National Hispanic Heritage Month: 25 Leaders of the ICT Channel
From C-level offices down, these leaders consider achievement to be success only when it is used to elevate others.
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Hugo Almeida, CEO of Abitronix, has nearly 30 years of experience in the technology and communications industries. He has a particular expertise in international business, focusing on Latin American markets.
He is a member of the board of advisers for the Hispanic Resource Center of NW New Jersey, the board of directors for Juventud Ecuatoriana, has served as a board member and treasurer for the Morris County Hispanic-American Chamber and is a member of the United States Hispanic Chamber.
Eva Andres is senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Juniper Networks. She oversees the company’s HR functions including people strategy, organizational development, corporate culture. Inclusion and diversity.
She also manages philanthropic efforts of the company’s Foundation Fund.
Andres came to Juniper in October 2018 from Virtustream, where she also served as the chief human resources officer. She has spent more than 20 years working as an HR professional.
As senior vice president and chief product engineering officer for Cognizant, Andres Angelani heads up the company’s software product engineering culture and practice worldwide.
An entrepreneurial leader in technology, Angelani is directing the rollout of the Softvision operating model across Cognizant. The platform is central to the company’s goal of a franchised network of digital studios worldwide where “dream teams” of developers will continuously evolve Cognizant’s product centricity to help clients achieve their business goals.
Thaddeus Arroyo is CEO of AT&T, responsible for the company’s integrated consumer internet, video entertainment and mobility organization. Before being named CEO of AT&T in 2019, he served as CEO of AT&T Business. There he was responsible for the company’s integrated Business Solutions organization, which serves more than 3.5 million business customers in nearly 200 countries and territories, including nearly all of the world’s Fortune 1000 companies.
Arroyo joined AT&T as CIO in 2007. He came from Cingular Wireless, where he had served as that company’s first CIO.
As the vice president of Dell digital services IT, Mariely Bandas-Franzetti leads a global team of professionals responsible for the systems enabling Dell to efficiently and effectively serve customers. I partner with stakeholders to drive digital transformation and strategic innovations.
Passionate about mentorship and giving back to the community, Bandas-Franzetti sponsors programs including the Empowering Women Leaders and Empowering Diverse Leaders. She also serves on the leadership board of Dell’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group, Latino Connection.
Ivan Berg, vice president of Verizon Partner Solutions, is responsible for leading Verizon’s global wireline wholesale operations including customer ordering for access and local services, provisioning and maintenance, as well as voice product operations and wholesale systems transformation.
He previously led Verizon’s Fiber to the Cell Site program management office, wholesale center operations and end-to-end service delivery and assurance.
Berg started his career with Verizon as an intern. He subsequently joined the company full-time as a technician and circuit tester.
Ed Cabrera, chief cybersecurity officer for Trend Micro, is responsible for analyzing emerging cyber threats and developing innovative and resilient enterprise risk management strategies for Fortune 500 clients and strategic partners. Before joining Trend Micro, he was a 20-year veteran and former CISO of the United States Secret Service with experience in leading information security, cyber investigative, and protective programs in support of the Secret Service integrated mission.
Cabrera started his career investigating transnational cybercriminal groups targeting the financial and retail sectors
Winner of the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s 2019 Manufacturing Leader of the Year Award, Ron Castro is vice president of supply chain at IBM. He oversees the operations of an end-to-end AI-enabled supply chain. He also drives adoption of cutting-edge technology and applications inside and outside the manufacturing walls.
Before being appointed to his current position, Castro served as vice president of operations and supply chain execution and before that, as vice president of global manufacturing and customer solution centers.
Alvaro Celis, vice president of worldwide device and consumer channel sales for Microsoft’s Consumer and Device Sales Division, is a Microsoft veteran of nearly 30 years. He joined the company as program manager for servers, operating systems and development tools in Venezuela. Since then, he has served in a number of management roles throughout LATAM and in Australia and China.
