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Welcome to The People of Work, the podcast where we explore the unique journeys that bring people to their careers. Every episode is a deep dive into the twists, turns, and surprises that shape how individuals find their career paths—whether they’re engineers, artists, baristas, CEOs, or anything and everything in between.
It’s not about the destination; it’s about the story. Through honest conversations, we’ll uncover the moments that define careers, the challenges overcome, and the lessons learned along the way. These are real stories from real people, celebrating the diversity of work and the individuality of the people behind it.
Join us as we break down stereotypes, embrace the unexpected, and shine a light on the human side of work.
Rafael Sanchez (00:00):
Don't ever let yourself be pigeonholed. I'm an attorney by trade, but you can see by my career that I've had a very varied career. I've been in a lot of different roles and I utilize my legal background every single day, right? Every single time you never shut the valve off. So going to law school doesn't mean I have to be a lawyer. Just like going to medical school doesn't mean I have to be a doctor.
Ami Graves (00:24):
You are listening to the People of Work, the podcast that dives into the real stories behind what people do for a living and how work shapes who we are. Raphael, thank you for joining me today. I'm so excited to have you on the show. As my inaugural guest, I have heard you speak in a couple of events in Indianapolis where we both live and I couldn't think of a person to kick this off with that had a better story and the ability to story tell, which lots of people have interesting stories, but have a hard time telling the story. You have an interesting story and are really good at storytelling and sharing your journey. I've heard it. I love it. So thank you for joining me today. We are just digging into all the things about work and career and how you got to where you are and all the kind of pivots along the way. Raphael Sanchez, executive vice president and Chief Impact Officer at Old National here in Indianapolis, has had a very rich career in Indianapolis, also led a ES Indiana, and very involved in civic engagement and community. So thank you for all the work you're doing in our lovely city.
Rafael Sanchez (01:36):
Being your inaugural guest might suggest to your listeners that you lack judgment, but I'm honored to be here.
Ami Graves (01:43):
Well, thank you. I'm interested in your story. What was your first introduction to what work was supposed to be about from your parents or others that influenced you at home?
Rafael Sanchez (01:55):
I'm from Puerto Rico, right. Born and raised, so that's the first thing to say. And life's very different in Puerto Rico than in the United States, even though it's a territory. United States, a lot of people don't know that, but it is very different. So my father was in the Air Force, this is my early childhood memories, but he was a medical doctor in the Air Force and we traveled around from base to base, but then ultimately went back to Puerto Rico where I went to college, my first job ever. And by the way, witnessing my father then go into private practice and worked really long hours and constantly be in the emergency room or I knew right away I am not going to be a doctor. Dad was great, but he was not there very much. I lost him already 13 years ago, but he was constantly working. He was a great doctor. People loved him, but he was a terrible businessman. He would try things, he'd open up, I'll give you an example. He opened up a CD store back in the day when you actually sold CDs out. Well, they're coming back, but cassette tapes. Oh
Ami Graves (03:00):
Yeah,
Rafael Sanchez (03:00):
It was called the Sound Gallery. He opened it up in a strip mall and my mom ran it and it lasted for maybe a couple of years and then he ended up closing it and it was just all kinds of losses and things and people were taking advantage of him and vendors and all this kind of stuff. And even projects at the house. He would pay people down payment to do a project and then they would just leave and not come back and finish the project and he would just have to go out and hire another one. And then I started seeing all the injustices around that and the kind of poor decision making. And I said, I'm going to be a lawyer. I want to go to law school. I want to protect my family. I want to make sure that nobody takes advantage of my family again. And then I got this notion that I just couldn't shake that I wanted to go to law school.
Ami Graves (03:46):
How old were you when you got that notion that law school was for you?
Rafael Sanchez (03:50):
I would say probably 15, 16 years old.
Ami Graves (03:53):
You were young.
Rafael Sanchez (03:54):
And then I started delivering the newspaper and making money and it was in the car. Don't picture the paperboy on the bike.
Ami Graves (04:02):
I did
Rafael Sanchez (04:02):
The bouie style of course.
