BROOKINGS – Erick Rangel has had a variety of jobs in his career, but he’s used them as building blocks for his current position as chief financial officer for the City of Brookings. And he intends to keep learning and growing.

One of the things the native of Mexico has learned about is northern winters, but he isn’t fazed by snow.

“I enjoy it, I really do. I’m not scared of the weather at all,” he said.

Brookings, or at least South Dakota, has been a goal for him for a while, and he found a job that he believes is a great fit for him and his skills.

Learning

He started as CFO in January.

“I’m learning, learning, learning, so it’s all about that,” Rangel said.

Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Rangel went to high school at a military boarding school in Virginia. He earned his degree in industrial engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Learning in Monterrey, Mexico. He was still in school when he got a job as a process engineer at a tequila factory.

He’s held other jobs, working in project management at a manufacturing plant and operations manager for a water treatment plant, before enrolling in Darden School of Business in Virginia, where he earned a business degree “because I wanted to get more financial knowledge and more business knowledge,” Rangel said.

He worked for RJ Reynolds as a financial analyst in manufacturing and IT for about four years. He switched gears and worked for American Airlines in Dallas in the sales/strategy department because he liked the airline industry and it gave him the opportunity to work on the customer and marketing side.

“I started as an analyst in the sales strategy role, then I became a manager of the alliances and partnerships group. Lastly, I joined the corporate development group under finance. I was there for almost three years doing a lot of mergers and acquisitions,” Rangel said.

Cold awakening

Even though Rangel had a challenging job that used his skills and he was living in a cozy climate – “warm Dallas,” he said with a smile – he’s had his eye on eastern South Dakota for a while.

“I’ve had a long-term relationship for about six years (with) a person who lives here in Brookings, so I was looking to relocate,” he said. He figured he’d wind up in Sioux Falls because there’s more corporations. “When I saw the posting from the city (of Brookings), I thought hmm, the type of role was very attractive, so I said I should just go ahead and apply.”

He wasn’t planning to move in the middle of winter, but “this would be a good opportunity that I couldn’t just pass on,” Rangel said. “I thought my background could add a lot to this job.”

City Manager Paul Briseno and interim finance director Arnold Ehlers talked with him for about an hour. Then Rangel had an in-person interview. 

“It was very good because I got to learn the challenges that they’re facing and their concerns and kind of what they were expecting from a financial officer,” Rangel said.

“With every interaction that I had with the people from the city and their expectations and their needs from this role, I became more engaged with it and … I was like, oh, I really want this job,” Rangel said.

“I really believe in Paul’s vision,” Rangel said of what drew him to the organization. 

“It’s also a role where you can drive change and you can impact and you can make a difference in the citizens,” he said. “I can use my past experience and help and contribute to make it better for everybody.”

He also saw a “culture of collaboration,” he said. “And that’s what I wanted for my next job because I think that that’s the environment where people actually excel at.”

Plus, that endless curiosity of his.

“I could learn a lot from everybody, and that’s also something that’s very important for me,” Rangel said.

Happy to be here

He’s glad he’s here, in spite of the nasty weather.

“I actually still think it’s very pretty to see the snow,” Rangel said. “I’ve lived in snow towns before. I think it has its charm.”

The warmth of the people makes up for it.

He appreciates Brookings for its diversity, being a college town, and being “a community that wants to innovate, wants to be progressive, and you can see that reflected in everybody,” he said. “People are so nice, even to strangers.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had dinners almost every other night with people who just want to welcome me to town and just including me in their friend group, which I really appreciate,” Rangel said.

That acceptance is helping him settle in at home and at the office.

“We have a dog. His name is Buddy,” Rangel said, describing the cocker spaniel rescue as “the cutest thing.”

He’s planning to get involved with sports leagues in the summer.

But above all, Rangel loves getting to learn and grow on the job.

“I’ve enjoyed working since Day 1. I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a steep learning curve, but I can see that we’re making progress,” Rangel said.

“I can use my experience, learn more things and create something great,” he said, adding he’s looking forward to all his new duties. “I get to lead first-hand in this role. I’m very excited about all these projects that are in the works to improve the life of the citizens and what I really like is we’re taking a long-term vision for this. … I believe that people here have been and are being very smart about what we do with our citizens’ resources and how we can best invest them.

“I’m very excited,” Rangel said.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.