In both 2019 and 2020, Celis received the HITEC 100 award for his influence and contributions to Hispanic professionals in the technology industry.
As vice president of IT for Oracle NetSuite, Katty Coulson is responsible for a variety of services that enable business processes and employee productivity. She came to Oracle NetSuite in 2019, after spending 13 years at Cisco, most recently serving as regional CIO for Americas.
Coulson, a graduate of the General Management Program at Harvard Business School, works to promote STEM education and women in leadership in technology.
Guillermo Diaz Jr. is CEO of Kloudspot, an AI and IoT analytics platform. He joined the company in 2020 from Cisco, where he held a number of roles during his 20-year tenure, most recently its head of customer digital transformation.
Diaz is dedicated to inclusion and diversity. He was a key leader of the Cisco Diversity Council and executive sponsor of Conexión, Cisco’s Hispanic/Latino employee resource organization and Cisco’s veteran employee resource organization. He is the chairman of the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC).
Carlos Granada is vice president customer success, LATAM cloud customer experience for Google Cloud. He joined Google Cloud in 2019 to build the customer success function. He created and built the team that now serves most enterprise customers across the business. He also leads the LATAM CCE team with a focus on bringing regional excellence in serving the LATAM Google Cloud customers while bringing a global perspective.
Prior to joining Google, Granada led customer success and/or services teams at SAP, Salesforce, BMC, VMware, and BEA Systems.
Anthony Graziano was recently named vice president, portfolio marketing, Americas, for TD Synnex. He previously spent nearly 20 years with Tech Data (which was acquired by Synnex), starting out as a sales representative and eventually climbing to the position of vice president, vendor marketing, Americas.
A graduate of the University of Phoenix, Graziano holds a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate.
Jacqueline Guichelaar joined Cisco in February 2019 as senior vice president and group CIO. She is spearheading the creation of a digital architecture to accelerate Cisco’s digital enterprise transformation.
Named winner of a Gold Stevie Award in the Woman of the Year – Technology category in 2020, Guichelaar is co-executive Sponsor of the Cisco – Cristo Rey Work Study program, on the board of the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the accurate portrayal and understanding of the contributions American Latinos make to American society.
Juan Carlos (JC) Gutierez, head of solutions architecture and customer success at AWS, is a global executive with more than two decades of experience in IT and business consulting.
Gutierrez is a member of the board of directors of the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC), Council), Angeles Investors and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. A seven-time winner of the HITEC 100 for IT executives, he was also selected as one of the 2011 Most Influential Hispanics in Technology by the Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine.
As senior vice president of corporate affairs at Cox Enterprises, Bob Jimenez leads the management of the company’s brand, reputation and strategic communications. Before joining Cox in 2003, held positions with AFC Enterprises, Walt Disney World and Advent Health.
Jimenez serves on the board of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. He previously served as board chair for the Latin American Association and on the board of the National Hispanic Corporate Council. He has been honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America and one of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia.
John Lizana is senior director of national partner programs for Comcast Business. Before joining Comcast Business in 2008, he was vice president of sales for Evergreen Telecom Services and before that, founder of Linc Communications.
A graduate of the Universidad de Lima, Lizana volunteers as a mentor in the L. Patrick Mellon Membership Program. He has been honored as a member of Channel Partners’ Top Gun 51 and was included on the premiere Channel Futures DE&I 101.
Beni Lopez joined Softtek in 1989 and today is CEO for Softtek U.S. & Canada. He previously held the role of chief globalization officer, where he directed and coordinated the firm’s global accounts strategy.
Since joining Softtek in 1989, Lopez has played a central role in defining and executing the company’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 and establishing long lasting partnerships with Softtek’s largest clients.
Enrique Lores, president and CEO of HP Inc., is driving a bold strategy to advance HP’s leadership in personal systems and printing, disrupt industrial sectors through innovative HP solutions and transform the way the company operates to better serve its customers.
