Digital transformation is not a defined project that can be checked off the to-do list; it’s a continual process that requires the business to enable innovation, transform technology platforms and strategically evolve the way technology operations are managed. To get to where you are today and where the world is heading, we need to change, make adaptations, and continually question traditional standards and status quos. We need to innovate, leave the obsolete behind us, and learn from experience to create something better.
The theme for the 2019 Digital Innovation Summit is "Time to Evolve," in which we invite you to explore, exchange ideas on what has worked, what has not, and shape together the evolving relationship of how we leverage technology. The overall goal of the event is to provide inspiring content and networking opportunities to drive internal change and to hear success cases first hand from the leaders managing change.
Rated one of the top 15 adults-only resorts in the world, Secrets The Vine Cancun is located on one of the world’s most picturesque beaches, the enticing white sand beaches of the Caribbean Sea. This chic, contemporary adults-only haven combines the natural beauty of the Yucatan Peninsula with the elegance and unlimited luxury of a world-class resort.
Featuring an All-Inclusive concept, this beautiful oceanfront resort has jaw-dropping views of the Caribbean Sea and Nichupte Lagoon, along with four refreshing infinity pools and an immense spa with 14 beauty and rejuvenation areas for your stay on Mexico's Caribbean coast. This beautiful destination is located just nine miles southwest of the Cancun International Airport.
Airport-hotel-airport transportation for the Digital Innovation Summit will be provided by the organizers.
For questions or concerns, please contact Irma Trevino at irma.trevino@softtek.com .
Cancun is Mexico's most visited tourist destination. There's golf, tennis, lots of shopping facilities and a remarkable biodiversity. There are four hundred seventy-five bird species, over a hundred different mammals and twelve hundred plant species.
The beautiful ocean is home to over two thousand five hundred marine species with five hundred different tropical fish.
Cancun is located in the State of Quintana Roo at the most southern tip of the Yucatan peninsula. It is divided into two sections: the Hotel Zone [Zona Hotelera] which is a 22 km sandy strip of land between a lagoon and seaside hotels located on Cancun Island and Cancun City/Downtown [El Centro] which is home to the many Mexicans who live in the district.
Blanca Treviño has been leading Softtek as President and CEO since 2000. Under her leadership, Softtek has become the leading information technology services company in Latin America. Throughout her 30-year career at Softtek, Blanca has gained international recognition as a promoter of the IT services industry in and from emerging countries, collaborating with various government administrations promoting the nearshore model.
Blanca has spoken at international conferences, including the World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank, and Harvard Business School. She became the first woman appointed to the Consejo Mexicano de Negocios, A.C. and is an active board member at institutions including Walmart Mexico, Goldcorp, and Grupo Lala and her alma mater Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM).
Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Blanca holds a degree in Computer Science.
Frances Karamouzis is a Chief of Research and Distinguished Analyst in Gartner's Research Advisory Group, focusing on sourcing strategies for business and IT services. Ms. Karamouzis is focused on research that addresses strategic planning, evaluations, business cases and service delivery capabilities, as well as disruptive trends. Examples include, digital business and the shift from labor arbitrage to automation arbitrage through the use of intelligent automation services (Gartner's umbrella term for artificial intelligence, RPA, bots, chatbots, machine learning, cognitive computing, conversational platforms, and use of digital or virtual agents). The business and IT service lines that she focuses on include application services (inclusive of SaaS) and business process services (BPS), which includes BPaaS, BPO and KPO. With 31 years of experience in the industry, Ms. Karamouzis has appeared and/or contributed to reports showcased on 60 Minutes, CNN, CNBC, PBS, Business Week, Forbes and the Council for Foreign Relations. Ms. Karamouzis earned a bachelor's degree in International Business and Accounting from New York University. She has also completed her M.B.A. in Finance at New York University, as well.
Andrew Selee is President of the Migration Policy Institute, succeeding co-founder Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Michael Fix. He came to MPI from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he served as Executive Vice President from January 2014 through April 2017.
Dr. Selee has worked closely in the past on two of MPI’s signature initiatives: the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future, and the Regional Migration Study Group, which was jointly convened by MPI and the Wilson Center. He also served as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations' Task Force on Immigration.
The founding Director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, Dr. Selee is a respected scholar and analyst of Mexico and U.S.-Mexico relations. A frequent commentator in the media, he has also written and edited a number of books and policy reports on U.S.-Mexico relations, Mexican and Latin American politics, and Latino immigrant civic engagement in the United States, and is a regular columnist with the Mexican newspaper El Universal. His latest book, Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together, was published by Public Affairs in June 2018.
In his role as Executive Vice President of the Wilson Center and previously as Vice President for Programs, Dr. Selee was involved with the Center’s wide-ranging initiatives in Europe, Asia, Africa, Eurasia, and the Middle East. He is also the author of a major book on think tank strategy, What Should Think Tanks Do? A Strategic Guide to Policy Impact (Stanford, 2013).
Dr. Selee has regularly taught courses at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University since 2006 and was a visiting professor at El Colegio de Mexico.
Prior to joining the Wilson Center as an associate in the Latin American Program in 2000, he was a professional staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives and worked for five years with the YMCA of Baja California in Tijuana, Mexico, helping to start a community center and a home for migrant youth. He later served on the National Board of the YMCA of the USA and chaired its International Committee.
Dr. Selee holds a Ph.D. in policy studies from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in Latin American studies from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.A. in Latin American studies (Phi Beta Kappa) from Washington University in St. Louis.
