May 7, 2025 • 22 mins
Not all regions are created equal when it comes to building high-performing remote teams.
In this new Nearshore Cafe Podcast short, I spoke with global BPO executive Stewart Wolfenson, who broke down how cultural and operational strengths vary across:
✅ Philippines – Service-first mindset. Perfect for support and customer care.
✅ Dominican Republic – Fast-paced, energetic, and ideal for outbound sales roles.
✅ Eastern Europe – Highly technical, adaptive, and excellent for problem-solving and dev-heavy work.
🔍 The takeaway?
Outsourcing isn’t just about cost—it’s about alignment. Cultural fit + task-specific strengths = higher ROI.
🎧 Watch the full short here → https://youtu.be/ooiXOH1XD-A
💡 From time zones to team traits, this clip is a must-watch for any founder, COO, or HR leader building globally in 2025.
#Nearshoring #GlobalTalent #RemoteTeams #OutsourcingStrategy #BPO #StaffAugmentation #PhilippinesBPO #EasternEuropeTech #DominicanRepublic #Leadership #PluggTechnologies #NearshoreCafe
📢 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS for more insights on Latin America’s growing tech scene! 🎧🔥
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🔗 Stay Connected:
✅ Host: Brian Samson | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansamson/
✅ Sponsor: Plugg Technologies | PLUGG.tech
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Welcome everyone to another episode of the Nearshore
Cafe podcast.
I'm Brian Sampson, your host.
Today is going to be a greatshow to talk about Nearshore
broadly.
There's a lot of trends,insights and we're lucky enough
to have a seasoned executive onour podcast, stuart Wolfensohn.
Before I introduce Stuart, letme thank our sponsor, plug
(00:58):
Technologies pluggtech Great wayto connect talent all over
Latin America with US companies.
Without further ado, let'swelcome Stuart to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Stuart great to see you, great to see you, as they
would say in Latin.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
America.
We love the bilingualopportunities here in the
Nearshore Cafe podcast.
We'll stick to English for theshow because that's most of our
audience.
But, stuart, let me maybe starthere.
We're lucky to have you on theshow, like I said in the intro.
Veteran executive season leader, you know in the space, just
(01:34):
kind of walk us through a littlebit on your career journey.
You know a lot of interestingthings, different places.
How did you get to where youare today?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
That's a long-winded question but you know, I grew up
in being multicultural,multilingual, different places,
and I always found that languagewas the way to survive and the
way to connect.
I was watching always my fathersending telexes across the
world and I was fascinated Telexand how technology and
(02:03):
information worked.
And you don't know these peopleand no, we just send them a
telex.
I would always send a telex andI had broken English but she
says don't worry, stop telex.
And I knew I wanted to helpbuild those world because there
(02:25):
was scale, speed, lots ofcomplexity, lots of cultural
complexity, and I don't likethings easy If it's complex.
If there's a hurricane, I'llswim in that hurricane.
I found it fascinating how wecould connect people from
different places in a commontask, common goal, common
(02:47):
mission, which was helping acustomer, helping a customer
have a great experience or solvea problem, and for me it was
quite fascinating.
But I also found out that onething that was fascinating that
you were around technology butpeople were really the
infrastructure, were what reallymatters, and that's what really
(03:10):
stood out to me.
It was all about a people.
I've always been a connector,I've always been a people,
person.
People can do to make a greatexperience, whether it's
creating code, whether it's acall whether it's data.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
It was always fascinating to me.
Yeah yeah, for those who don'tknow much about the BPO world,
what does that entail?
Is that customer service IT?
You know that plus other stuffIs it worldwide.
You know that plus other stuffIs it worldwide.
Where is that moving?
Can you give some more insightinto that world?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I think it's a multiple choice question which
says D, all of the above.
I think what technology hasallowed us is to really do
multiple things and to supportthe mission of a company,
regardless of where you'resitting.
And that's where technologycame in, and I think bpo it's,
(04:14):
it's.
