“My father wanted me to be a telecom engineer. I hated the idea. I went into economics instead. And 25 years later - here I am in telecom anyway!” — Ricardo Martins, VP Global Sales Messaging at iBASIS, in conversation with Anurag Aggarwal
From a student who refused to study telecom engineering like his father wanted...
to negotiating his exam grade just enough to earn an Erasmus year in Rome...
to spending 25 years building one of the most recognisable careers in global wholesale messaging -
Ricardo’s journey is one of happy accidents, human connections, and a what-if moment that changed everything!
In this episode of Humans of Telecom, Ricardo opens up about:
🏛️ The Erasmus year in Rome that started everything - a failed exam, a negotiated grade, and a ticket to Italy that eventually led him straight into telecom
📰 The almost-career as a journalist covering the telecom stock market bubble in the late 90s
💬 A spectacular journey of building iBASIS - along with Patrick George and the team - to the leadership position it is at now!
🌍 Five languages - Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and a slightly rusty Italian - and why being multilingual has always been a quiet superpower in this industry
📚 A lifelong passion for comics that started in childhood and never left
🎂 Two of his three daughters born on dates that coincide with ITW and Wholesale World Congress Madrid - and the ongoing challenge of splitting himself between the conference floor and home
❤️ The most beautiful telecom connection of all - meeting the love of his life, Rita - because sometimes this industry gives you far more than a career
🏖️ Recharging by the sea in Sintra with good food, good weather and good friends - because Portugal makes it very easy to slow down
From Lisbon to Rome to every major telecom conference in the world -
Ricardo is proof that the best career moments are rarely planned, the best relationships are rarely expected, and the best journeys always involve a little bit of negotiation!
🎧 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform, and follow Humans of Telecom for more extraordinary voices shaping the industry and inspiring the human spirit!