Jody is passionate about spreading the message of the importance of fun and meaningful work. A motivational speaker for over 16 years, Jody is a top keynote speaker who speaks at over 60 organizations and associations every year.
Jody’s trademark is to deliver very funny motivational speeches; humor is a key part of her audience connection.
Writer and Speaker, Author “All Work & No Say”. Her mission is to help motivate people to derive more meaning, fun and satisfaction from their work.
Jody is a featured guest speaker for the GE Healthcare Tip-TV program, broadcast in over 2600 healthcare facilities. Her insights and expertise earned her the 2008 Bronze Award in the 29th Annual Telly Awards for excellence in programming.
Jody’s work as a motivational keynote speaker includes health care associations, financial institutions, corporations, parks and recreation groups, government departments and many more groups on the topic of fun and purposeful work.
Blanca Treviño has been leading Softtek as President and CEO since 2000. Under her leadership, Softtek has become the leading information technology services company in Latin America. Throughout her 30-year career at Softtek, Blanca has gained international recognition as a promoter of the IT services industry in and from emerging countries, collaborating with various government administrations promoting the nearshore model.
Blanca has spoken at international conferences, including the World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank, and Harvard Business School. She became the first woman appointed to the Consejo Mexicano de Negocios, A.C. and is an active board member at institutions including Walmart Mexico, Goldcorp, and Grupo Lala and her alma mater Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM).
Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Blanca holds a degree in Computer Science.
Frances Karamouzis is a Chief of Research and Distinguished Analyst in Gartner's Research Advisory Group, focusing on sourcing strategies for business and IT services. Ms. Karamouzis is focused on research that addresses strategic planning, evaluations, business cases and service delivery capabilities, as well as disruptive trends. Examples include, digital business and the shift from labor arbitrage to automation arbitrage through the use of intelligent automation services (Gartner's umbrella term for artificial intelligence, RPA, bots, chatbots, machine learning, cognitive computing, conversational platforms, and use of digital or virtual agents). The business and IT service lines that she focuses on include application services (inclusive of SaaS) and business process services (BPS), which includes BPaaS, BPO and KPO. With 31 years of experience in the industry, Ms. Karamouzis has appeared and/or contributed to reports showcased on 60 Minutes, CNN, CNBC, PBS, Business Week, Forbes and the Council for Foreign Relations. Ms. Karamouzis earned a bachelor's degree in International Business and Accounting from New York University. She has also completed her M.B.A. in Finance at New York University, as well.
Andrew Selee is President of the Migration Policy Institute, succeeding co-founder Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Michael Fix. He came to MPI from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he served as Executive Vice President from January 2014 through April 2017.
Dr. Selee has worked closely in the past on two of MPI’s signature initiatives: the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future, and the Regional Migration Study Group, which was jointly convened by MPI and the Wilson Center. He also served as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations' Task Force on Immigration.
The founding Director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, Dr. Selee is a respected scholar and analyst of Mexico and U.S.-Mexico relations. A frequent commentator in the media, he has also written and edited a number of books and policy reports on U.S.-Mexico relations, Mexican and Latin American politics, and Latino immigrant civic engagement in the United States, and is a regular columnist with the Mexican newspaper El Universal. His latest book, Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together, was published by Public Affairs in June 2018.
In his role as Executive Vice President of the Wilson Center and previously as Vice President for Programs, Dr. Selee was involved with the Center’s wide-ranging initiatives in Europe, Asia, Africa, Eurasia, and the Middle East. He is also the author of a major book on think tank strategy, What Should Think Tanks Do? A Strategic Guide to Policy Impact (Stanford, 2013).
Dr. Selee has regularly taught courses at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University since 2006 and was a visiting professor at El Colegio de Mexico.
Prior to joining the Wilson Center as an associate in the Latin American Program in 2000, he was a professional staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives and worked for five years with the YMCA of Baja California in Tijuana, Mexico, helping to start a community center and a home for migrant youth. He later served on the National Board of the YMCA of the USA and chaired its International Committee.
Dr. Selee holds a Ph.D. in policy studies from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in Latin American studies from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.A. in Latin American studies (Phi Beta Kappa) from Washington University in St. Louis.
Jody is passionate about spreading the message of the importance of fun and meaningful work. A motivational speaker for over 16 years, Jody is a top keynote speaker who speaks at over 60 organizations and associations every year.
Jody’s trademark is to deliver very funny motivational speeches; humor is a key part of her audience connection.
Writer and Speaker, Author “All Work & No Say”. Her mission is to help motivate people to derive more meaning, fun and satisfaction from their work.
Jody is a featured guest speaker for the GE Healthcare Tip-TV program, broadcast in over 2600 healthcare facilities. Her insights and expertise earned her the 2008 Bronze Award in the 29th Annual Telly Awards for excellence in programming.
Jody’s work as a motivational keynote speaker includes health care associations, financial institutions, corporations, parks and recreation groups, government departments and many more groups on the topic of fun and purposeful work.
Fernando Nava joined Softtek in 2006, providing structure to the Corporate Internal Communication area, and in 2014 took on the role of head of Corporate Social Responsibility. In this role, Fernando is in charge of promoting a model of value creation that contributes to the optimal balance between profitability, environment and people. Under his leadership, Softtek has established solid corporate practices—of which have received international and regional recognition—as well as an innovative model for quality of life for its employees and a series of social programs that provide a positive impact on the community where Softtek is present.
