#HIS OPTIMISM GONE FULL#

“The big thing for me was how do you create order as soon as possible through chaos? How do you transition everyone to home? How do I empathize with the group, how do I encourage them? But also, how do I communicate that work doesn’t stop?” he says. So how I was engaging with people, how I was engaging with culture was very different for each of them.”Īs the pandemic brought much of the film industry to a standstill, Almendras faced the familiar challenge of navigating the work-at-home environment. “I had traveled to these places at different phases of my life. It was spiritual,” he says, adding that he also enjoyed his travels to Japan, Morocco and Spain. I feel like it was a very special trip for my mom and me. That travel, he says, brought him inner peace. That personal travel would include what he calls his “Eat, Pray, Love” journey in 2019, during which he spent time in Mexico (Guadalajara and Tulum), Bali and Sri Lanka. I’ve attached trips off the back of each of my trips to Bangkok and Europe and all that at The Sheppard, but I think now, traveling for myself in a different light is very nice,” he says. “I actually enjoy traveling now for myself. His IMAX job doesn’t require a lot of travel, but that’s fine with him. Since then, travel has remained an important part of his life. “At 20, I said, I need to go somewhere and start from scratch. I’m going to make it happen,’” he recalls.Ī year later, Almendras was studying abroad in Spain, first in the small town of Cádiz for five weeks for a pre-immersion program, then spending a year in Granada. “I don’t know whether it was a strategy of his or whatever it was, but I told myself ‘no, I’m going to figure it out. “I did very well in high school,” he says, “but then I went to college and I was lost.”Īt one point, a UCI professor advised him to change to a different major than Spanish. He admits the transition to college was a bit rocky, finding himself in Spanish classes with native speakers. Though he had applied (and been accepted) to marketing and communications programs at several other universities, UCI provided him the opportunity to explore his Filipino and Spanish roots through language. Initially, Almendras wasn’t sure where his Spanish major would take him. He’s had his share of roadblocks along the way to his successes.

#HIS OPTIMISM GONE FULL#

I wanted to build a brand from the inside out.”Īlmendras exudes positivity and a can-do spirit, pointing out, “I always say to people, the glass is not half empty, the glass is not half full the glass is actually overflowing with opportunities that you need to decide are opportunities and not roadblocks.”

“I wanted to start building brands that I was never a part of. “I didn’t want to be a big fish in a small pond,” he says. But he opted instead to take a step back and join IMAX as a creative services manager. “I enjoy it it’s the adrenaline.”Īfter just seven years at The Sheppard, where he started as a part-time intern, Almendras was offered a vice president position. I’ve run shoots where I’m producer and coordinator and interviewer and director,” he says. During the afternoon, I’m working on a proposal for another project. “When I’m at a live activation in Paris, I’m up for 16 hours. Luck, maybe, but definitely a lot of hard work. I had the opportunity to travel to Paris to launch a live activation. I later had the opportunity to launch a digital campaign in Bangkok at age 26. “I don’t know how my boss trusted me,” he says, laughing, “but they saw something in me.

This gave him a taste of what would become a lifelong passion: travel. The Glendale native joined IMAX nearly five years ago after a stint at the boutique marketing agency The Sheppard, where his Spanish skills positioned him to lead projects for Herbalife in Mexico City and Asia at the age of 24. Almendras, 34, heads a large team whose job it is to protect the brand’s integrity, help the company evolve and grow, and provide consistent messaging among employees, studios, theaters and consumers. That’s key to his job as vice president of global creative marketing at IMAX, the global entertainment technology giant. “I like to build, I like to see things grow, and I like to unlock potential.” “I like to explore and try new things,” he says.

And, in turn, he thrives on sharing his knowledge by mentoring and nurturing others. in international studies, Almendras has made a point of continuing his personal growth and education through his work, travel and interaction with people and places. Since graduating from the University of California, Irvine in 2009 with a B.A. Andrew Almendras considers himself a “forever learner,” an eager student always looking for ways to discover new things in unexpected places.

His optimism gone