We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maricela Aguilar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maricela below.
Maricela , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name of my brand is my son’s name reversed. His nickname was Nico growing up so when I ventured out on my own to open up my own consulting business is 2018 I came up with OCINS (I added the S for his middle name Samuel). The phonetic sound is “oceans”. Nick has always loved spending time at the beach and listening to the sound of the waves as well watching the sunrise and sunset while looking out at the ocean.
Maricela , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Maricela Aguilar Najera serves as the Principal Consultant and CEO of ociNs Consulting. Hailing from San Benito, Texas situated in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, she launched her career with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. Over an impressive 20-year tenure, Maricela held positions in various cities, including Houston and Austin, Texas, Carlsbad, California, and ultimately made her home in Las Vegas, Nevada—the City of Lights. Throughout her journey with Four Seasons, she gained diverse experience in food and beverage service and rooms operations, which ultimately led her to discover her true passion for Human Resources.
Maricela has held progressively responsible positions in Human Resources Management for Fortune 500 companies across the hotel, casino, call center, and attractions industries. Her expertise encompasses employee relations management, leadership development, recruitment, policy creation and implementation, and compliance. She is trained in the 360 Certification Assessment, D.I.S.C. and Step One—a collaborative approach to employee issue resolution.
In May 2018, driven by her lifelong ambition to become an entrepreneur, Maricela founded ociNs Consulting. Her mission is to empower businesses to inspire their teams and achieve success through enhanced employee engagement, recruitment, training, and coaching.
Maricela is a strong proponent of the belief that in Human Resources, “we are the resource to the human.” As a committed business partner, she works closely with organizations to champion the needs of both leadership and employees, cultivating a forward-thinking strategy that promotes success, engagement, and innovation.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In April of 2021 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. I was living in San Francisco and I received the news alone because we were still in the pandemic. I left my job working in Hospitality and relocated to Las Vegas for my treatments. After 3 rounds of chemotherapy, I made a decision to move back home to Texas where I completed my treatments and survived cancer. It was the biggest change in my life and I left behind a career that I enjoyed so much. I eventually went t back to hospitality- I moved to South Carolina and returned to the work I enjoyed and missed. Life after cancer has been a lot but I am so blessed to have fought a tough battle and won!
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I enjoy reading Simon Sinek and his books. The one that stands out is “Start with Why”. It so important to know “why” you wake up each day and what motivates you every day. If you are just waking up and not making a difference then you need to reevaluate your “why” and where you are going. You can’t lead a team if you yourself don’t have a plan.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ocinsconsulting.com