Ami Graves (04:05):
Did your mom drive you around and let you throw it
Rafael Sanchez (04:07):
Up? No, I drove. I did that for a while. Then while going to college, I worked at Visa, MasterCard and I kind of basically was an authorization clerk and literally people would call in for approvals back in the day when it wasn't all electronic and they would give me the card number over the phone and I'd run it through. I got approved, I give 'em an approval code.
Ami Graves (04:27):
Big note of today.
Rafael Sanchez (04:28):
Yeah, I mean the economy, the pay. I remember when I left Puerto Rico, I was making 5 25 an hour.
Ami Graves (04:37):
At what age?
Rafael Sanchez (04:38):
21 years old. Right out of college I was making 5 25 an hour. My first job in Indiana when I moved in 1996 as a teller at a bank was seven 50 an hour. I thought I hit the lottery. It's so funny when you look back, you go like, yeah, I kind of went through all that and then I got promoted and then I became assistant branch manager of the bank, and then I became branch manager of the bank. And then I blank at three years have gone by and I'm like, wait a minute, I did not call time out. This is not what I can to do. Want to go to law school?
Ami Graves (05:13):
Yeah, law school. What happened?
Rafael Sanchez (05:16):
So I took the test and applied to six different law schools around the country. I should mention that I graduated from college in Puerto Rico, political science major by the way. So was uniquely qualified to do anything.
Ami Graves (05:32):
So where'd you go to law school?
Rafael Sanchez (05:34):
IU Indiana University. Oh, you were in Bloomington. Oh,
Ami Graves (05:37):
In Bloomington. Got it.
Rafael Sanchez (05:38):
And had a great time there, but quit our jobs. We were making decent money, more money than I had ever been making my entire life, but it just wasn't what I came here to do. And I was determined I'm going to go to law school. And then I went full-time law school student for three years, go back to living on student loans. And if you've never done that in your life, make money, be able to pay for your things to then go back to living on student loans, you should try it. By the way, in law school I had the opportunity, which I always love to tell people because I try to encourage all of the young folks that are going through college now to really consider studying abroad. We actually lived in Barcelona, Spain for six months and studied abroad and while in Barcelona, traveled all over.
Ami Graves (06:23):
Was that part of your law school?
Rafael Sanchez (06:25):
Yeah. Then all these other obligations happen, right? Kids career. You get on the one to two week vacation circuit and you never get off of that until you retire. The only opportunities on the front end of your life been on the back end. And so we were able to do that. And now my oldest child did a study abroad, lived in Barcelona for six months.
Ami Graves (06:47):
My
Rafael Sanchez (06:47):
Son, who's going to IU Kelly right now is going to go to Barcelona and lived there for six months. And I'm pretty sure my youngest, no peer pressure is probably going to do the exact same thing. So they're all going to do the living of around in Barcelona, which I think just is so wonderful. It gives you perspective about so many things. But I graduated from law school in 2002 and I moved to Indianapolis working, accepted a job at a law firm that the name doesn't even exist anymore today because it merged like three times and now it's called Denton's. Nobody knew my name. Amy. Rafael Sanchez meant nothing. Maybe there was a reporter on Channel six at the time that he's still around a good friend of mine. But the Rafael Sanchez, the attorney was new in town and nobody knew who he was. And I immediately got involved in the community and just try to make a name for myself. And I started out at the law firm and that's how I got to Indianapolis.
Ami Graves (07:41):
So were your parents still in Puerto Rico or did they move here with you?
Rafael Sanchez (07:44):
I have two sisters in one brother and by the time I finished school, my younger ones had already moved to go to Peoria at the Bradley University.
(07:57):
My oldest sister had gone to Tulane University and stayed in the Arkansas area. My mom and dad left with no kids now in Puerto Rico. They moved to Arkansas first and then my older sister went to Arkansas with them. So they picked a neutral location to be close to all the kids without picking a favorite. And next thing you know, Sanchez family is now spread out across the United States. My brother at one point is now relocating from Boston, coming back to Indiana. My younger sister's in Florida and my older sister's in Arkansas. My dad passed away 13 years ago, but my mom's still in Arkansas.