It's a crazy business processoutsourcing, but it's really
making business efficientthrough outsourcing.
That's what I call it.
And how have the power ofpeople to make you more
efficient?
Regardless of where you are,you have different pressures
charge, deliverability, cost,communication.
(04:35):
It's very exciting because youcan't put it in one box.
It's not one sandbox, it's theentire beach, if I could put it
in a context.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, what has your experience been in BPO across
the world?
What countries have youinteracted with?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
You know, I worked from Latin America to the Middle
East, to Eastern Europe, toPakistan and Philippines.
So I touch many places, I touchmany cultures and different
takes, and it goes againtechnology is technology, but
(05:10):
people are your infrastructureand people.
We by nature, love to help, andsome cultures love to help more
than others.
And I think that's the mostpowerful thing about BPO work is
that you're trying to solve aproblem and people are willing
to help.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Can you help me think throughthe like scripted versus the
unscripted world of BPO?
You know, and like the types ofproblems that come in.
The types of problems that comein and I'm sure it's often, you
know, very similar, buteverybody on the other end of
the phone is a person, thecustomer is a person and they
(05:50):
have different nuances to theircase and you know how.
Maybe that's like thoughtthrough.
You know, in the differentcountries you've had BPO
operations.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You know, countries like the nature of the country
will dictate sometimes thenature of the call or the nature
of the task at hand.
For example, the Philippinesare very service oriented.
Dominican Republic they're veryquick and casual and don't have
the patience, so they might bebetter for something like an
(06:20):
outbound sales call.
And then you have places likein Eastern Europe that are a mix
of all.
They're very tech savvy, butit's culturally diverse and can
really help grasp things quicker.
And then you have countrieslike India, which is very task
(06:41):
oriented in the box and this iswhat it is.
So, you know, I think script isvery important, but I always
welcome people who think outsideof the box and who can really
think things through, and it'snot only the script.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, where, specifically in Latin America,
did you have BPO operations?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I worked a lot with Dominican Republic, Mexico,
Brazil, of course, Even Brazil,did you know?
Even you can even do Japanesesupport from Brazil or out of
Peru.
So I discovered these things asa creative mind, that I am
always looking outside of thebox and thinking about that.
(07:23):
But I think Latin America it'svery well positioned right now
to really be in a spot whereit's going to make a difference,
especially with things changingwithin the United States.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah, maybe we'll hit on that for a second.
Tariffs are on everyone's mindright now.
We read about it all the time.
Do you see that having animpact on the services sector?
You?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
know I always, when somebody tells me you can't do
this, I always say yes, we can,and it goes back to si se puede,
no, the thought of yes, we can.
I think that things arechanging tariffs and there's a
political change going on andthere's a lot of uncertainty,
(08:11):
but it's also pushing US andEuropean companies to change, to
prioritize things and changethings, and I think that's where
, if you look at the Americas, Ithink that's what I would call
it.
I don't want to call it LatinAmerica If you see the Americas,
I think it's becoming not justa trend, but more the norm
(08:31):
because of what you said before,which is terrorists, political
uncertainty that are pushing,and I think I'm a firm believer
I always been, and this is why Istudied Portuguese in college
that Latin America is no longerthe backup plan, it's the
strategic plan.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
That's really interesting, you know,
especially as we think aboutChina becoming more and more the
adversary Right.
And if you have a strongadversary, you know, maybe I'm
going back 20 years of likeyou're either with us or not,
Right, and it feels like theAmericas are mostly lining up
(09:16):
with the US.
I'd love to get your take onthat of you know there will be
winners and there will be losers, you know, in the next five, 10
years.
And where do you see LatinAmerica?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Well, you know, as a person who worked on the global
space my entire career, I don'tsee China as an adversary.
I see them, as always, as aformidable competitor that has
helped the Americas not be.
You know, united States hasalways had their back to Latin
(09:54):
America.
