My name is Adam Gajo and I am one of the newest additions to the gap intelligence family. I join the market intelligence firm as a desktop research analyst, and come from a number of sales roles within the IT industry. I also recently completed my MBA in marketing in 2011, and I’m looking forward to providing insights into what is happening in the desktop space.
When I first started working at gap, I didn’t know if I would fit in, as I live a very active lifestyle. I’m a former college football player, football coach, and Filipino Martial Artist (stick fighter). In fact, my whole family stays active, as my wife is a former soccer star, my dad is a Filipino Martial Arts instructor, and everyone in my family competes in various sports. I guess you could say staying active isn’t a choice in my family, it’s an inherited lifestyle.
Me catching a TD pass vs New Mexico in 2003
In 2009, I competed in San Diego’s Grand International Eskrima Tournament (Filipino stick fighting), where I won the Advanced Division Middle Weight and Grand Champion titles. I had been training in Eskrima since I was five years old, but had never fought in a major tournament up until then. I love the hard work, discipline, and pressure that comes with participating at the highest levels of competition.
Me (in the red) fighting in the 2009 Grand Championship.
At this point, you may be asking yourself, “What is this active person doing spending countless hours working behind a desk, analyzing the desktop market?” Well, you see, I get the same type of active elements doing what I do at gap as when I get when I’m competing in sports. Let me explain… I have the pressure of my teammates that rely on me to do my job. I have my work week to prepare for the “big show”, that culminates with a weekly report that is sent to many people who use it in order to do their jobs effectively. And a competitive analysis element that keeps me interested in who’s “winning” and “losing”. Okay, so it’s not quite the same as running out of a tunnel to thousands of screaming fans… But it works for me. My drive is to become the world’s best desktop analyst, and my personality won’t let me rest until I achieve that goal. Maybe that’s why gap hires so many active people.
After one week of working at gap, I found out that I fit in perfectly! Although we are an IT and consumer electronics-focused market research firm, we have a number of former athletes, bikers, runners, surfer, etc. When we’re not analyzing data and writing reports, you can find us out enjoying the sunny San Diego weather – getting active.
