About:
Efrain E. Jovel enjoyed a successful 25-year career in Information Technology and Business Operations Management, followed by 12 years as an entrepreneur in marketing and sales. His professional accomplishments span the Financial Services, Manufacturing, Distribution and Real Estate sectors in the United States, Europe and Latin America. In 2003, Mr. Jovel started Jovel Real Estate, P.A., a Florida based business, devoted to buy, lease and sell commercial, agricultural land and residential properties. The services include real estate investment, brokerage and consulting services, commercial and residential development, property management, business planning and financial analysis, short sale of pre-foreclosure properties, contract management and world-class customer service. Mr. Jovel has earned many top producer awards in Keller Williams Realty New Tampa, his brokerage firm. In 2001, Mr. Jovel founded and successfully developed Jovel Technologies, Inc., an executive consulting and software brokerage firm representing global IT companies in the financial services arena, for the Latin American market. Jovel Technologies is a network of representative offices in Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and Chile, with the mission to open the doors of financial institutions in the region interested in using the products and services of the global companies. Mr. Jovel brings a strong executive background to his current entrepreneurial business focus. He was the Chief Information Officer for the Consumer Division of Citibank International. In his capacity, he was responsible for developing and executing the IT strategy to consolidate 9 Systems sites in Latin America, bringing annual savings of $40 million. This would be achieved through a high quality, short time implementation and low cost delivery formula, based on offshore outsourcing services with a world-class in-sourced project and process management team, working together towards common goals. During this time, Mr. Jovel lived in Chile, Mexico, Tampa and Boca Raton, Florida. Prior to Citibank, Mr. Jovel spent 15 years with America Express, managing the development and operation of global and regional systems for the Card and Travel Related Services in Phoenix, Arizona; Brighton, England; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Miami, Florida; and Mexico City, Mexico. His experience involved the direct management of IT groups between 100 and 500 professionals, co-managing large offshore and on-site consulting groups in India, Latin America and the US, driving organizations with annual operating budgets of $10 to $100 million. Prior to a successful career with American Express, he spent two years as Director of Information Systems at Ferro Mexico, a ceramic-manufacturing subsidiary of Ferro Corporation from Cleveland, Ohio. He built the IT Strategy and the Data Processing Center facility for the Company. During his first five years of corporate life, Mr. Jovel was a Systems Analyst and Manager of MIS at the Social Security Institute of El Salvador. He was also part time associate professor at the Catholic University, teaching courses in MIS, Computer Science, Operations Research, and Engineering Design. He was also a student tutor, thesis advisor and a member of the graduate’s examiner board. Mr. Jovel was awarded an MBA at the Pan American Institute in Mexico City; a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering Management at Stanford University, California; and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at the Catholic University of El Salvador. Having lived in 13 countries, he and his family enjoy living in Tampa, Florida. He plays golf, the keyboard and the guitar, and enjoys traveling around the world. Efrain is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English.