What Leaders Say

I had the privilege of working under Mario's leadership — as a new graduate starting my first full-time job — for a year and I am honored to reflect over and write this recommendation for him. Mario's most distinctive quality is his commitment to radical candor. Unlike many managers who reserve feedback for formal evaluation periods, Mario consistently provided me with constructive feedback. Especially as I was starting, it was difficult at times to understand what my expectations were and whether I was aligning well with the team's cadence. Mario's matter-of-fact approach grounded me very early manifesting in good engineering practices whilst ensuring to deliver with efficiency. This proactive approach not only fostered my professional growth but also created an environment of transparency and trust within the team. One of Mario's standout qualities is his genuine care for engineers. Our regular one-on-one meetings always began with him asking, 'What can I do for you?' Accordingly, his interest in ensuring that our development experience goes smoothly without continual blocks, but also his providing more general career advice was clearly manifest on a week-by-week basis. Moreover, Mario's perceptiveness is sharp. He consistently demonstrated a keen understanding of what was best for the health of the team. For instance, when a senior engineer was about to go on vacation, Mario swiftly took measures to ensure a smooth workflow during their absence. I particularly appreciate Mario's hands-on approach to problem-solving. When I faced challenges with a project due to external factors beyond my control, Mario stepped in with valuable insights and suggestions, demonstrating his commitment to supporting his team members in overcoming obstacles. One of the most empowering experiences under Mario's leadership was being entrusted with a high-visibility, large-scope project shortly after my onboarding. While he empowered me as the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI), he ensured I had the right support and resources to guarantee success. This speaks volumes about Mario's ability to identify and nurture talent within his team. Mario's dedication to minimizing excessive processes that burden engineers further highlights his commitment to creating an environment where team members can focus on their work without unnecessary impediments. Beyond the day-to-day technicalities, I have greatly benefited from Mario's broader wisdom in business management, the growth of tech companies, and the milestones in an engineer's career. His insights, drawn from his extensive and rich career in the software industry, have been invaluable in shaping my understanding of the industry.

Mario has been an inspiration to work with and learn from at Faire. We worked together in the Retailer pillar at Faire as peer Sr Eng Managers. Our paths crossed several times when considering resourcing, performance evaluation/calibrations, and overall pillar-level syncs. What amazed me about Mario was his people-first approach. When my team was being seeded, he moved over the strongest engineer on his team, mainly because it was the right for their career growth given the opportunity on my team. Furthermore, when he transferred a particularly challenging report over to my team, again for similar reasons, I distinctly remember the detailed, unbiased notes he shared about how best to support them. We also shared mobile engineers over a couple of quarters and eventually, we decided to place them on my team mainly to do what's best for the company and these engineers. While sharing the engineers' time on projects from both teams, I found Mario's leadership style extremely organized, and well-structured. I saw his detailed quarterly planning sheets and how good a handle he had over what everyone on his team was doing. He even set up weekly check-ins with the shared engineers to ensure they didn't feel isolated. It is safe to say I leveled up in my organizational and people skills through our discussions and the opportunity to attend Mario's planning sessions. Any company would find an incredibly skilled leader in Mario, and I would love to work with him again.

Mario joined me in the journey of automating the selling of homes via digital marketing. For over three years we have been working side by side helping various parts of the company. Wearing any hat he needed to Mario has lead a team that transformed the way our company did business. When the call center didn't scale, he jumped in. When the ad systems didn't perform, he jumped in. Each time bringing a young team that was punch above its weight and producing results. I've never had a colleague willing to help so many folks, roll up his sleeves and get things done. It also helps that Mario's knowledge of digital marketing is encyclopedic. He is someone who doesn't stop learning at the surface of a subject but dives deeper to understand the fundamental mechanisms.

Mario is the strongest engineer and one of the best leaders I have worked with. He has been a huge asset to my marketing team with his deep knowledge of the adtech ecosystem and emerging technology. In addition, his grasp of communication platforms like Twilio and analytics tools means he is a true partner that can have impact at every point in the funnel. He is able to easily translate business objectives into architectural concepts while successfully guiding a team of top tier engineers.

