Amazon Analog Series: Meet Riel

Amazon Design nominated me in 2024 and featured me in its Analog Series in January 2026. “Stories from Amazon Design: Meet Riel” follows my path from Trinidad and Tobago to leading IMDb’s premium advertising and Creative Studio, and how the lessons from the jiu-jitsu mat carry into my work.

I was born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in the States from the age of six, and I bring a “stay hungry” mentality to everything I do. I’ve learned that great management, like parenting my two kids, means understanding each person’s strengths instead of treating everyone the same.

Every Tuesday morning I’m on the jiu-jitsu mat before work. It releases stress and sharpens my focus, and it taught me something deeper: find the gap between where you are and where you want to be, then keep working to close it. I lead my team the same way. I hire smart people, stay patient and learn from them.

Most of all, I practice radical empathy. I regularly ask myself, “What would it be like to be this person?” That one question changes how I see every situation, and it makes me a better leader.