Ramón Pérez Blanco on Desde el Tapón: Leadership Lessons for Growing from Puerto Rico
On the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce podcast, our CEO, Ramón A. Pérez Blanco, Esq., CPCU, shared how business vision, talent development, and genuine enjoyment of the work have shaped Fulcro Insurance’s growth, and what the island’s business leaders can learn from that experience.
Growing in Puerto Rico demands difficult decisions. Ramón Pérez Blanco experienced this firsthand when he took the helm of Fulcro Insurance during years of economic contraction, uncertainty, and challenges for businesses on the island. In that environment, the team chose to keep investing in the business.
On Desde el Tapón, the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce podcast, Pérez Blanco, CEO of Fulcro Insurance and former president of the Chamber, discussed that experience alongside attorney Luis Pizarro, also a former president of the institution.
Describing the challenge of operating, developing talent, and exporting from Puerto Rico, Ramón offered an image that captures what that path requires:
“I call it an extreme sport.”
His perspective goes beyond one company’s story. For Ramón, Puerto Rican firms have what it takes to compete in any market, but to do so, they need to change how they see themselves. His experience offers three leadership lessons for business leaders.
Three Leadership Lessons for Business Leaders
Raise Your Game to Compete in New Markets
Ramón observes that many Puerto Rican companies have grown used to looking only at the local market. Even leading brands took years to export in any meaningful way.
Fulcro asked a different question: why couldn’t a Puerto Rican firm compete in the United States? Asking it led the team to envision the company beyond the local market and to assess which capabilities it needed to build.
Ramón explains it with a basketball analogy:
The same holds true when moving up to the municipal level and then to the national stage: each step demands better performance. For a company, that preparation means investing, strengthening the team’s skills, and creating the conditions to meet a higher level of competition.
That vision also requires accepting that there will be mistakes and costly lessons. For Ramón, part of leading is convincing the team that it can compete at that level, and backing that conviction with decisions and investments.
The lesson for leaders: expansion isn’t one department’s project. It’s a decision that raises the bar for the entire organization.
Invest in the People Who Make Growth Possible
In insurance, technical expertise and relationships are fundamental. That’s why Ramón ties Fulcro’s growth to its ability to recruit well-prepared professionals and give them opportunities to keep growing.
His approach covers both hiring and developing those already on the team. A company that aims to compete in larger markets needs to invest in its people’s capabilities and give them the tools to take on new challenges.
Ramón notes that this point often goes unnoticed in public discourse. In a competitive labor market, caring for and developing talent isn’t just good practice: it’s a requirement for sustaining growth.
Enjoy the Work and Let It Show in Your Service
The third lesson comes from his father, the company’s co-founder: “You have to have fun.”
For Ramón, enjoying what you do shapes how you relate to employees and how you serve clients.
During the conversation, he illustrated it with an everyday experience: going to a restaurant where the food is excellent, but the service makes you feel like they’re doing you a favor.
The treatment ends up defining the experience.
Ramón acknowledges that business has its difficult moments and frustrations.
Even so, he considers it essential that those who lead enjoy what they do and can convey that enthusiasm.
A leader’s enthusiasm isn’t a personality detail. It defines the organization’s culture and, ultimately, the client experience.
Leadership Lessons for Preparing for the Next Court
The journey Ramón shares invites us to look at growth through the decisions that make it possible. For Fulcro, competing beyond Puerto Rico has required an ambitious vision, investment in people, and genuine enjoyment of the work.
Ramón also stressed the role the private sector must play in the island’s economic development:
For Puerto Rico’s business leaders, the question isn’t whether our companies can compete beyond the island, but what they need to build to do it. If you’re considering your business’s next step, it’s a question worth asking: what does your team need to compete on the next court?
The discussion of Fulcro’s growth strategies begins around the 39-minute mark.
Want to talk with our team about growing your business? Contact us
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About Fulcro
With 45+ years of experience, Fulcro Insurance is a leading risk management and insurance brokerage firm helping businesses protect what matters most. We design customized commercial insurance, employee benefits, surety, cybersecurity, and claims management solutions tailored to each organization's unique needs. Serving clients across Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia, and the Dominican Republic, our industry-specific insurance specialists provide strategic guidance that helps businesses manage risk with confidence.
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