Ami Graves (08:37):
So you went from banking bank teller, then left work to kind of really dig in and spend a hundred percent of your focus on law school, which I imagine was probably a smart move law school and working is possible, but also very hard. So you were in good place to be able to do this.
Rafael Sanchez (08:56):
Well think about it, Amy, that I went to the University of Puerto Rico where my classes were in Spanish law school was the first time in my entire life that I did any sort of postgraduate education in English.
Ami Graves (09:08):
And you were bilingual, you spoke.
Rafael Sanchez (09:10):
I was bilingual, but it took a little extra learning and discipline on my end to get it right, but we obviously successfully did it.
Ami Graves (09:20):
So when you came back to Indianapolis, joined a law firm, how long were you with the law firm and tell me what did you love about it? And I'm interested in the transition out of a law firm.
Rafael Sanchez (09:30):
14 years practiced law. I became the first Latino partner in the history of the law firm. I became a partner I think around year seven or eight. It's a grind. I mean it's just the books and the movies. But met great people on the way, great mentors enjoyed it. I was doing mostly business litigation. That's what I started out as. So think of a courtroom attorney trying cases or litigating cases, the disputes between businesses and so forth, taking depositions, filing legal papers and briefs. And I did enjoy that. I love the oral advocacy of practicing law, but the billable hour is not for everyone. And I started to get the itch that I wanted to do something else. And I kind of like the same feeling that I had when I was at the bank that I'm like, wait a minute, time out. This is not what I came here to do.
(10:27):
I got to do what I want to do. I kind of saw the older partners living the same day over and over and over again. They were going to the same lunch with the same group of people every day going to the same places. It's just like same thing, different story like rinse and repeat, rinse over repeat. And I'm like, I am not going to do this for the rest of my life. I'm meant for something bigger. I want to do something bigger. I want to have a bigger impact. I want to go in the corporate world. So the challenge here, Amy, is that you've got all these clients that you're their attorney and you can't really broadcast that you're about to leave. You've got this entire book of business. And so I was having sort of hidden conversations with people putting feelers out there, but I was somewhat limited in what I could do without getting on a bullhorn and announcing to the world. And I'm looking to, so I had a friend of mine who owned a printing company. His name's Richard Miller. It's a dear friend from Argentina. And he was like, Rafael, you need to come work for me. I'll create a position. You need to come work for me. And I started to think about it. You know what? This will be a soft landing. I'm pretty sure I'm I going to stay with him for the rest of my career, but I can leave and it's like a parachute. I know it'll open.
Ami Graves (11:37):
And somebody you trusted and knew, I
Rafael Sanchez (11:39):
Trust him.
Ami Graves (11:40):
It's already there.
Rafael Sanchez (11:41):
Yeah, consider it to be one of my mentors. And so it made it easier. So I farmed out all my clients and jumped off the cliff. And at that point there's no going back. And I became the VP of business development and legal affairs for Fine line printing group. And Amy, the minute that news came out that I left the law firm, my phone started to ring off the hook companies said, I didn't know you were looking. You should have called me, blah, blah, blah, blah. All these things that I couldn't make a big fuss out of it. And by the way, kind of skipped over it, but it's because all my community involvement over those 14 years, I developed my profile. I served on a lot of boards, I did a lot of volunteer leadership positions and I started develop a name for myself.
(12:27):
And then when the time came to cash in my chips and pursue my career, then that's the time that you leverage those things in your network and stuff like that. And I just didn't do a really good job because of the situation I was just kind of doing on the down low. But that's when I started getting all these phone calls and one of the phone calls was a Indiana now known as a Indiana Indianapolis power and Light. They're like, Hey, we want you to consider putting your name in the hat for the co position. And I'm like, what me? And then we had a couple of conversations and then I decided, okay, well I'm going to go for it. This might be a good opportunity.