Fernando’s educational background includes undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Organizational Communication, Journalism and Marketing.
Steven Kirz is a Managing Director at business optimization and transformation firm Pace Harmon, an IAOP World’s Best Outsourcing Advisor and Vault Consulting 50 firm recognized by Vault as one of the top 10 ‘Best Consulting Firms for Interaction with Clients.’
Specializing in IT transformation and optimization, Kirz has a well-established record of innovation and collaboration that instills trust in his enterprise clients and their service providers alike. Kirz and his teams have generated market-leading returns and sustainable competitive advantage for many Fortune 500 clients. His advisory specializations span several technology disciplines and have generated billions in annual savings. These innovations include creating some of the first build-operate-transfer models 20 years ago, as well as crafting proprietary procurement strategies that reduce negotiations from months to just a few weeks. He currently spends his time supporting the leading technology firms of Silicon Valley.
Prior to joining Pace Harmon in 2006 to open its San Francisco office, Kirz enjoyed eight years at Deloitte Consulting where he was responsible for leading complex IT negotiations for Deloitte’s largest clients. Also, Kirz and a group of Deloitte partners founded Archstone Consulting (now part of Hackett), where he helped grow its San Francisco office.
Kirz holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania and a BA in History from Haverford College.
With more than 20 years of experience in executive service delivery and client management, Rajeev Tyagi currently leads operations and service strategy for Softtek’s US and Canada markets. As COO for Softtek US and Canada, Rajeev’s main focus and strength is in advising Client CIOs on IT strategy and innovation.
Prior to Softtek, Rajeev served as COO at Systech Integrators (later acquired by Softtek in 2013), where he helped create and implement the company’s core business, set up its global operations, and had overall responsibility for SAP solutions & delivery, Finance, Recruiting, Operations, Marketing and IT functions.
Prior to Systech, Rajeev helped build two successful SAP consulting businesses – Softline and Qwest Cyber Solutions. His strong business, operations and management background enabled him to achieve success in these ventures.
Rajeev holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Tiago joined Citibanamex in 2016 as Chief Technology Officer and in May 2017 was appointed as Head of Technology. His responsibility includes Infrastructure, Architecture & Engineering, Application Development and Maintenance and Technology Transformation across all business lines and support functions for the financial institution group.
Before joining Citibanamex, he served as IBM’s Head of Digital leading financial companies through the design and implementation of their digital business strategies. Prior to that role, he served as IBM’s Latin America CIO pioneering Cognitive solution and improving client satisfaction and IT efficiency consistency across all countries. He was ranked as top CIO in the region and recognized with prestigious Innovation award with crowdfunding program deploying Mobile applications.
Prior to that role, he worked as an IBM consultant focused on IT-led process reengineering, architecture and software development in Argentina, Brazil & Mexico, and led global strategic programs based in the U.S. Before joining IBM in 2000, Tiago enjoyed success as an entrepreneur in e-commerce, pioneering online platforms in Brazil for mobile devices.
Fernando Nava joined Softtek in 2006, providing structure to the Corporate Internal Communication area, and in 2014 took on the role of head of Corporate Social Responsibility. In this role, Fernando is in charge of promoting a model of value creation that contributes to the optimal balance between profitability, environment and people. Under his leadership, Softtek has established solid corporate practices—of which have received international and regional recognition—as well as an innovative model for quality of life for its employees and a series of social programs that provide a positive impact on the community where Softtek is present.
Fernando’s educational background includes undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Organizational Communication, Journalism and Marketing.
Steven Kirz is a Managing Director at business optimization and transformation firm Pace Harmon, an IAOP World’s Best Outsourcing Advisor and Vault Consulting 50 firm recognized by Vault as one of the top 10 ‘Best Consulting Firms for Interaction with Clients.’
Specializing in IT transformation and optimization, Kirz has a well-established record of innovation and collaboration that instills trust in his enterprise clients and their service providers alike. Kirz and his teams have generated market-leading returns and sustainable competitive advantage for many Fortune 500 clients. His advisory specializations span several technology disciplines and have generated billions in annual savings. These innovations include creating some of the first build-operate-transfer models 20 years ago, as well as crafting proprietary procurement strategies that reduce negotiations from months to just a few weeks. He currently spends his time supporting the leading technology firms of Silicon Valley.
Prior to joining Pace Harmon in 2006 to open its San Francisco office, Kirz enjoyed eight years at Deloitte Consulting where he was responsible for leading complex IT negotiations for Deloitte’s largest clients. Also, Kirz and a group of Deloitte partners founded Archstone Consulting (now part of Hackett), where he helped grow its San Francisco office.
Kirz holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania and a BA in History from Haverford College.
With more than 20 years of experience in executive service delivery and client management, Rajeev Tyagi currently leads operations and service strategy for Softtek’s US and Canada markets. As COO for Softtek US and Canada, Rajeev’s main focus and strength is in advising Client CIOs on IT strategy and innovation.
Prior to Softtek, Rajeev served as COO at Systech Integrators (later acquired by Softtek in 2013), where he helped create and implement the company’s core business, set up its global operations, and had overall responsibility for SAP solutions & delivery, Finance, Recruiting, Operations, Marketing and IT functions.
Prior to Systech, Rajeev helped build two successful SAP consulting businesses – Softline and Qwest Cyber Solutions. His strong business, operations and management background enabled him to achieve success in these ventures.
