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Who's Who: Nelson Gomez

From New York to Arkansas and all parts in-between, NCR kiosk executive Nelson Gomez has closed deals, inspired co-workers, and maintained a rigorous exercise regimen.

April 7, 2002

If Nelson Gomez had an office at Atlanta's Turner Field instead of NCR Corp.'s Atlanta retail headquarters, he would no doubt have the job of closer for the Atlanta Braves.

Gomez, an NCR vice president and general manager of the company's Web Kiosk Solutions business, built his reputation at NCR by closing sales in New York, New Jersey, and Atlanta. Four years ago, he was called on to manage the company's Wal-Mart account, something equivalent to being summoned from the bullpen with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

"I'm most comfortable with sales," he says. "Wal-Mart gave me the responsibility with the customer service and development side."

Wal-Mart is NCR's largest kiosk customer. In February 2001, NCR announced a 3,000-strong rollout of its Web kiosks for gift registries at Wal-Mart stores. Now, 15 months later, the number of kiosks installed has surpassed 4,000 and is still growing. Gomez spent nearly three years at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters leading the project. Without doubt, it is NCR's most important kiosk account, and Gomez deserves some credit for its success.

NCR Corp.'s Nelson Gomez has worked his way through the ranks to become vice president and general manager of its Web Kiosk Solutions division.

"I'm a results-driven person," says the 38-year-old Gomez, who heads a 70-person staff based in Atlanta, with associates posted around the globe. "Results matter. Don't confuse effort with results."

If those sound like the words of a tough, bottom-line manager, they are. But associates say Gomez, a first-generation Cuban whose parents came to the United States in the 1950s, has the drive and determination bring out the best in his people.

"He really loves a challenge, and in kiosks there's a challenge to help customers," says Bob Brower, NCR Kiosk Solutions sales director, who began working with Gomez in Arkansas and later joined him in Atlanta. "The bigger the challenge the more he likes it."

"There's never a day when there isn't a group in his office trying to solve a problem," Brower added. "He does a good job of rallying the troops. That fosters a team environment."

Lacrosse paths

It did not take long for Gomez to find an entry-level sales position at NCR after graduating from Long Island University's C.W. Post campus in 1985. He began calling on accounts in New York, and quickly saw that results paid dividends, earning several promotions. When his friends talked about changing companies, he stood firm at NCR.

"At any point in a career, there will be an opportunity to leave," he says. "Most people jump ship every four years whether they want to or not. I felt as long as I did right by the company, it would do right by me."

So Gomez gladly accepted promotions through the `90s, moving from New York to Atlanta to New Jersey and then, of course, to the decidedly less urban Bentonville, Ark., in 1998.

"It took some getting used to," he said of a pace that changed from metropolis to mundane. "You have to scratch below the surface. Once you find what you like, it's a nice place to live. There's no such thing as traffic there."

At the end of his third year at Wal-Mart, NCR began a restructuring that put certain solutions teams together. Gomez was a natural choice to lead the Web Kiosk team, and returned to Atlanta.

The job seems a good fit for a lifestyle Gomez calls "simple" but would cause others to shudder. A former high school and college lacrosse star, Gomez runs three miles every morning before getting to work about 7:30 a.m. At lunch, he tries to squeeze in another workout, and usually heads home about 6:30 p.m. That is, except for the days he has to be at practice to coach his six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter in tee-ball and soccer. He also has a 15-month-old daughter.

Because his position has global responsibilities, Gomez has piled up some interesting itineraries. On a recent 10-day trip, for example, he stopped in London, Amsterdam, and Milan.

NCR's projections for worldwide growth in kiosks jumped from $650 million to $1.1 billion in two years. That is enough to keep even someone like Gomez busy. Yet to the people around him, like Brower, he is seldom at a loss for time.

"He's always available, he's there to meet the challenge for customers. Time management is of the essence," Brower said.

Peeling onions, and other Nelson-isms

John Goodwin, NCR Web Kiosks director, has known Gomez since 1992. He says that aside from pictures of his family, the first thing you notice about Gomez' office are motivational sayings and sales charts on the walls.

One of his favorites is FAITE, an acronym for Focus, Accountability, Intensity, and Teamwork Every day. Another is what Brower calls "peeling back the onion," or a way of saying that Gomez asks tough questions and continues to ask questions until he's satisfied.

"He has an intensity to him. He sets his mind and drives to what he believes in," Goodwin says.

Tim Peterson, the division's marketing director, says Gomez has another favorite -- "Measure twice, cut once." He says it shows how Gomez gets clarity from anyone on his team before taking action.

The result

NCR's kiosk division grew ten-fold in 2000 and gained 25 new retail kiosk customers. Gomez can point to the successful deployment of bill payment kiosks for companies like Sprint, Cingular, and Verizon, which accept cash and credit card payments for thousands of customers paying their mobile phone bills.

To Gomez, these kiosks are not simply a phenomenally successful product, but the first step in his typical big-picture outlook. He has been busy peeling back the onion on that one.

"We found a market we didn't know existed," he said. "That's phase one. Now how do you take it from that customer base and broaden it into a larger service for multiple service providers."