Ami Graves (13:10):
It was IPL at the time. Right. The person that said that to you, did you know them from your community involvement? Were they a customer at the law firm or just other personal connections? How did they make that connection with you? So
Rafael Sanchez (13:22):
The reason why I was on their radar is because five years prior to that conversation happening, IPL asked me to be on their advisory board. I was on their paid advisory board, and it's a small board. It's like six people. I was one of six. But other people, I always consider people, I look up to giants in the community in my opinion. Or Jim Morris who passed away, Sam del Melina Kennedy, who was head of CICP, Dan Elsner, president of Mion University, Joyce Rogers with iu. There were some heavy hitters. And so I was like, oh yeah, I got asked to do this one. Yes, of course. So I got to know them. They're like quarterly meetings meet four times a year,
Ami Graves (14:09):
Partly
Rafael Sanchez (14:09):
Qualifies me to be the CEO, right? I mean, I was not a utility lawyer. I went through the process and I put my name in the hat. And that led to five rounds of interviews over the course of several months, including with investors of Indianapolis Power and Light, which I would sit down and prepping for those interviews. I would read their entire 10 k filing with exchange permission. If you've ever seen that, the font's like six font, it's really tiny and half of it's unintelligible because it's utility speak and you're like, okay, I'm not sure if I read that a hundred times, I'll be able to understand it. But I do describe the process as being one of the most difficult things I ever did in my entire life. And next thing you know, after seven or eight months of this process, that's how long it
Ami Graves (15:02):
Took. Oh, it was lengthy.
Rafael Sanchez (15:04):
I was absolutely convinced that they had picked somebody else. But then I ended up being me and I later learned 52 people applied for that role. So here I am, made me 39 years old and become
Ami Graves (15:18):
The
Rafael Sanchez (15:20):
EO of C-E-O-I-P-L 1500 employees. And I remember first week the meeting and me sitting at the head of the table in the boardroom and all these gray haired white guys sit down at the table and they're all looking at me kind of funny. And all of them could be my father. I'm sure they were wondering to themselves, who is this guy and what is he doing here? Or worse, in some cases, if I'm being completely transparent, I'm sure some of them were saying, the only reason you got this job is because you're a Latino. And so I really wanted to go the movies like, Hey, just give me one second. I'll be right back and then go to the bathroom and puke. Well, because the nerves, right? All the things you talk about with people today, imposter syndrome and self-doubt, it just all seeps in and I'm like, oh my God, what did I do? Do I deserve to be here?
Ami Graves (16:15):
I have to say, I'm glad to hear you say that because Raphael, I hear that a lot from women. I do not hear that a lot from men. I guess in my mind I thought, well, is it because men don't go through that or they just don't want to talk about it? I
Rafael Sanchez (16:33):
Think it's the latter.
Ami Graves (16:34):
Yeah, I think so too. Even if you go back to when you said that they've reached out about the CEO position, you're thinking, I don't know. I think about utility. I mean, you really want me to be considered for the CEO. I'm sure you've heard the stats, but generally speaking, if a woman doesn't check off every single solitary thing in a job description, she likely won't apply. Generally men will be like, ah, I got about 60% of it. I'm good. Let's do it. And then they'll apply. It's just a very interesting dynamic and difference.
Rafael Sanchez (17:04):
It's so funny because I just spoke on a panel in Chicago last week and we talked about the study. You're absolutely right. You're spot on. A hundred percent. Women will apply if they fulfill a hundred percent of the job requirements at a job posting men, 60%. I joked at the conference that it gets even worse because experience breeds confidence. I'm now at a point in my life that I think that I can almost do anything. I just need time to learn the industry. But leadership, communication, strategizing, executing, I'll solve the puzzle. I just need time to figure it out. So there's a certain confidence now I'm telling you, and because I know how job descriptions are made, it's like you're looking for a unicorn. You put everything but the kitchen sink about want the person to be, and they know what exists. If I can do 10% of the job description, I'm applying for that job 10%, the bar's lower, the bar is lower.
