Meet The Magnopians: Ian Villamor
Ian Villamor is a Senior Cultural & Office Ambassador at Magnopus. He’s had a varied career history including roles in production, social media, and operations. Ian thrives in people management roles and enjoys being front of house for the LA office.
Tell us more about your job role at Magnopus
I work as part of the Client Hospitality team to make sure visitors to Magnopus have the best experience possible. That also includes looking after our employees! I am a people person and thrive on engaging with all types of people. I love being the first face people see when they walk into the office!
What attracted you to Magnopus?
Believe it or not, I worked alongside Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning, and Lap Van Luu at a company called The Syndicate way back in the early 2000s. So when I was looking for a change of role after being in production, I saw that these amazing people had set up a little company called Magnopus which was taking the world by storm.
What’s your origin story, what path did you take to get here?
I’ve been in production and post-production for most of my working life. I also got into Instagram when it first launched and ran my own company doing social media, and working with the influencers of the time (before they were called influencers!). I also worked with Animal Planet and had the opportunity to travel the world to places like India, Borneo, and Indonesia. It was incredible. I’ve done a lot of stuff and had many careers that have led me here.
What three skills are essential for anyone in your role?
This is tough because I’d say number one is patience. And that’s not something that can be taught or bought. You’ve just got to learn to be patient with people as you’re dealing with lots of different personalities, and also different levels of seniority. From CEOs of the biggest companies in the world to the maintenance team, to your goofball colleagues, you’ve got to adjust on the fly to adapt your communication style.
The second is remembering the small details about people (this is one of my superpowers!). Make sure to remember people’s names, the names of their partners, kids, dogs, how they like their coffee, etc. It makes people feel valued, seen, and appreciated. People will never forget you that way, and in our industry, it can be that personal touch that makes people want to come back and work with us, or work for us because they know they matter to us.
The last, and probably most important one, is anticipation. Anticipating people’s needs will get you far because it allows people to trust you. If I already know what a client or employee is thinking before they mention it, they know I’ve got them, understand them, and will look after them. There’s so much stuff people need to make them be their best, but wouldn’t necessarily ask for. If you can give them those things before they even ask, you’ll get the best out of your employees and clients will want to come back.
If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?
This one’s easy, a comedian! But in all honesty, I’m too scared to do it. As I get older I realize that I don’t care as deeply about others' perception of me, so I should just do it! Nobody wants to be booed off stage, but if that’s the worst that can happen then I should totally give it a go.
Who are your 3 dream dinner guests?
Jodie Comer, she is beauty and brains combined, and she would keep us entertained with her incredible array of accents. And Robin Williams, because I feel like he would be an amazing mentor, and we’d feed off each other’s energy. Lastly, the legend that is Kobe Bryant, because he’s the GOAT. From all of these people, I think I’d just learn so much.
