Tony Pares Shares His Heritage, Leadership Philosophy During Lunch-and-Learn

Growing up in Upstate New York about an hour north of New York City, Tony Pares learned a lot about his heritage from his Puerto Rican father and Italian mother, who would take him into the city so he could learn more about his background.

“They both embraced Hispanic culture,” the Exchange’s South East Regional Vice President said Thursday during a Hispanic Heritage Month lunch-and-learn. “They’d take me to parts of New York City throughout my entire childhood that showed the various cultures that we celebrate today during Hispanic Heritage Month. Whether it was Spanish Harlem, Washington Heights or parts of Brooklyn, they always made sure I understood my Hispanic culture and heritage.”

Pares’ father would also take him to Puerto Rico occasionally to help him learn what it meant to be Puerto Rican. His parents provided the bulk of his education about his heritage.

“Surprisingly, in my school, I could probably count the number of Hispanic people on one hand,” Pares said. “We did not have a big Hispanic culture in my school. But that didn’t stop us from gathering in small groups and sharing stories. They were all so similar, regardless of what our Hispanic background brought us to and where our journey was from.”

Pares warmly remembered the way he grew up.

“It was such a familia,” he said. “It was such a great family environment and family atmosphere. No matter if you know the person or don’t know the person, you always have that connection. You’ll always be welcome as a family member, you’ll always be welcome as a part of a family, regardless of your background.”

Pares, who started his Exchange career at the U.S. Military Academy 28 years ago and has been a vice president in Eastern Region since 2017, also talked about the family atmosphere at the Exchange and about his leadership philosophy during the lunch-and learn.

He has been a vice president for five years, first in Central East and now in South East region, where he is responsible for Exchange operations in Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico and Honduras. During the past few weeks, much of that area was battered by hurricanes. He praised the Exchange teams for their performance before, during and after the storms and for their performance year-round.

“I have an all-star team,” Pares said. “It’s all about the team—our general managers, store managers, services business managers, associates. They’ll always go above and beyond to support the best customers in the world. And empowerment is such an integral part and a tremendous leadership quality, to empower the team to do the right thing and to solve for ‘yes,’ always.”

Pares said he believes that leaders, including himself, should be willing to admit their mistakes and learn from them. He also believes in strong listening and communication skills.

“So many times I’ll see it, and sometimes I’m guilty of it as well: You ask for opinions or advice and then you’re on to the next thing, whether it’s the next aisle or looking at your phone or looking ahead,” he said. “Stop and listen. Listen to what people have to say. You can learn a lot by listening to your surroundings, whether it’s your boss, your subordinates or your peers. Just listen.”

Pares added that it’s important to communicate externally, and to be broad in your thinking about it.

“So many times in the field, we focus on either the garrison or the wing or the MSG,” he said. “But there are so many different command elements on installations that we need to talk to and we need to educate.”

Being adaptable to change, having a diverse workforce and working as a team are also important, he said.

“There’s just one big team at the Exchange,” Pares said. “We are one big family. We need to always come together and succeed in our ultimate goal, which is to take care of the men and women of the Armed Forces, their families, our retirees and our internal customers.”

Pares, known for his upbeat attitude even during stressful times, said the key is to look at the positive things in life.

“There’s so much negativity in the news and so much negativity out there that you just have to drone it out,” he said. “Don’t listen to the noise. Don’t listen to the negativity. I guarantee we can always find something positive in our day-to-day interactions.

“COVID is a perfect example,” he continued. “Probably the worst tragedy we’ll ever face over a two-year period but it brought us closer together. It brought us together as a family. It brought us closer with the military. It brought the GMs a lot closer, the field and headquarters a lot closer. You can always find positives with whatever you encounter.”

Exchange CEO/Director Tom Shull provided closing remarks for the lunch-and-learn. He spoke of learning from a Latino officer during his time on active duty, about Gen. David “Rod” Rodriguez, the first four-star general with a Hispanic background, and about increasing acknowledgment of Hispanic culture and leaders during the past several years.

“We’re all one melting pot, and we don’t always take that to heart,” Shull said. “One of the great things about serving at the Exchange or in uniform is that there really is an appreciation for cultures and diversity. You really brought that to life today, Tony.”

The lunch-and-learn was presented by special-emphasis group ¡HOLA! (Hispanic Outreach, Leadership & Awareness). Jose Hernandez, director of Corporate Communication and ¡HOLA! co-program manager, moderated the interview with Pares, who is one of the ¡HOLA! executive champions.

Judd Anstey, Chief Communications officer, is the other executive champion. Alberto Perez, Credit Program manager, is ¡HOLA! co-program manager, and Dora Trillo, Corporate Communication specialist, is assistant program manager.

To learn more about ¡HOLA!, click here. To see how installations worldwide are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month 2022, click here. If you missed the lunch-and-learn, you can watch it here.