I think now they change and nowthey're facing Latin America
and they're seeing theopportunities and along with
that there's also geopoliticalthings that Latin America is a
little bit more stable than it'sbeen and that allows and China,
on the other token, is alsovery unstable for all the things
(10:14):
, which is for the first timevery unstable for all the things
, which is for the first timeChina is not selling as much as
they used to.
So China created, opened up themarket in the Americas and now
the United States is takingadvantage of that.
And I think if the leaders inthe business environment see
(10:37):
what the Americas have to offerI mean there's three vital
things Cultural time zones,language affinity I mean, if you
see those things, I mean I cantell you stories on when that
does not work, when that doesnot work I really see that for
the first time in a long time,the Americans can really support
(11:05):
each other, being the NorthAmerica being supported by the
South American market.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
In many ways, yeah, and you know, when the economy
is growing overall, from a macrostandpoint there's somewhat of
a rising tide lifts all boats.
But in times of maybe stagnantgrowth and I'd argue 2025 might
be that time there's really moreof a India I see in the IT
sector is losing to LatinAmerica.
(11:29):
So the IT sector is maybestable, but Latin America is
growing.
That means that more projectsare being moved from, say, india
to Latin America.
Do you see that too?
Do you see Latin America likemore work moving from other
countries to Latin America?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
I see three things going on.
First of all, wages areincreasing so there's economic
pressures with India.
Also, there is internalpressures that talent is being
moved so there's no longevity ofpeople who are working on your
projects.
From a technology perspective,I've seen it in the software
(12:07):
side of the business where I seea lot of movement and people
are not there as long tounderstand coding, to understand
your business, to understand todeliver.
And also the geopoliticalaspect that I think the Latin
American or the America's talentit's much more focused on
(12:28):
American needs so understandsvery quickly what is at hand,
because many of them have beentraining in the United States,
many of them come from thatbackground, many of them have
that cultural near.
They feel closer culturallythan any other one that I've
seen in my experience.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Can you comment a little deeperon that, stuart?
When you say closer culturally,what does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
culturally.
What does that mean to you?
Well, me, I'm bicultural andI'm bicultural, bilingual, so
I'm the perfect example.
I'm going to give an example.
I know an interior designcompany that had for many years
all of their staff in the US.
The pandemic changed everythingand I recommended that they
move all of their operations andthey try very technical
architectural architects,engineers, and try it.
(13:24):
I said, try it.
And she was the person Irecommended.
She called me.
She says I couldn't believe it.
The level of understanding, thelevel of adaptability, how
culturally sound they were.
I didn't know, I didn't think Iwas talking to them, they could
talk up my time zones, theycould, you know, all those
things add value in what youbring to the table.
(13:46):
So I think that's what I meantby saying I've seen it, I
experienced and I believethere's a lot of upside.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, I think that's spot on.
I want to ask you, stuart youknow somebody with a lot of
executive experience.
You probably have worked withVCs, private equity.
You track M&A activity.
How is that impacting the worldof nearshoring in 2025?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
impacting the world of nearshoring in 2025?
Well, I think there's a lot of.
I don't think I know there's alot of cautious out there
because of what's going on onthe geopolitical side and
there's a lot of uncertainty.
So the VC and private equitiesare very cautious.
However, I think they'rewatching Latin America closely,
(14:35):
especially in B2B services.
However, I think they'rewatching Latin America closely,
especially in B2B services,health tech and fintech.
I mean, monterrey is one of thebiggest hubs for fintechs.
They have over 200 startups.
I believe those who are able tobalance automation and
authenticity are going to beable to come on top.
Those who are bringing thatsort of mix to the table are
(14:57):
going to be able to come on top.
Those who are bringing thatsort of mix to the table are
going to be able to come on top,especially after the recent.
I mean, if you're looking at therecent acquisition of Google by
, of Wiz by Google, they're notlocated in the United States, so
that tells you that companiesare looking outside into the
market.
So I'm a firm believer thatbrings opportunities.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Yeah, I'm sure you get asked advice all the time.
