SIM Member Spotlight

Mel Reyes is the CIO/CISO for Getaround, a peer-to-peer car sharing service now in 950 cities in eight countries. Part of the “circular economy,” the company allows car owners to make money sharing their vehicle with other members of the service. The company is sometimes referred to as “Airbnb for vehicles.” Mel leads security, IT ops, data governance, and policy development for the company, its 700 employees and contractors, and its five million users.

 Prior to this post, he held positions with Synchrony (PayPal/eBay), Pepsi, and Priceline. Earlier in his career, he co-founded a menswear company. He is a graduate of the Lubin School of Business at Pace University in New York City, where he serves on the Cybersecurity Advisory Board.

 We asked Mel to share more about his SIM experience and how the society has helped him “Connect, Lead, Give” as an IT professional, as well as his thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month:

 I’ve been a member of SIM since 2015, initially with the Fairfield-Westchester Chapter outside New York City and for the past two years with the Southern California Chapter. While living on the East Coast, I was most active with the SIM Members in Transition (MIT) program to help those looking for new professional opportunities. Since joining the SoCal Chapter, I’ve helped with some planning committees, and I hope to make the time to do more.

 SIM has allowed me to meet some incredibly giving and helpful professionals and have exposure to groups and conferences to make more connections. It’s given me a forum to confirm my leadership skills and meet others to get real-world advice on sensitive and timely topics.

 For Mel, giving back is a huge part of his personal and professional practices. He serves or has served more than a dozen organizations as an advisor, mentor, instructor, officer, or board member. His current volunteer posts include HMG Strategy and Vation Ventures as well as non-profits like GRCIE.org, TechImpact.org, NextPlay, and LifeAfterNext.org to help educate and elevate. He serves as a start-up advisor for VeraScore, Scrut.io, Apolyta, PieEye, and NewChip Accelerator. SIM gives him additional opportunities, which he values.

 I’ve been given an opportunity to provide many SIM members with executive, resume, and interview coaching to help them elevate their roles. It has afforded me the opportunity to give back to many who may have been struggling.

 Some of his volunteer work has focused specifically on the Hispanic business community. September 15-October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, one of the focuses of the SIM DEI Task Force. We asked Mel his thoughts on how SIM and other organizations can help to bring more people of color and other minorities into tech leadership.

 I’ve seen several Hispanic organizations for executive or board director audiences, and many have a high membership entry fee that typically can’t be sponsored by their current employers. I’m still not seeing the targeted mid to senior-level leadership programs to help elevate and educate Hispanics with education, exposure to board-level discussions, professional development, or opportunities to learn. Much like SIM Women’s efforts, SIM needs to create a program targeting Hispanic and Black candidates to become more purposeful in providing opportunities to showcase brown and black candidates and the incredible untapped talent in the industry. This can include subsidized membership, executive training, board-level training, and specifically targeting conference discussions that pull in brown and black candidates to the forefront.

 We also asked Mel about his mentors and supporters who helped make his success possible.

 Many have come from SIM, including Joe Puglisi, Christopher Bernard, Rhona Kannon, and Kristen Lamoreaux; they have been an integral part of my professional development, career outreach, and, quite frankly, the most genuine and giving colleagues I’ve ever met. I’d be negligent in not including the incredible teams that I’ve been able to manage or work with in my career, especially seeing them grow and achieve their life and career goals.

 Are you a SIM member who would you like to be featured in an upcoming SIM Member Profile? Or would you like to nominate a fellow SIM member to be profiled? Email us at marketing@simnet.org.