Ami Graves (18:06):
I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
Rafael Sanchez (18:08):
And I just think there is something to be said about male ego that is a real thing. And I know I've exhibited it at times. I'm not perfect. I'm human, but with age, when I was younger, I was very ambitious, much more ambitious than I am today, or at least I feel that way. I don't know if it's true or not, but I wanted to succeed and success only revolved around me. Success was if I was successful. And now in this point in my life and in my career, it's about team success and that teaching others and helping others be successful and learning that you don't always leave in front. Sometimes you leave from behind. And so I think there's a shift that happens that you stop becoming selfish and you start becoming more of a mentor and accepting that. And I think it's almost like for men sometimes it's hard to admit that they don't know all the answers or they don't know how to do that. But listen, our CO Jeremiah, great guy, only two years older than I am. I don't know this for a fact, but I bet if you pointed a gun to his ad and said, I'm going to shit you unless you can open this account and here's the system, he's got to die, right?
(19:22):
Yeah. He won't make it.
Ami Graves (19:23):
I mean, I know I run the bank.
Rafael Sanchez (19:25):
So a lot of people confuse that. The CEO o the person at the top can do everything, every function done below the organization, but that's not their job. And if they knew how to do that, then I'd be worried.
Ami Graves (19:36):
Absolutely. Yeah.
Rafael Sanchez (19:38):
Whose job is to be looking up at the strategy and conduct the orchestra, and there's all kinds of skill sets that are needed. So it's the old saying, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
Ami Graves (19:51):
That's right. Yeah. You brought up the bank, so I want to hear about how you ended up obviously had a great career, IPL and I think actually did some things in between that and where you're at now. Tell me about the role you're in. First of all, I just love the title. Anything with Community impact is like, man, that sounds so cool. I do that. I don't even know. So tell us, what is it you do?
Rafael Sanchez (20:14):
I joined Old Nashville Bank in 2018, first as the president of the private banking. And I ran private banking corporate wide, which is basically like the wealth management side of the house in terms of high net worth clients, affluent clients, and their banking needs. And I did that for four years until after those four years, Jim Ryan, our CEO, tapped me on the shoulder and said, Hey, Raphael, I have a project for you, and I think it requires a new role, and hence we created the chief impact officer role. And I like to tell people that I went from wealth management to wealth creation, though the opposite end of the spectrum, the chief impact officer really focuses on projects and initiatives that are really predominantly focused on helping underserved communities. I've done many projects in that role, but the biggest one, and for the last two and a half years of my life that I've been really focused in working is launching a new bank that is called Generations Community Bank, or will be called Generations Community Bank, that it will be the first minority depository institution in the state of Indiana. And I can tell you quickly what that is. It's a mission-driven institution. It's a mission-driven bank. So think of it as a hybrid vehicle as GATH and electric. Okay. Well, the mission-driven institution is a combination of a for-profit institution with a sort of a nonprofit tent to it. And in terms of it's really trying to help underserved communities. It'll take the time. And so this is a creature of the FDIC. They created this program back in 1989. There's 152 MDIs for short mission-driven institutions in the country, but zero in Indiana.
(22:04):
And so the application is currently pending before the regulators. We expect to get approval from the state no later than August of this year, and I'm in the midst of the capital raise. I'm raising 25 million of investment capital to open the
Ami Graves (22:20):
Bank. We'll have a brick and mortar. Will there be like an actual
Rafael Sanchez (22:22):
Oh yeah. We're actually simul opening up at two different locations
Ami Graves (22:27):
Right
Rafael Sanchez (22:27):
Off the bat. And the attendance to keep growing and to help, it's not what it sounds like. This bank will be open and it will serve the entire community, but it will really focus on moving the needle on the wealth gap that exists in this country. And it's not lowering the bar. We're not engaging in subprime lending or riskier loans. It's really helping people lift them up to the bar.
Ami Graves (22:51):
I imagine a part of that's just around education.
Rafael Sanchez (22:54):
Education,
Ami Graves (22:55):
Yeah.