You know and maybe I'm thinkinga company post-acquisition
that's integrating a US company,integrating Latin America team
members or operations absorbingthat what would be your best
advice for creating a successfulculture post acquisition?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Respect the time zones, respect the cafecitos,
honor local culture.
Lead by trust.
Don't micromanage.
Have a presence but don'tmicromanage.
Have a presence but don'tmicromanage, but trust.
There's great leaders out therein each country.
I mean each one of them.
(16:07):
Each region brings a powerfulthing to the table.
Colombians are very creative.
Argentinians are very boldthinkers.
Think outside of the box.
Mexicans are veryentrepreneurial.
Brazilians lots of energy andtrust and language.
So you need to empower yourlocal managers to really embrace
(16:28):
holidays, build rituals andthat.
And that comes from a lessonyou know.
Before I moved back to thiscountry, I was in Spain just to
bring a personal story and Iclosed my biggest deal ever on
my last day at my last job and Ihad a two and a half hour lunch
(16:48):
with the client.
I said why did you wait so long?
He goes, I really needed to getto know you.
So you know, don't worry aboutclosing the deal, worry about
collaborate and I think youyou'll have success.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, I like that.
I like that.
Speaking of Spain, um, you gotme thinking about how fortunate
we are to have a guest like youthat's so well traveled, and I
know it's like picking yourfavorite child, but what are
some of your favorite citiesthat you've been to across the
globe?
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Gosh, that's a great question.
I'll give you three of myfavorite cities.
Buenos Aires, of course Greatfood, great wine, great people.
I'm a beach person, so I'mgoing to be biased.
Madrid has an energy.
(17:43):
It's New York on steroids andI'm very Latin, but those are
the two cities that stand out.
And then Tokyo and Sao Paulo,because it's chaotic poems, it's
chaos 24-7.
(18:03):
There is something about thatchaos that it's very, it's like
a poem, it's like a moving, it'sI always said I always use the
analogy is like a Blade Runneron steroids.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I like that.
I like that Tell us more aboutyour time in Sao Paulo, my time
in Sao Paulo was crazy.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
You know, at that time we were opening up a
multinational company.
We were opening and the trafficwas horrendous, so we would go
and we would use helicopters toget from one place to another.
That's it.
And, of course, my favoritecity of all is Barcelona, the
(18:47):
pearl of the Mediterranean.
Along with Tel Aviv.
Those are my two favoritecities I've ever been to.
Tel Aviv is the only placewhere you can actually have
watermelon on the beach whileputting a business plan together
and seeing the next high-techthing.
Everybody's thinking of how wecan make things better.
And Barcelona, I will neverforget.
(19:07):
At one time everybody wasputting also business plans on
the beach and I said, and Iwould ask, and I said, and they
would tell me that I would usethe story and say why you're in
the beach?
It's because the future isstraight ahead and I need to
think of the future.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I like that, I like that.
And then, stuart, I think inthe pre-show you had mentioned
something about Medellin.
Can you share more about yourexperiences there?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Wow, you know, medellin is very unique the city
with the best coffee on earth.
Rains, bandwidth and heart.
Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I like it.
Good stuff.
I'd be remiss if I didn't talkabout your football soccer
experiences and stories.
Can you share more about that?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
You know I've been involved with Real Madrid,
probably the best sportsorganization in the history of
sports.
They are the global benchmarkfor business discipline,
creativity and values.
Everything I do in life, Ialways think of what they have
accomplished by having thosethree things Business,
(20:14):
discipline, creativity andvalues.
And I use that every day that Ido things.
In everything I do, I learnedso much.
There's a book called Anybodywho Wants to Get into the
Business and Wants to UnderstandBusiness.
There's a book I was part ofcalled the Real Madrid
Revolution and it tells you alot about the business of
(20:35):
football and how an enterpriseevolves because it's very
uniquely made, because it's notowned by a corporation or a rich
uncle or something.
