Narayan AmmachchiBismarck Lepe is stepping down from his CEO role at Wizeline, ending a ten-year run as the company’s top executive.
Former Softvision and Globant executive Andres Angelani was appointed as Wizeline’s new CEO, with Bismarck Lepe moving into the role of Executive Chariman.
Andres Angelani will be helming Wizeline during its following phase of expansion, in which the company aims to recruit 1,000 engineers across Latin America by the end of 2024.
Though the company will be recruiting all over the region, it will source mainly from Argentina and Colombia, Angelani told NASAM in a telephone interview.
Wizeline plans to launch this initiative in Argentina with a remote team rather than a physical delivery center.
“As an Argentinean myself, I have a strong network in the country and am confident we can find highly skilled professionals,” Angelani commented.
The devaluation of the Argentine peso, coupled with the rise of remote work, has made Argentina attractive for companies seeking skilled engineers who would prefer to be paid in US dollars.
While the country’s high inflation rate could be seen as a deterrent, Angelani expressed little concern.
“Inflation in Argentina doesn’t worry us excessively,” he stated. “It doesn’t significantly impact our pricing structure.”
Colombia presents a different scenario. Wizeline already has two delivery centers there (one in Bogota; another in Medellin), but their headcount goal for the year necessitates further expansion.
Mining for AI
Wizeline is shifting its energies to capitalize on the growing demand for generative AI services. The company plans to focus much of this year’s recruitment drive on onboarding engineers with AI expertise.
“Under his [Angelani’s] leadership, we aim to expand the business on a global scale, leveraging AI as the cornerstone to revolutionize the design, development and delivery of digital services to our customers,” Bismarck Lepe stated.
Finding and hiring enough AI engineers will prove a steep challenge for Wizeline. Demand for AI experts surpasses available supply by far. Though efforts are being made in several Latin American countries to create those experts, the region has a long way to go. A recent study conducted by NTT Data indicates that 20% of companies in the region struggle to access AI experts. Additionally, more than 16% of surveyed organizations reported delays in AI integration due to talent shortages.
Wizeline has a distinctive advantage, though. For years, the company has built relationships with universities in the region in hopes of identifying and nurturing students with an interest in emerging AI tech.
A prime example is their collaboration with Tec de Monterrey, one of Mexico’s elite schools and a regional powerhouse for STEM education. Both organizations recently established an AI lab in Guadalajara, the first of its kind in Latin America. The lab is expected to be both a hub for tech and business innovation, as well as an opportunity for Wizeline to get early access to some of the most brilliant minds in Mexico’s most vibrant tech city.
Wizeline’s new CEO underscored the wide array of AI initiatives that the firm holds in its portfolio already, adding that “the number would increas in the years ahead.”
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