Rafael Sanchez (22:56):
Handholding. Traditional banks are pretty much governed by Wall Street and Wall Street investors, and not surprisingly, most of the analysis is all about how much profit and ROI there is coming back to the investors. But helping underserved communities does not really significantly improve your return on your investment. It's a drag. It takes more time. You have to spend more time handholding people teaching them this, teaching them that, putting them on a plan. This is what this bank is going to do. There's a reason why there's 152 of these in the country because if they operated like other banks and traditional banks, there would be no need to have this separate category. It would just be another bank. Another bank. So this one is going to be really special and it's going to focus on helping those that need our help in Indianapolis. And by doing that, you uplift the entire community. We want to put more people into homes and create more homeowners, more equity, more business ownership, especially by minorities and create better access to capital. There's all kinds of metrics that we're going to be monitoring and working, but the idea is to really try to address the wealth gap.
Ami Graves (24:02):
So what's the timing, do you think? I know you're in a waiting game, right?
Rafael Sanchez (24:07):
My crystal ball says, yeah, crystal Ball says what? The state has to approve us by August 20th or so, based on the statutory timeline, the FDIC may take a little bit longer. We are aiming to open by the end of the year, but it's all subject to raising the capital. We're about 52% to target. We raised a little over 12 million of the minimum 24 million that we have to raise. We're doing investor pitches almost all day every day. I bet. Popped on this podcast that was on another one.
Ami Graves (24:42):
Thank you for doing that.
Rafael Sanchez (24:42):
I feel like Bill Murray and Groundhog Day, I had over and over again, but it's just the way it goes. But when this is all said and done, it'll be a tremendous community asset. It'll be the first local bank, certainly in Indianapolis since 30 years ago when National Bank of Indianapolis was formed.
Ami Graves (25:02):
Yeah, that's awesome. Congratulations on that. That's exciting.
Rafael Sanchez (25:05):
Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Ami Graves (25:06):
I wanted to dig into some kind of fun questions. Before I do that really quick, I just am interested for our listeners, if there was a piece of advice that you would give either somebody that wanted to go into law, or even just maybe somebody who's not sure whether they should apply for the CEO position, even though they didn't feel underqualified, what's some good advice you would give to our listeners?
Rafael Sanchez (25:29):
I'll start with the first one. The first one to me is don't ever let yourself be pigeonholed. I'm an attorney by trade, but you can see by my career that I've had a very varied career. I've been in a lot of different roles, and I utilize my legal background every single day. Right? Every single time. You never shut the valve off. So going to law school doesn't mean I have to be a lawyer, just like going to medical school doesn't mean I have to be a doctor. There are many applications to the degrees that we seek, and they don't always have to follow the cookie cutter way that we're kind taught to believe.
Ami Graves (26:07):
Absolutely.
Rafael Sanchez (26:08):
And
Ami Graves (26:08):
Law school is such a good example of that, Raphael, because I think that is what people think. You go to law school, you're a trial lawyer, that's what you do. But I work every day with general counsels at businesses. And do you,
Rafael Sanchez (26:20):
When I was in it, Amy, I am sure there were positions open in different companies and organizations and people were talking about potential candidates in the community. And I'm sure I was never a part of any of those conversations because the flip is people on the outside who saw me as a partner of a law firm would never dream that. I would not be a lawyer like Rafael's a lawyer and he's a lawyer forever. The only people consider for corporate jobs, generally speaking, are people in other corporate jobs or government people like a mayor that just left office and then they tapped them or they were the chief of staff for the mayor or et cetera. But never in the conversation. Our partners and law firms, your doctors, physicians and practices and medical practices, never because we all pigeonhole them into those roles.
(27:08):
So it is up to us, the individual to paint the picture, to connect the dots on the transferable skillset. So I think like an attorney, I got the strategy piece and blah, blah, blah. So this is how it connects to this job that you guys are looking for. I know how to do this. I know how to do that. Oh, I had to build a network. I had to go sell my legal services to people. Guess what? That's called business development. So guess what? This is how this translates to. You can't expect people to know and say, oh, but Raphael did that and so therefore you'll be good at this. You got to lay it out for them.
