed flight immediately, saying he too needed a delay.

Apart from work, his great joys were his lovely family and their farm in his homeland, Uruguay. There he knew every cow - and probably talked to them just as much. ■