2018 ILLUMINATE AWARD WINNERS
Held in San Francisco, California, the third annual Nexus Illuminate Awards brought together some of the most influential industry leaders of the year, in celebration of their outstanding achievements in raising quality and performance in the Nearshore IT & BPO marketplace. These six winners were nominated by members of our loyal audience, with the final decision going to the judges at Nearshore Americas. Our deepest congratulations to you all!
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LATIN AMERICA
Our most prestigious award of the year goes to software development giant TCS, which has one of the largest Nearshore presences in Latin America, with 6,000 consultants working across the region for clients in major markets, including the US and Europe.
The company has successfully developed solutions with cutting edge technologies like Big Data and Analytics, Mobile, IoT, AI, RPA, and Cloud Migration, with significant support from its Nearshore operations.
TCS has placed cities like Guadalajara, Queretaro, and Montevideo on the Nearshore map, partnering with more than 40 universities and enabling thousands of graduates to enter the digital world through training and recruitment.
“I humbly accept this on behalf of thousands of TCSers spread across the region,” said Rajeev Gupta, Regional Vice President for TCS Latin America. “Nearshoring continues to gain momentum, so this award represents the collective success of all companies and people who represent Nearshore, and the force behind it. It’s no longer just about being in the same time zone or in proximity to clients. This day, in the Business 4.0 age, we are now all competing with next generation technologies, making it a greenfield opportunity for all of us.”
KINGSTON, JAMAICA
Kingston in Jamaica is the fastest growing city in the Caribbean as it relates to outsourcing. The city is in the midst of a major upward swing, as 5,000 new positions are being created among existing and new BPO players.
Kingston has seen over US$22 million spent on real estate in both new construction and refurbishing of existing properties to meet the demand for the industry growth over the last 12 months. Furthermore, the government commitment to the industry has been unwavering, evident in the fact that they have employed a national BPO coordinator, whose main role is to work with Jamaica’s investment promotions agency to ensure that the ecosystem is developed to encourage continuous growth.
Accepting the award was our great friend, for many years now, Claude Duncan, Vice President at JAMPRO, the nation’s investment promotions agency.
“Jamaica has been working at this for a long time, and we have one of the greatest BPO products in the world,” he said. “We are on a mission to let people know that Jamaica is more than tourism. In the outsourcing space we have doubled the BPO workforce from 15,000 to 31,000 in five years. Companies have come to Jamaica for the talent pool and the trust element – if you can trust your honeymoon to Jamaica, you can trust your customer service to Jamaica.”
GUSTAVO PARÉS AND RICARDO PARÉS, NEARSHORE DELIVERY SOLUTIONS
Hailing from Mexico City, brothers Gustavo (pictured) and Ricardo Parés co-founded Nearshore Delivery Solutions (NDS), a company dedicated to creating ‘nearshore’ delivery capabilities for global IT service companies that need to establish and maintain operations in Mexico.
Gustavo and Ricardo have exhibited a unique ability to stay nimble in their development of technology solutions, working extremely hard to create real innovation, as we’re seeing currently with a range of artificial intelligence solutions being built for global clients.
Neither brother was able to collect the award in person, but colleague Luis Flores gave a short speech on their behalf.
“When we began the task of trying to find qualified personnel in Mexico and Latin America for cognitive, we thought it would be impossible, and it was,” he laughed. “However, we were able to find a lot of thirsty people who wanted to learn about AI, analytics, and big data, and by working with them and guiding them, we were able to come up with a set of new solutions that have brought benefits for the whole industry. This prize is for everyone with the talent to tackle the digital revolution of today.”
Miro Batista, President of Latin America Operations at Alorica
Miro is responsible for managing operations for Alorica in eight countries within Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. In the last two years, he has guided the region toward generating 30% revenue growth and 18% increase in EBITDA.
During his tenure at Alorica, Miro has directed the expansion of the company’s footprint, now encompassing 20 contact center locations with over 14,500 local employees.
Most recently, he has helped Alorica continue to expand its operations in Latin America with two new offices in Jamaica and Guatemala, both of which service the largest e-commerce company in the world.
Miro was not in attendance at the event, but the crowd was hugely congratulatory of his achievements.
Andres Angelani, Softvision
This award is designed to shine a light on the exceptional professionals who have grown up in one country and brought their skills and talents to a new market. Past winners have included professionals for Cuba and Spain, and this year’s winner hails from Argentina.
Andres Angelani began working for Globant in the 2000s, before moving to the Bay Area and becoming the company’s Chief Solutions Officer. There, he was responsible for the design and development of digital solutions while leading strategic customer engagements globally.
Before becoming Chief Solutions Officer, Andres founded and served as the EVP and GM of Globant’s gaming studio, leading business on the West Coast, as well as its VP of Engineering.
As the CEO of Softvision, he is responsible for both the day-to-day operations and the strategic vision of the firm. Possessing passion, creativity, and digital expertise described as “unparalleled” in our industry, he has been at the forefront of addressing the growing customer demand for digital IT services and has managed transformations for some of the largest and most technologically advanced companies in the world.
Carlos Pallotti
Spearheading one of the most ambitious talent development programs for software programmers in the region – the 111 Mil program in Argentina – Carlos Pallotti has spent much of his career working to strengthen one of Nearshore’s most impressive markets.
“This is important for a person like me who is trying to consolidate this industry,” he said when accepting the award. “Outsourcing and Nearshore is important for Latin America, and the third export market for Argentina — already, it has brought it US$6.5 billion dollars and has thousands of IT professionals in different disciplines. Latin America is working to bring more services to the world, but we need to improve this business because the market is waiting for our offer. The goal is to move from the Nearshore model to the Valueshore model.”