Rajeev holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Tiago joined Citibanamex in 2016 as Chief Technology Officer and in May 2017 was appointed as Head of Technology. His responsibility includes Infrastructure, Architecture & Engineering, Application Development and Maintenance and Technology Transformation across all business lines and support functions for the financial institution group.
Before joining Citibanamex, he served as IBM’s Head of Digital leading financial companies through the design and implementation of their digital business strategies. Prior to that role, he served as IBM’s Latin America CIO pioneering Cognitive solution and improving client satisfaction and IT efficiency consistency across all countries. He was ranked as top CIO in the region and recognized with prestigious Innovation award with crowdfunding program deploying Mobile applications.
Prior to that role, he worked as an IBM consultant focused on IT-led process reengineering, architecture and software development in Argentina, Brazil & Mexico, and led global strategic programs based in the U.S. Before joining IBM in 2000, Tiago enjoyed success as an entrepreneur in e-commerce, pioneering online platforms in Brazil for mobile devices.
Marvin has an extensive experience leading and working in the areas of Engineering, IT and Digital Innovation in corporate business. He is currently Chief Innovation & Information Technology Officer of Grupo Lala and was previously Head of CoE Technology & Innovation at Coca-Cola Femsa. He is currently on the board of several startups in Silicon Valley and Mexico, such as ExtendedSuites, BillPocket, and 99minutes.
On the other hand, Marvin is an entrepreneur by birth; one of his latest adventures, his passion for Mexican Wine, led him to found Vinofrom Mexico and Vinicola Urbana, and he dealt the North American and national markets selling wine directly to consumers and introducing a new model of electronic sale regulated by Internet, putting it on the map in magazines such as WineSpectator, among others. In 2009, Marvin co-founded the ExtendedSuites hotel chain, already having investments of globally recognized funds and growing throughout Mexico with a new extended stay model. In 2008 he co-founded Financiera Alcanza - 2nd SOFOL regulated for consumer credit, acquired by Santander Consumer Finance.
In his professional life he has developed as CIO and CTO of companies such as Pagatodo, OneLogin, Tana Holdings, SportsYa.com, Español.com and Ultima Comunicaciones. At the beginning, he held several positions in engineering, technology, security, strategy, software development, network design and innovation at Verizon (Mobile, Enterprise, Government Systems & Corporate), where he ended up as the VP of Technology Strategy and Development of Digital Products, Security and Global Sourcing from NYC.
Marvin is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer from ITESM-CEM, has a Master's Degree in Electronics Engineering and Networks from Cornell University, and innovation and marketing courses from other recognized universities. His hobbies, apart from wine and food, are spending a lot of time with his family, friends and dogs. He actively supports several foundations with published books, as "Mexico de mis Sabores"; when he can, he builds MakerSpaces, and he is very passionate about exponential technologies where he constantly continues with his own experiments.
The IFBTA (International Food and Beverage Technology Association) was launched at FSTEC (Foodservice Technology Conference and Showcase) 2014 which was founded by Rob in 1996, and is a non-profit professional association promoting and advancing technology and innovation for the global food and beverage industries.
Prior to establishing the IFBTA, Rob also founded ConStrata Technology Consulting and its predecessor companies, which have been providing information technology consulting services for the global hospitality, foodservice and retail industries and is headquartered in Potomac, Maryland since 1994.
Rob has been a regular technology columnist for several industry and technology publications and has contributed articles to many other publications in the U.S. and abroad as well as co-authored and contributed to a number of books. He has spoken at over 1,000 industry shows, conferences and events around the world. He is a Conti Professor in the Program of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (“HR&IM”) at Penn State University and also serves on the Industry Advisory Boards of the HR&IM Programs at the University of Delaware and the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Rob has served on the Board of the National Restaurant Association and is an active member of the of The Young Presidents Organization (YPO) having served as the Chair of YPO’s Food & Beverage and Hospitality Networks. He is a triathlete having completed the Ironman in Lake Placid in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007 and Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2005.
Agustin De La Maza is the Chief Solutions Officer at Softtek, leading the Solutions Office with the purpose of developing innovative offers, architecting and quantifying advanced solutions, and evaluating the business impact of the solutions implementation.
During his 27-year career at Softtek, Agustin has served as Global Delivery Center Director, Chief Solutions Architect, Senior Program Manager, Software Engineering Process Group Corporate Director, Six-Sigma Project Champion and Black Belt, Senior Consultant for Software Engineering Process Definition and Implementation, and CASE Tools Development Leader. Under his leadership, Softtek successfully executed ambitious digital transformation programs for multiple clients in several industries, while implementing advanced software engineering and project management practices that have improved Softtek’s service performance in terms of quality, productivity and reliability. Some of the key innovations at Softtek’s application development practice include the adoption of the Team Software Process(SM), scaled-agile development processes, Six Sigma applied to software quality, reusable application architecture and frameworks, and automated code generation based on domain-specific languages.
Agustin is a frequent speaker at academic, government and industry forums. In 2010, he was a keynote speaker at the Software Engineering Process Group North America Congress (SEPG NA 2010). He was also invited by Watts Humphrey as reviewer of the manuscripts for the book “Leadership, Teamwork, and Trust: Building a Competitive Software Capability”, published by the SEI in 2011.
Agustin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM CEM), where he was distinguished with the “Highest Award to Academic Excellence” (summa cum laude); he also completed a Business Management Program at IPADE Business School.