In my experience, it's rare for an engineering leader to make such a memorable impression on go-to-market leadership, but Mario was exactly that kind of exceptional professional. Mario consistently demonstrated intellectual curiosity and sharp analytical thinking that extended well beyond his engineering domain. His quick wit and genuine interest in understanding business challenges made him an invaluable collaborator across departments. While many engineering leaders remain siloed within their technical teams, Mario actively sought to understand how his work connected to broader business outcomes and customer needs. What impressed me most was Mario's collaborative approach. He didn't simply execute on requests from sales and marketing. Mario engaged thoughtfully, asked insightful questions, and often proposed technical solutions that we hadn't considered. His ability to translate complex engineering concepts into business terms made cross-functional planning sessions both productive and enlightening. Any organization would be fortunate to have Mario's combination of technical leadership, business acumen, and collaborative spirit.

Mario is one of the most valuable people I have met in the workplace environment. Both smart and professional at the same time. Experienced, deadline-oriented, and intelligent person. Mario is a strong and goal-oriented team player; he brings at least a couple of solutions to every business problem. He has exceptional troubleshooting skills in the backend/MarTech space too. Mario is also a great mentor for all types of engineers within and outside the team he is working with. It's a pleasure and an honor to recommend Mario to anyone lucky enough to work with him.

Mario was my manager at Rex for about 2 years. These 2 years were probably the most productive years of my career so far. I had the chance to work on multiple domains that I had 0 experience with and my success was a direct result of the mentorship that I received. I've not only had the opportunity to work on some of the most innovative projects at the company and grow as an engineer, but also as a leader. Mario worked with me directly to develop my career and I would recommend him to any engineer in my network.

Mario is a talented engineer and a great engineering manager. As part of the initial technical leadership in the Condé Nast Austin office, he helped set the technical tone. His thoroughness, whether breaking down a technical challenge into something he and his team could tackle or interviewing potential hires will be sorely missed. As a manager, he always looked for ways to elevate those who reported to them and make sure they were doing the best work they could. I'm glad our paths crossed and hope they do again in the future.

I have worked with Mario as a peer and as a report. He is exceptionally talented both as a manager and IC. He has a vast array of experience that he brings to all the solutions he architects. He is also the type of person that will immerse himself into an issue especially if he doesn't fully understand the entirety of an ecosystem or technology. He has a can do attitude and does not shy away from the toughest of challenges. I think he would be an asset to any team and I would work with him again at any opportunity.

Mario and I worked together at nValeo. We had very tight delivery timelines and complex technology problems to solve. With Mario's leadership driving our technology team we accomplished a great deal in a very short period of time with very limited resources. Mario's work ethic is unparalleled! His deep knowledge in many aspects of technology and his remarkable capability to develop expertise in new technologies and how to fit them together to deliver a product is remarkable. He provided great leadership to our Technology team.

Mario possesses a rare combination of leadership skills, expertise, and a genuine passion for nurturing talent and advancing careers. During our time working together, I was consistently impressed by Mario's deep knowledge across various areas and his willingness to share that knowledge. He stands out as one of the most transparent colleagues I've had the privilege to work with, and his no-nonsense approach helped our team execute efficiently. Most importantly, he cares deeply about the people he works with. I felt consistently supported by him, and I also watched him push his team to grow and challenge themselves. Mario would be an asset to any organization seeking a passionate, transparent, and empowering leader.

Mario's unique ability to possess excellent technical skills and managerial prowess is a trait that is hard to come by in the IT industry. I had the pleasure of being a member of Mario's engineering team at Condé Nast for just over a year. Mario understands the importance of team unity and trust and ensured that was an important theme within our team. He constantly strived to figure out ways to allow us as engineers to exceed our expectations by encouraging technical conference attendance, challenging us with technical projects and encouraging mentorship of other members within our own team. Mario would be a stand out asset for any company looking for a hard working, dedicated employee.

I had the privilege of being on Mario's team for over a year and a half at REX and can easily say that I haven't met anyone else with his ability to identify business opportunities and architect engineering systems needed to realize these opportunities. His knowledge of martech and telephony is truly unmatched. I have seen him wear engineering, product, and business stakeholder hats when tackling problems at REX (often in the same 30 minute meeting) and I am 100% certain that his fluency with each role means that he would thrive in a number of different leadership roles at any company. I learned and grew a huge amount as a result of his mentorship and I was very lucky to have him guide me through a number of fun, complex and interesting projects in my first full-time job. He is genuinely invested in the career development of anyone he works with and has a great ability to form long lasting friendships with his co-workers. I would jump (figuratively but perhaps also literally) at a chance to work with him in the future!

