Work begins with listening in the aisles where product meets customer need. That orientation fits Juan Valerio, Mi Costeñita’s Chief Executive Officer, who believes greatness is built by surrounding yourself with people who push you to rise, then rising together.

Valerio arrived with a first generation Mexican American story shaped by high expectations and the steady pressure to excel. Instead of resisting that weight, he learned to convert it into drive. At Mi Costeñita, that drive became a commitment to strengthen how the team serves, how roles are defined and how responsibility is shared so the company can show up with consistency.

Growth, for Valerio, has meant taking a long established organization and helping it operate with more intention. He has focused on shifting employee roles to support the full team, bringing clarity to how work moves from planning to execution. That approach has included adopting software that gives the company tighter control of sales reporting and helps leaders make decisions faster with better information.

Technology also sits at the center of how he sees work changing. With cloud tools, artificial intelligence and new systems reshaping daily operations, Valerio is determined that education keeps pace. Training, internal support and a willingness to learn unfamiliar concepts help employees stay confident rather than overwhelmed, making modern tools feel like an advantage instead of a barrier.

Some leaders keep enthusiasm alive by chasing constant novelty. Valerio reignites his own energy through reflection and curiosity, studying what can be improved and staying aware of what is happening around him so he can absorb lessons in real time. If he could master a skill instantly, he would expand beyond bilingual communication, deepening his ability to connect across languages and cultures in ways that build trust and elevate relationships.

Valerio’s selection as a Titan 100 Honoree reflects an influence that reaches beyond a job title. He describes leadership as approachable and grounded, showing colleagues he does not place himself above the work or the people doing it.

In the years ahead, Valerio envisions Mi Costeñita becoming one of the most widely known distributors of Mexican spices and related products, fully using tools and capabilities that can broaden reach while protecting quality. He measures accomplishment through progress that lifts the organization: better systems, clearer expectations and policies that help team members earn time off more readily. With results climbing, he stays centered on a simple standard: Invest in people so they can inspire one another, serve customers with pride and make excellence a daily habit. In that spirit, he keeps the team focused on improvement that lasts.