Chakri Somisetti is Head of IT for Restaurant Brands International (RBI), one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes). In his current role, Chakri is in charge of defining and executing the strategic IT plan and vision through strong operations and business focus. His leadership in building strong teams improve business results through process redesign, automation and the use of innovative technologies. His areas of expertise span technology strategy, IT operations, business applications, business intelligence, automation, security/compliance, acquisitions, mergers and integrations.
Prior to RBI, Chakri held increasing responsibilities at Burger King, having successfully led the IT integrations for Tim Hortons in 2015 and Popeyes in 2017. He spearheaded simplification of IT operations through cloud migrations and automation to improve stability, gain cost efficiency and enable scalability.
Chakri holds a Bachelor's degree and a Master’s degree in Computer Science.
Marvin has an extensive experience leading and working in the areas of Engineering, IT and Digital Innovation in corporate business. He is currently Chief Innovation & Information Technology Officer of Grupo Lala and was previously Head of CoE Technology & Innovation at Coca-Cola Femsa. He is currently on the board of several startups in Silicon Valley and Mexico, such as ExtendedSuites, BillPocket, and 99minutes.
On the other hand, Marvin is an entrepreneur by birth; one of his latest adventures, his passion for Mexican Wine, led him to found Vinofrom Mexico and Vinicola Urbana, and he dealt the North American and national markets selling wine directly to consumers and introducing a new model of electronic sale regulated by Internet, putting it on the map in magazines such as WineSpectator, among others. In 2009, Marvin co-founded the ExtendedSuites hotel chain, already having investments of globally recognized funds and growing throughout Mexico with a new extended stay model. In 2008 he co-founded Financiera Alcanza - 2nd SOFOL regulated for consumer credit, acquired by Santander Consumer Finance.
In his professional life he has developed as CIO and CTO of companies such as Pagatodo, OneLogin, Tana Holdings, SportsYa.com, Español.com and Ultima Comunicaciones. At the beginning, he held several positions in engineering, technology, security, strategy, software development, network design and innovation at Verizon (Mobile, Enterprise, Government Systems & Corporate), where he ended up as the VP of Technology Strategy and Development of Digital Products, Security and Global Sourcing from NYC.
Marvin is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer from ITESM-CEM, has a Master's Degree in Electronics Engineering and Networks from Cornell University, and innovation and marketing courses from other recognized universities. His hobbies, apart from wine and food, are spending a lot of time with his family, friends and dogs. He actively supports several foundations with published books, as "Mexico de mis Sabores"; when he can, he builds MakerSpaces, and he is very passionate about exponential technologies where he constantly continues with his own experiments.
The IFBTA (International Food and Beverage Technology Association) was launched at FSTEC (Foodservice Technology Conference and Showcase) 2014 which was founded by Rob in 1996, and is a non-profit professional association promoting and advancing technology and innovation for the global food and beverage industries.
Prior to establishing the IFBTA, Rob also founded ConStrata Technology Consulting and its predecessor companies, which have been providing information technology consulting services for the global hospitality, foodservice and retail industries and is headquartered in Potomac, Maryland since 1994.
Rob has been a regular technology columnist for several industry and technology publications and has contributed articles to many other publications in the U.S. and abroad as well as co-authored and contributed to a number of books. He has spoken at over 1,000 industry shows, conferences and events around the world. He is a Conti Professor in the Program of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (“HR&IM”) at Penn State University and also serves on the Industry Advisory Boards of the HR&IM Programs at the University of Delaware and the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Rob has served on the Board of the National Restaurant Association and is an active member of the of The Young Presidents Organization (YPO) having served as the Chair of YPO’s Food & Beverage and Hospitality Networks. He is a triathlete having completed the Ironman in Lake Placid in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007 and Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2005.
Agustin De La Maza is the Chief Solutions Officer at Softtek, leading the Solutions Office with the purpose of developing innovative offers, architecting and quantifying advanced solutions, and evaluating the business impact of the solutions implementation.
During his 27-year career at Softtek, Agustin has served as Global Delivery Center Director, Chief Solutions Architect, Senior Program Manager, Software Engineering Process Group Corporate Director, Six-Sigma Project Champion and Black Belt, Senior Consultant for Software Engineering Process Definition and Implementation, and CASE Tools Development Leader. Under his leadership, Softtek successfully executed ambitious digital transformation programs for multiple clients in several industries, while implementing advanced software engineering and project management practices that have improved Softtek’s service performance in terms of quality, productivity and reliability. Some of the key innovations at Softtek’s application development practice include the adoption of the Team Software Process(SM), scaled-agile development processes, Six Sigma applied to software quality, reusable application architecture and frameworks, and automated code generation based on domain-specific languages.
Agustin is a frequent speaker at academic, government and industry forums. In 2010, he was a keynote speaker at the Software Engineering Process Group North America Congress (SEPG NA 2010). He was also invited by Watts Humphrey as reviewer of the manuscripts for the book “Leadership, Teamwork, and Trust: Building a Competitive Software Capability”, published by the SEI in 2011.
Agustin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM CEM), where he was distinguished with the “Highest Award to Academic Excellence” (summa cum laude); he also completed a Business Management Program at IPADE Business School.
Chakri Somisetti is Head of IT for Restaurant Brands International (RBI), one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes). In his current role, Chakri is in charge of defining and executing the strategic IT plan and vision through strong operations and business focus. His leadership in building strong teams improve business results through process redesign, automation and the use of innovative technologies. His areas of expertise span technology strategy, IT operations, business applications, business intelligence, automation, security/compliance, acquisitions, mergers and integrations.
