My name is Ralph Castro, and I’m a Group Manager of Business Development Financial Services at Avanade. I’m also a Navy Reserve veteran, father, husband and Masonic Brother. While I don’t come from a military family, the military has certainly influenced my family. The operational tempo, acting upon the “square,” maintaining discipline and practicing charity are values that both my family and the Navy have taught me.

As a reservist, I had the privilege of learning from leaders, skilled operators and fellow reservists on thinking beyond myself – thinking about the person next to me. Doing what matters as a reservist meant conducting myself at the highest caliber, holding myself accountable and executing. The Navy has a great team culture, which is an asset when high-caliber performance is expected; a strong culture inspires teams to consistently work to improve their performance. When I came to Avanade, I felt this same approach immediately, and it empowers people to find and fix problems, innovate, reward ownership and ingenuity and remove barriers.

Avanade embraces the same core values of honor, courage and commitment. There is a relentless commitment to our clients and partner ecosystem in aligning business goals with core values. As an Avanade family member, I am empowered to self-assess, collaborate with teams and maintain a focus of helping clients align goals with values.

I love the Avanade commitment to “do what matters,” which resonated with me instantly. Avanade is the perfect environment to continue my professional endeavors while serving both the military community and volunteer community. The Veteran Employee Network embraced me with open arms and provided me with a platform to immediately contribute to those in need. Avanade allows me to help my military family through initiatives such as Wounded Warrior Projects and Paws4Vets. These projects and many more showcase Avanade’s core belief in supporting veterans.

I know I’m in the right place to help those in need and grow within the Avanade family, doing my own part to help us do what matters. It is my goal to help those need, be part of ‘doing what matters’ and grow within the Avanade family.