During his 30-year HP career, Lores has held senior leadership positions spanning HP’s personal systems, print, industrial and services businesses. He started with HP as an intern, earning his degree in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and his MBA from ESADE Business School.
Claudia Massey, global vice president of business operations for the cloud and service provider segment for Schneider Electric, has over 20 years of experience working for Fortune 500 Companies. At Schneider Electric she heads a team that executes digital transformation while driving operational excellence.
Massey serves as a commissioner on the Mexican American Culture Center Advisory Board in Austin, Texas, and as the co-chair of Infrastructure Masons Hispanic/LatinX Group. She earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from St. Mary’s University and a master’s degree in manufacturing management from The Pennsylvania State University.
Edmundo Miranda joined Cyxtera Technologies as senior vice president, chief accounting officer in 2017. He was responsible for hiring, building and leading the newly formed company’s team of accounting professionals. Today he is in charge of 40 professionals who comprise Cyxtera’s accounting, tax, treasury, internal audit, and billing and collection teams.
Prior to Cyxtera, Miranda spent 10 years at Spirit Airlines, where he rose to the position of vice president and controller.
As managing director at Accenture, Miguel Myhrer leads the North America Network practice. He oversees a team of management and technology consulting professionals who serve communications, media, and technology companies, with a strong focus in telecom, cable, internet and wireless. The team works to help Cyxtera’s clients build new capabilities, operate more efficiently and drive new growth through digital transformation. The three main areas of focus for the group are network deployment and migration, data-driven operations and product evolution and enhancements.
Antonio Neri is the president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. During his more than 25 years at the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Neri has held numerous leadership positions, most recently that of executive vice president and general manager of HPE’s Enterprise Group. He led the strategy, development and introduction of many breakthrough innovations at HP and HPE.
Neri graduated from Escuela Nacional de Educación Técnica in Argentina and attended the Universidad Tecnólogica Nacional.
Deborah Rios-Barnes, senior marketing manager at Lumen Technologies, is a first-generation college graduate. An advocate for community service and of Hispanic culture, Rios-Barnes is an active member of Lumen’s Hispanic-focused SOMOS Employee Resource Group. She also volunteers and supports the Hispanic culture in her community. In 2020 she was elected the first Hispanic chairwoman of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, was a panelist for the chamber’s “Spark the Peace” webinar and supports the Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund.
Cristina Rodriguez is vice president in the Data Center Group and general manager of the group’s Wireless Access Network Division (WAND) at Intel Corp. She is also general manager of the Austin Design Center. Rodriguez leads Intel’s efforts to provide innovative network custom solutions, with a focus on 5G wireless access technology. She is responsible for strategy, roadmaps, product definition, forecasting, investment decisions and profit and loss for the business.
Rodriguez is a member of the Intel Hispanic Leadership Council.
Cristina Rodriguez is vice president in the Data Center Group and general manager of the group’s Wireless Access Network Division (WAND) at Intel Corp. She is also general manager of the Austin Design Center. Rodriguez leads Intel’s efforts to provide innovative network custom solutions, with a focus on 5G wireless access technology. She is responsible for strategy, roadmaps, product definition, forecasting, investment decisions and profit and loss for the business.
Rodriguez is a member of the Intel Hispanic Leadership Council.
It’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans.
Hispanics — like other minorities — are underrepresented in the information and communications (ICT) channel. According to the EEOC, only around 8% of tech employees are Hispanic. Still, there’s no question about the impact they are making on the industry with their achievements and contributions.
In looking at our selection of channel champions, you will notice a common theme: leveraging personal success to elevate others.
“A hallmark of the Latino community is to help one another,” said Dr. Ellen Ochoa, former astronaut and first Hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center.
Click through the above gallery and learn about a few of the Hispanics who have found success in the ICT channel and are inspiring and enabling others to achieve.
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