Prior to RBI, Chakri held increasing responsibilities at Burger King, having successfully led the IT integrations for Tim Hortons in 2015 and Popeyes in 2017. He spearheaded simplification of IT operations through cloud migrations and automation to improve stability, gain cost efficiency and enable scalability.
Chakri holds a Bachelor's degree and a Master’s degree in Computer Science.
Alonso Cervera is a Managing Director in the Emerging Markets Economics Research team in the Investment Strategy and Research department. He is responsible for overseeing the economics research coverage of several Latin American countries (excluding Brazil) and he is the primary economist for Mexico and Chile. Alonso's team is based in New York and Mexico City. Alonso and his team have been ranked several years by the annual Institutional Investor poll as among the best economists covering Latin America. Alonso joined Credit Suisse from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) in 2000. His previous work experience includes positions at the Central Bank of Mexico and at the Office of Economic Advisors to the President of Mexico.
Alonso received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Mexico's ITAM. He is the recipient of Mexico's prestigious Banamex and IMEF national awards on Economic Research.
With over 20 years of technology leadership experience, Michael Verdesca joined FOCUS Brands in April 2014. Prior to joining FOCUS Brands, Mr. Verdesca served as Chief Information Officer for Jack in the Box Inc. where he oversaw all technology, program management and strategic alignment for both the Jack in the Box and Qdoba Mexican Grill Brands. He also brings a breadth of retail and e-commerce experience from Longs Drug Stores, Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, Williams-Sonoma Inc, and Harry and David Inc. Michael however grew up in food service and managed food service outlets for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Mr. Verdesca holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Sciences from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Jesse Wolfersberger is the Chief Data Officer for Maritz Motivation Solutions. He leads Maritz's Decision Sciences team, a group of data scientists who specialize in merging the fields of behavioral science and artificial intelligence. Jesse's career started as a sports writer, before jumping into marketing as Director of Consumer Insights for GroupM's digital media think tank. In his free time, Jesse uses his data skills in the baseball world, where he consults for a Major League team.
Originally from Spain, David Soto is a technologist and Data Expert with focus on Transformation and Innovation with more than 15 years of experience in Big Data Analytics in Retail, Utilities and Telco, Insurance and Banking. He has a deep experience in Customer Intelligence developing Loyalty Programs and optimizing the Customer Experience.
David has worked with organizations of all sizes and worldwide, mainly in Germany, Spain and South America, helping them to become more efficient and transparent organizations thanks to Analytics, Blockchain and IoT.
He arrived to Peru to work for Grupo Romero, one of the biggest conglomerates in South America, as Business Intelligence Director where he developed successful projects transforming the company digitally for 3 years. Currently he is Transformation and Innovation Lead for Grupo Romero and President of the Lima Chapter of the Government Blockchain Association (GBA).
His passions are working with teams and organizations to define and deliver products customers need and love, help them understand their customers and the data they produce, and inspiring teams to do more than they thought possible thanks to Agile Methodologies and Innovation.
Alonso Cervera is a Managing Director in the Emerging Markets Economics Research team in the Investment Strategy and Research department. He is responsible for overseeing the economics research coverage of several Latin American countries (excluding Brazil) and he is the primary economist for Mexico and Chile. Alonso's team is based in New York and Mexico City. Alonso and his team have been ranked several years by the annual Institutional Investor poll as among the best economists covering Latin America. Alonso joined Credit Suisse from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) in 2000. His previous work experience includes positions at the Central Bank of Mexico and at the Office of Economic Advisors to the President of Mexico.
Alonso received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Mexico's ITAM. He is the recipient of Mexico's prestigious Banamex and IMEF national awards on Economic Research.
With over 20 years of technology leadership experience, Michael Verdesca joined FOCUS Brands in April 2014. Prior to joining FOCUS Brands, Mr. Verdesca served as Chief Information Officer for Jack in the Box Inc. where he oversaw all technology, program management and strategic alignment for both the Jack in the Box and Qdoba Mexican Grill Brands. He also brings a breadth of retail and e-commerce experience from Longs Drug Stores, Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, Williams-Sonoma Inc, and Harry and David Inc. Michael however grew up in food service and managed food service outlets for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Mr. Verdesca holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Sciences from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Jesse Wolfersberger is the Chief Data Officer for Maritz Motivation Solutions. He leads Maritz's Decision Sciences team, a group of data scientists who specialize in merging the fields of behavioral science and artificial intelligence. Jesse's career started as a sports writer, before jumping into marketing as Director of Consumer Insights for GroupM's digital media think tank. In his free time, Jesse uses his data skills in the baseball world, where he consults for a Major League team.
Originally from Spain, David Soto is a technologist and Data Expert with focus on Transformation and Innovation with more than 15 years of experience in Big Data Analytics in Retail, Utilities and Telco, Insurance and Banking. He has a deep experience in Customer Intelligence developing Loyalty Programs and optimizing the Customer Experience.
David has worked with organizations of all sizes and worldwide, mainly in Germany, Spain and South America, helping them to become more efficient and transparent organizations thanks to Analytics, Blockchain and IoT.
He arrived to Peru to work for Grupo Romero, one of the biggest conglomerates in South America, as Business Intelligence Director where he developed successful projects transforming the company digitally for 3 years. Currently he is Transformation and Innovation Lead for Grupo Romero and President of the Lima Chapter of the Government Blockchain Association (GBA).