I've had the privilege of working under Mario twice. First as a co-op early in my career at Faire, and later as a full-time engineer when he was Director of Engineering at Proof. During his time at Proof, I saw Mario transform our engineering department by improving the culture, raising the technical bar, and putting solid processes in place around incidents and day-to-day engineering. On a personal level, Mario has also been a great mentor. He encouraged me to take on bigger challenges and he has always been there when I needed advice or perspective. I'm grateful for the opportunities I had to learn from Mario. Any team would benefit from his leadership, experience, and ability to bring out the best in those around him.

Mario, is an exceptional manager who has consistently demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities. I had the pleasure of reporting to Mario on the SEO pod at Faire for over a year. Throughout our professional journey, Mario has not only encouraged me to take on new challenges but also provided unwavering support when I faced obstacles. His visionary leadership led us to surpass our targets, such as when he pushed me to take on managing co-op students, providing consistent feedback to help me quickly learn how best to support them. Moreover, Mario's caring and supportive approach became evident when I encountered difficulties during a critical project; he offered guidance and resources to help me overcome the challenges. Mario fosters an environment of transparency and open communication, where team members are encouraged to share ideas and concerns freely. His leadership style not only motivates and empowers his team but also creates an open and positive work culture. I highly recommend Mario as a manager and mentor, as his leadership is truly an asset to any organization.

Mario is an exceptional engineering manager and leader. His extensive experience as an engineer allows him to bridge the gap between the technical and managerial aspects of the role, such as by helping me navigate technical tradeoffs in such a way as to drive maximum value for the business. Mario is also a highly effective mentor with a wealth of knowledge about the workings of organizations and career paths in software development. I strongly recommend him for his ability to drive success in both engineering projects and the careers of the engineers he manages.

Mario is one of the brightest people I've come across in my career. In addition to his technical knowledge, he also retains the ability to connect with his end-user. Before taking the reins and forging ahead on a project, he digs down to identify the root problem. He's also fantastic at following up after implementation to ensure that his design is performing as expected. People in his position could easily intimidate those without programming skills, but Mario remains approachable, personable, and patient. At the end of the day, it helps everyone to reach the common goal more quickly.

Mario was a fantastic engineering manager during our time together. From the day we first started working together it was clear Mario had a strong commitment to helping the engineers he is managing with career growth. He held consistent discussions about growth directions, was candid and open with opinions on growth questions, and was generous with his time (often fitting meetings into a busy schedule). When it came to delegating/dividing work Mario struck a great balance of ensuring engineers had enough work to grow but not too much that would risk causing stress/burnout. I think all engineers at any skill or experience level would greatly benefit from Mario's guidance as a manager.

I'm grateful to have got to know and work with Mario. His kindness, patience, and willingness to understand and help his subordinates were unmatched. And as much as I appreciate his role as a manager, caring, giving space for us to suggest solutions, to improve ourselves, and to create and work on our own projects, I've learned to appreciate him even more as a person. Mario has a unique way of viewing the world and embracing you for who you are. He always made me feel very comfortable being myself, showing respect, and pointing suggestions. He also always showed genuine interest in my development and growth, not just me, that was the norm with everyone he was managing at the time. I'm thankful to have worked with Mario, I'm glad I got to learn from him, and any company or any person will be lucky to work by his side.

I had the privilege of working under Mario Hebert's leadership as my Engineering Manager. Mario excels not only in nurturing high performers but also in guiding and supporting those facing challenges. He played a pivotal role in my growth during a difficult phase, helping me discover my potential. Furthermore, Mario's willingness to embrace high-risk initiatives demonstrates his entrepreneurial spirit. Highly recommend Mario for his exceptional mentoring and fearless approach to innovation.

Mario is the hardest working and most dedicated manager I have had the privilege of knowing. He eats, sleeps and breathes code. Mario knows how to keep his department motivated and productive, but he doesn't hesitate to get his hands dirty and help out when things get tough.