In honor of Latinx Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) we are pleased to present an exclusive Q&A with notable Latinx alum David Segura, ‘93. Segura is the Founder & CEO of VisionIT, a company that grew into one of the top 30 largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. and was acquired in 2019 by the largest IT services corporation in Latin America, Softtek.
Segura has given back in many ways, including his service on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors and, notably, as a presidential appointee to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. He is also one of the founders of HITEC, the Hispanic IT Executive Council, focused on growing Hispanic IT leaders to the C suite.
David is active in professional boxing as an advisor to Domonique Dolton, a former U.S. amateur national champion and current top welterweight prospect.
For more of David’s experiences, visit his piece as part of the In Your Own Words series.
Alumni Association: What has been your proudest accomplishment and highlight of your career?
David Segura: When VisionIT was much smaller, we competed nationally for a major contract to support a Fortune 100 company with contract value reaching over 100M per year and won against significant competition and publicly traded companies who had much more resources and brand recognition. We were able to showcase our ability to deliver and deliver at scale which led to many years of business until that customer was acquired.
Alumni Association: What is your best/worst U-M memory?
Segura: One of my great memories is being very active at U of M in many different student organizations, especially joining organizations in which I was the only Hispanic including the Indian Association, the Asian Student Association, and the Black Student Union.
I also worked on campus within the computer lab and also tutored students in computer courses. I very much enjoyed myself during my time of learning from others as well as learning more about other cultures and traditions.
It made me a more well-rounded business leader in the relationships I built since later on my company employees and my customers came from many diverse communities. I could quickly relate and be more engaging with someone leveraging these past experiences.
Alumni Association: How did you become involved with U-M Latinx Alumni?
Segura: By serving on the Alumni Association Board for the University of Michigan it gives me the opportunity to serve all alumni but it has also helped me meet more Latinx Alumni that I would have not met if it wasn’t for being so active and aware of opportunities across the university.
Alumni Association: What do you feel is the biggest challenge in education that faces the Latinx community? How do you think this challenge can be solved?
Segura: One area I have always put an emphasis on is providing more educational opportunities in the Latinx community. I especially like to see our young people engage in the technology field and gain opportunities at a young age in building on these experiences and focusing on this as a career path.
I have invested and helped build technology centers in various communities and continue to look for ways to help open more doors for others in the technology industry. One of the reasons I created HITEC was helping build strong networks in the technology industry that connects Latino IT leaders with the tech innovators and companies leading our industries into the future.
Alumni Association: What does Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month mean to you?
Segura: I think it is important we give more visibility to how the Latinx community is a major contributor to our economy and culture here in the U.S. We have many examples across many industries to showcase talent and I am excited to see the next generation of Latinx that are currently here at U-M and recent graduates and ways they will have an impact leveraging their strong educational background with their determination and work ethic that is part of our Latino heritage.
Alumni Association: How can alumni contribute to the Latinx community?
Segura: Quite simply it is to get active and involved whether it is a local alumni chapter in your area to network and connect to more alumni of all backgrounds, internships at your companies for Latinx Michigan students, and supporting the LEAD program at the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.
For more of David’s experiences, visit his piece as part of the In Your Own Words series.