His passions are working with teams and organizations to define and deliver products customers need and love, help them understand their customers and the data they produce, and inspiring teams to do more than they thought possible thanks to Agile Methodologies and Innovation.
Jose Manuel Silva, has 20 years of experience in Financial services and Consulting industry and currently is the COO and CIO of CSF Bank, a branded Bank for the Carrefour Group, with 4,5M customers and 30M transactions per year. He is responsible for the Digital Transformation turnaround of the company. Prior to joining Grupo Carrefour, Jose held several senior roles at HSBC and for SAP Europe.
Jose is an economist with specialization in Econometrics and holds his MBA in Strategic Management from the he Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), in Brazil.
Hernán Rodríguez Sclippa is Channel Director of SAP Latin America, South Region.
Hernán joined the company more than eight years ago, as Sales Manager for Argentina. In his current role he is in charge of managing and developing indirect sales with Certified Channel Partners in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Hernán has nearly 20 years of commercial experience in the local and regional market, where he served in different managerial positions at a Latin American level in leading global companies including HP, where he worked for more than ten years for software sales such as hardware, and Sun Microsystems.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Sales studies from the University of Palermo.
Luis joined Softtek in 2000, and today leads strategy and operations for Softtek Colombia, as Country Manager.
In his first years in Softtek, Luis began as a SAP consultant in Argentina, and shortly after became Project Manager, where he helped organizations maximize the potential of the new technologies and streamline their processes. From 2013-2018, Luis led sales operations as Sales Manager for Softtek Colombia, where he played a major role in quadrupling the office revenue and headcount. At the same time, he led a regional sales team with special focus in the Energy and Telecommunication industries.
Prior to Softtek, Luis worked at FarmaciaOnLine.com as website lead developer, helping develop a culture of innovation and agility.
Passionate about technology and innovation, Luis’ focus is on presenting transformational solutions to Softtek’s Colombian customers. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology.
Beni Lopez was appointed head of Softtek’s US & Canada divisions in 2018, in charge of leading the organization through its next phase of growth, restructuring and strengthening of go-to-market capabilities. Prior to this role, served as chief globalization officer (CGO) for seven years at Softtek, where he directed and coordinated the firm’s global accounts strategy.
Beni joined Softtek in 1989 and has played a central role in defining and executing Softtek’s technology developments, in addition to the company’s globalization and growth strategies. He is experienced in leading innovative new offerings, directing Softtek’s globalization efforts, establishing long lasting partnership with Softtek’s largest clients. Furthermore, Beni mentored the concept of Neashore™ services, pioneered by Softtek in 1997, and expanded Softtek’s frontiers first in the US market and later extending to other global locations, including China.
Beni holds a Computer Systems Engineering degree from Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores in Monterrey, Mexico, and has been a speaker and panelist for numerous outsourcing and offshore/nearshore conferences around the world.
Jose Manuel Silva, has 20 years of experience in Financial services and Consulting industry and currently is the COO and CIO of CSF Bank, a branded Bank for the Carrefour Group, with 4,5M customers and 30M transactions per year. He is responsible for the Digital Transformation turnaround of the company. Prior to joining Grupo Carrefour, Jose held several senior roles at HSBC and for SAP Europe.
Jose is an economist with specialization in Econometrics and holds his MBA in Strategic Management from the he Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), in Brazil.
Hernán Rodríguez Sclippa is Channel Director of SAP Latin America, South Region.
Hernán joined the company more than eight years ago, as Sales Manager for Argentina. In his current role he is in charge of managing and developing indirect sales with Certified Channel Partners in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Hernán has nearly 20 years of commercial experience in the local and regional market, where he served in different managerial positions at a Latin American level in leading global companies including HP, where he worked for more than ten years for software sales such as hardware, and Sun Microsystems.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Sales studies from the University of Palermo.
Luis joined Softtek in 2000, and today leads strategy and operations for Softtek Colombia, as Country Manager.
In his first years in Softtek, Luis began as a SAP consultant in Argentina, and shortly after became Project Manager, where he helped organizations maximize the potential of the new technologies and streamline their processes. From 2013-2018, Luis led sales operations as Sales Manager for Softtek Colombia, where he played a major role in quadrupling the office revenue and headcount. At the same time, he led a regional sales team with special focus in the Energy and Telecommunication industries.
Prior to Softtek, Luis worked at FarmaciaOnLine.com as website lead developer, helping develop a culture of innovation and agility.
Passionate about technology and innovation, Luis’ focus is on presenting transformational solutions to Softtek’s Colombian customers. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology.
Beni Lopez was appointed head of Softtek’s US & Canada divisions in 2018, in charge of leading the organization through its next phase of growth, restructuring and strengthening of go-to-market capabilities. Prior to this role, served as chief globalization officer (CGO) for seven years at Softtek, where he directed and coordinated the firm’s global accounts strategy.
Beni joined Softtek in 1989 and has played a central role in defining and executing Softtek’s technology developments, in addition to the company’s globalization and growth strategies. He is experienced in leading innovative new offerings, directing Softtek’s globalization efforts, establishing long lasting partnership with Softtek’s largest clients. Furthermore, Beni mentored the concept of Neashore™ services, pioneered by Softtek in 1997, and expanded Softtek’s frontiers first in the US market and later extending to other global locations, including China.