Ami Graves (27:43):
Connect the dots for 'em. Yeah,
Rafael Sanchez (27:45):
About marketing yourself in a transferable skill sets kind of way. The second advice is 1996. I'll never forget, I go to the Grayville State Fair up near Fort. I had never been to one of those before, and it was like a little bit of a culture shock from Puerto Rico to go there. I didn't know what the Amish were until I saw them, and then there was a booth there and they were selling a sign and it was all made of wood. I'll never forget the sign that I saw, which I live by every single day, and it was be careful that the toes you step on today are not attached to the ass. You have to kiss tomorrow. What that basically means is to translate, be kind, be authentic to everybody you talk to, because your word is like your bond, your integrity, how you treat people.
(28:37):
You never know. I had so many law school friends that became the chief of staff for the mayor or became the CEO of this company. You never know who your client's going to be in the future. You never know who your employer's going to be in the future. The world is not that big. I truly believe that. Not burning bridges and just being kind and treating people the right way is a key thing to moving up. And then in terms of applying for a co position and not taking chances, I guarantee you, you likely won't get the job unless you make a move forward. My best example I can give that has really nothing to do with career moves, but in some respects has everything to do with career moves. When the Super Bowl was announced, it was coming to Indianapolis in 2012. It was about 2009. Like, oh my God, this is awesome. The Super Bowl is going to be here. I wanted to be involved in the committee, and I asked around, how can I get involved? And they told me, you need to talk to this guy named Mark Miles. And I don't know if you know who Mark Miles is, but I know
Ami Graves (29:39):
Mark.
Rafael Sanchez (29:40):
He's the CEO Penske right now. He runs the Motor Speedway and reports to Roger Penske, and he used to run the American Tennis Association like a TP. It was a bigwig. So I cold called Mark Miles' office and attempt to schedule a meeting with his assistant. She gives me a date and time I show up, never met the guy, never met me, and I'm thinking he's going to give me tops 15 minutes of his time, and I'm just going to ask him, Hey, if you need any help with the Super Bowl. So I go to his office, I leave two and a half hours later, we hit it off. Next thing you know, I'm on the Super Bowl committee. I'm on three subcommittees. I'm chairing the Emerging Business Subcommittee. I have the time of my life. Super Bowl comes. It's great. Now we decide because we're greedy like that, that we want to bid for it again in 2018.
(30:31):
And then I become the secretary for the Super Bowl bit. I travel to Atlanta to the NFL Owners meeting, and I'm in the war room with helping making the pitch for Indianapolis to host it. Again. We don't make it we to the top three, but we don't. We lost the Minneapolis to build a 1 billion stadium. Now, fast forward a year or two later, and Rick Houston, the CEO of the Pacers, sees me at a Indie chamber board meeting, pulls me aside and says, Raphael, do you like basketball? Of course I like basketball. Well, what do you think about being co-chair for the NBA Allstar game? And I'm like, oh my God, yes, I'd love to be co-chair for the NBL Star game. So I became co-chair for the NBA Allstar game that we hosted last year. So I would not be co-chair of the NBAL Star game. I would not be secretary of the Super Bowl, and I would not be on the Super Bowl committee in 2012 when we did it. Had I not had the courage to call, pick up the phone, call Mark Miles and introduce myself and say, this is what I want to do. The moral of the story is if you don't ask, you don't get.
Ami Graves (31:37):
That's right. That's right. Closed. His mouths don't get fed. Isn't that what they say?
Rafael Sanchez (31:41):
And frankly, I think it's 10 x for women.
Ami Graves (31:45):
I completely agree. Yeah. I think some of that just comes from our own, like we talked about earlier, we talk ourselves out of making the ask sometimes, right. Even though we know we should. So
Ami Graves (31:57):
Hey,
Ami Graves (31:58):
A couple of quick fun questions. I know I've kept you long enough. This has been great, but just a couple of fun things. I was like, I want to wrap it up with, so if there was a job that you could do for one day, what would it be? Any job in the world.
Rafael Sanchez (32:12):
President of the United States.
Ami Graves (32:14):
Okay. We could use that right now. Next question. Okay. You gave some good advice. Okay. Coffee or tea?
Rafael Sanchez (32:23):
Definitely coffee.
Ami Graves (32:25):
I'm
Rafael Sanchez (32:25):
Puerto Rico. Cafe Leche.
