In the coming days, I will be communicating exciting news regarding my next endeavor. No, I am not retiring!!! But first, as my 7th CIO/CTO role comes to an end, a few parting words.
In 2018, I was as a consultant assisting at Pantaleon Sugar Holdings with the formation of a shared services organization. On December 31st, I was asked by the CFO to become involved in thinking through how to migrate from the existing incomplete and fragmented technological platforms with many manual and disjointed processes towards a more modern architecture driven by the impetus of a Digital Transformation. Pantaleon has the ambitious goal of becoming one of the top ten sugar companies in the world. Their owners and Board of Directors recognized the need for such a transformation as a key component to achieving this goal.
In a consulting role, I Immediately began laying out the groundwork for what would become, unbeknownst to me, my 7th Digital Transformation as a CTO. In June of 2019, I joined Pantaleon as their CTO with a 4-year contract to execute the four-phase Digital Transformation plan we were developing. That plan was approved by the Board in December of 2019. We started the transformation under the umbrella of a project named Conecta. The scope included nearly every process in the company across all business units and countries. The Conecta project began in February of 2020 with the unforeseen adjustment of working remotely due to the Covid Pandemic. The Digital Transformation was completed as expected with a 4 month delay due to the addition of a newly acquired sugar mill that was purchased and incorporated into the plans in the middle of the project.
Supported by the best Business and IT team I have ever worked with, and accompanied by an amazing network of technology providers, the Pantaleon Digital Transformation was completed. Of course, there are always components of stabilization that will linger for a few cycles. The enterprise has been integrated in every aspect. The agricultural processes are automated, and there is end-to-end process visibility of the entire sugar production cycle. In the back office, as an example, being able to close the books in 7 days instead of 3 weeks was a substantial accomplishment. The integration has also facilitated the onset of the AI journey for Pantaleon, with several models already in production. As time progresses, Pantaleon will be able to bring about numerous advances to their operations facilitated by the solid technological and fully operational foundation they now have.
On a personal note, I would like to thank the individuals who provided me with this exciting opportunity. First Diego Herrera, the Holding Company CEO, Owner, and Chairman of the Board, who trusted me with the implementation of his vision for the future. Second, Francisco Baltodano, the Pantaleon Sugar Holdings CEO during most of my tenure, who supported me during the implementation process. Lastly, a special word of gratitude to André Lacape, who thought of offering me this opportunity, who was my boss, and worked tirelessly alongside me during the four-year program.
This unique experience in Guatemala has provided my wife, Yolanda, and I with extraordinary memories of a remarkable country with fantastic people, where we made life-long friendships, and have thoroughly enjoyed the many rich cultural facets it has to offer.
Going forward, I wish the Herrera Family, and specifically the Pantaleon Sugar Holding team, the best health and business results.
Farewell and GODSPEED!!!