Beni holds a Computer Systems Engineering degree from Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores in Monterrey, Mexico, and has been a speaker and panelist for numerous outsourcing and offshore/nearshore conferences around the world.
Alex joined Softtek in 1995 and today he leads the organization’s global marketing and communications efforts as CMO. His team has contributed to making Softtek one of Latin America’s most successful IT brands, bringing the nearshore industry to global prominence in the process.
His team is responsible for brand awareness, demand generation, lead generation, as well as generating sales acceleration and customer growth tools, which support Softtek’s sustained growth. Founded in 1982, Softtek is a global provider of technology services and solutions, helping clients to thrive in the digital era, to and from the Americas. The company is frequently referenced in leading analyst publications and has been included in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for SAP Application Management Services, Worldwide (2013, 2014, 2015) and was the only non-Indian vendor included in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Offshore Application Services in 2006 & 2007.
Alex has authored several publications around the topics of outsourcing, nearshoring, Mexico, Total Cost of Engagement and enterprise agility, which has contributed to positioning nearshore and Latin America as a viable Information Technology hub. He is a frequent conference speaker and event host in promoting the nearshore and IT services industries.
Alex joined Softtek in 1995 and today he leads the organization’s global marketing and communications efforts as CMO. His team has contributed to making Softtek one of Latin America’s most successful IT brands, bringing the nearshore industry to global prominence in the process.
His team is responsible for brand awareness, demand generation, lead generation, as well as generating sales acceleration and customer growth tools, which support Softtek’s sustained growth. Founded in 1982, Softtek is a global provider of technology services and solutions, helping clients to thrive in the digital era, to and from the Americas. The company is frequently referenced in leading analyst publications and has been included in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for SAP Application Management Services, Worldwide (2013, 2014, 2015) and was the only non-Indian vendor included in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Offshore Application Services in 2006 & 2007.
Alex has authored several publications around the topics of outsourcing, nearshoring, Mexico, Total Cost of Engagement and enterprise agility, which has contributed to positioning nearshore and Latin America as a viable Information Technology hub. He is a frequent conference speaker and event host in promoting the nearshore and IT services industries.
"Excellent event, even better than last year"
"Another excellent event. Very relevant topics, helpful information. Thank you!!"
"Very valuable for time invested."
"Next time, I'll bring my wife. Beautiful. Great Hotel."
"Keep it up. Great event"
"Just wanted to say thank you for putting on a great event this past week. The warmth and appreciation shown by your customers is really a very unique combination. Work hard to not lose it."
"Excellent summit. I would like to personally thank you all for the accommodations. It was a very useful event and great to network."
"I would like to see this happen every year."
"Well organized and good timing of the sessions for length and content."
"Thank you very much for your support through this event, which was excellent in my mind."
"It was very well planned, organized, balanced content, great location.Service at the hotel was very good."
“This was an excellent event that exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed the networking opportunities and was particularly impressed by the quality of presentation content that was delivered.”
“Everything was great and exceeded my expectations.”
“My goal was to gain a better understanding as to Mexico and our nearshore opportunities.
I did this, Thank you!”
Who is sponsoring the Summit?
The 2019 Digital Innovation Summit is organized by Softtek and its strategic partner, MexicoIT. Softtek is responsible for delivering content and logistics; MexicoIT is sponsoring travel expenses for our approved guests from US, Canada and Mexico.
What is MexicoIT?
MexicoIT is an initiative executed by the National Chamber of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CANIETI), an industry association of leading IT companies in Mexico, and is supported by the Mexican Ministry of Economy through the Program for the Development of the Software Industry (PROSOFT). http://www.mexico-it.net/
Are there any commitments from the attendees?
No commitment is required from the attendees, other than attending the conference.
What travel expenses are included?
For our approved guests, airfare from the US, Canada and Mexico; all-inclusive hotel accommodations from February 13th-15th, airport-hotel-airport ground transportation and all activities included in the program of the Summit.
How are travel arrangements made?
Once we receive confirmation of your attendance, a Softtek contact will get in touch with you to coordinate air travel arrangements. Before buying the plane ticket, our team will make sure the itinerary suits your needs. Finally, MexicoIT approves and pays the airfare.
Can I bring my spouse or other guest?
Spouses or companions are welcome; however, they will be responsible for their airfare costs, as well as added guest hotel costs (contact irma.trevino@softtek.com
for details on discounted rate at the all-inclusive hotel, Secrets The Vine). Please note that the hotel is adults-only. Companions are welcome to attend the Wednesday and Thursday evening activities, associated with the Softtek Summit, as well as Friday morning open activities.
What should I wear?
Attire throughout the event is business casual – we want you to be comfortable. Most of the sessions will be indoors (with AC); however, we will have a social activity on Thursday afternoon. Since we'll be outside, we suggest wearing comfortable clothes (long shorts/short sleeves or polo shirt, beach skirt/dress), and perhaps a light jacket as it will cool down after sunset.
What if I want to extend my trip?
We've made arrangements with the hotel, Secrets The Vine, to provide the same event-discounted rate, for those that would like to arrive up to 3 days before and stay up to 3 days after the event. Sponsored packages do not include the cost of additional nights.
Will there be any press attending the event?
No, there will be no media attending the event.
Who can I contact if I have questions?
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the event, you can ask your account manager or primary Softtek contact, and, alternatively, you may also reach the event team at innovationsummit@softtek.com
.