Ami Graves (32:27):
Yes. What you said favorite way to start your day. What's your go-to on your best mornings? I
Rafael Sanchez (32:34):
Wake up every morning at 5:00 AM and go to the gym. Well, Saturdays and Sundays I'll go during the day, but Monday through Friday, 5:00 AM
Ami Graves (32:41):
Good for you. Yeah. That's some discipline right there.
Rafael Sanchez (32:44):
Before I even make it to work, I usually have 5,000 steps already. Age is not on my side, but how you treat it and how you welcome it is.
Ami Graves (32:53):
Yeah, your healthy habits are. So that's good. Do you like to read Raphael?
Rafael Sanchez (32:57):
I do. I will confess, because I'm always in front of a computer screen or reading at work. I have read actual paper books and last one, I'm trying to remember what it was. But the most thing that I do is audio books because I will listen to them on my commute to work and back home and anytime I'm in the car.
Ami Graves (33:21):
Any recommendations?
Rafael Sanchez (33:23):
Well, essentialism. The discipline Pursuit of Last is one of my favorite books of all time. It's about trying to juggle too many things at once. Atomic Habits is also as well as the Let Them Theory
Ami Graves (33:37):
On Repeat. I've listened to it three times
Rafael Sanchez (33:40):
And
Ami Graves (33:40):
I just keep picking up. Good.
Rafael Sanchez (33:42):
He is a great storyteller.
Ami Graves (33:44):
So good.
Rafael Sanchez (33:45):
I listened to some history. I'm not necessarily aligned with the views of Bill O'Reilly, but he has a series called Killing Like Killing Lincoln. What it does is it's a really captivating, almost like drama where the book may start, the man who has five hours left to live is getting dressed to go to the fourth theater. He jumps back and forth in time, and he's actually telling the story all the way up to Lincoln's death.
Ami Graves (34:13):
But
Rafael Sanchez (34:13):
You learn about everything that's going on at the time. And
Ami Graves (34:16):
That's a podcast?
Rafael Sanchez (34:18):
No, it's a series of books. Oh, it's a series of books. So it's the Killing X.
Ami Graves (34:23):
Got it.
Rafael Sanchez (34:23):
So there's probably 10 or 15 different titles, and so I read those and I enjoy them as well. But right now you'll laugh. I saw it as a new release and I'm going to see if this comes through for your readers.
Ami Graves (34:37):
Let's see, what's the first word? Something against all Puerto Ricans.
Rafael Sanchez (34:41):
War Against
Ami Graves (34:42):
War. War against all Puerto Ricans. Really.
Rafael Sanchez (34:45):
It's a book like telling the story about the colony of Puerto Rico and how it started and all kind of stuff. And so kind of brushing up on some of my own Native history.
Ami Graves (34:54):
Native history. That's great. I love that. Well, Raphael, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time today and your wisdom and your stories. I think really impactful. I love what you said, which is don't pigeonhole yourself. That's really the crux of this entire podcast is that a pivot is possible if that's what you want. I mean, you have one career and you're in charge of it. You have one job and you're in charge of it. So do what makes you happy. Make the pivot and advocate for yourself. I think those are great lessons,
Rafael Sanchez (35:26):
And I'll leave with this. Think I tell people to your point that you just may be the CEO of your own career, and so your CEO already, you just don't know it. Manage your career and surround yourself with people that you trust and are mentors. And that's your board, your board of directors, your Board of
Ami Graves (35:46):
Advice, your personal board of directors.
Rafael Sanchez (35:47):
Exactly. And so you do that and you follow the other tips and advice, then you'll do. All right.
Ami Graves (35:54):
Thanks for tuning in to the People of Work. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow along and share it with someone who loved these stories too. Do you or someone have a unique job or an inspiring work journey? I'd love to hear about it. You can find me on Instagram at the People of Work or visit the peopleofwork.com. And if you're navigating a career transition or just need support in your work life, I'm here for that too. From personal Coaching to leadership and HR consulting, I'd love to help head to the peopl of work.com to learn more and get in touch. Until next time, thanks for being a part of the People of Work.