It's owned by the people and itoperates like a business and it
creates tremendous synergiesand tremendous culture.
(20:55):
It's not only one of myfavorite sports entities, it's
also one of my favoritebusinesses that I've ever been
involved with.
I like it.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Good stuff.
Well, stuart, this has been asfun of a conversation as I was
hoping, honestly, more.
I love the sayings, thepersonal experiences, the energy
that you brought to the table.
I want to thank our sponsoragain, plug Technologies PLUGG
great way to connect talent fromall over Latin America to US
(21:27):
companies.
Stuart, I want to give you thelast word here on the podcast
because I know you have afavorite saying.
Can you bring it home for uswith your favorite saying?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Because that's how you're all in.
You know, in my life I go allin my approach to life, work,
partnerships.
Always it's about collaboratingand it's always about being all
in Love it Everyone.
Thank you so much for listening.
This is the Near Short Cafepodcast.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Always it's about collaborating and it's always
about being all in.
Love it Everyone.
Thank you so much for listening.
This is the Near Short Cafepodcast.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome everyone to another episode of the Nearshore
Cafe podcast.
I'm Brian Sampson, your host.
Today is going to be a greatshow to talk about Nearshore
broadly.
There's a lot of trends,insights and we're lucky enough
to have a seasoned executive onour podcast, stuart Wolfensohn.
Before I introduce Stuart, letme thank our sponsor, plug
(00:58):
Technologies pluggtech Great wayto connect talent all over
Latin America with US companies.
Without further ado, let'swelcome Stuart to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Stuart great to see you, great to see you, as they
would say in Latin.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
America.
We love the bilingualopportunities here in the
Nearshore Cafe podcast.
We'll stick to English for theshow because that's most of our
audience.
But, stuart, let me maybe starthere.
We're lucky to have you on theshow, like I said in the intro.
Veteran executive season leader, you know in the space, just
(01:34):
kind of walk us through a littlebit on your career journey.
You know a lot of interestingthings, different places.
How did you get to where youare today?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
That's a long-winded question but you know, I grew up
in being multicultural,multilingual, different places,
and I always found that languagewas the way to survive and the
way to connect.
I was watching always my fathersending telexes across the
world and I was fascinated Telexand how technology and
(02:03):
information worked.
And you don't know these peopleand no, we just send them a
telex.
I would always send a telex andI had broken English but she
says don't worry, stop telex.
And I knew I wanted to helpbuild those world because there
(02:25):
was scale, speed, lots ofcomplexity, lots of cultural
complexity, and I don't likethings easy If it's complex.
If there's a hurricane, I'llswim in that hurricane.
I found it fascinating how wecould connect people from
different places in a commontask, common goal, common
(02:47):
mission, which was helping acustomer, helping a customer
have a great experience or solvea problem, and for me it was
quite fascinating.
But I also found out that onething that was fascinating that
you were around technology butpeople were really the
infrastructure, were what reallymatters, and that's what really
(03:10):
stood out to me.
It was all about a people.
I've always been a connector,I've always been a people,
person.
People can do to make a greatexperience, whether it's
creating code, whether it's acall whether it's data.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
It was always fascinating to me.
Yeah yeah, for those who don'tknow much about the BPO world,
what does that entail?
Is that customer service IT?
You know that plus other stuffIs it worldwide.
You know that plus other stuffIs it worldwide.
Where is that moving?
Can you give some more insightinto that world?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I think it's a multiple choice question which
says D, all of the above.
I think what technology hasallowed us is to really do
multiple things and to supportthe mission of a company,
regardless of where you'resitting.
And that's where technologycame in, and I think bpo it's,
(04:14):
it's.
It's a crazy business processoutsourcing, but it's really
making business efficientthrough outsourcing.
That's what I call it.
And how have the power ofpeople to make you more
efficient?
Regardless of where you are,you have different pressures
charge, deliverability, cost,communication.
(04:35):
It's very exciting because youcan't put it in one box.
It's not one sandbox, it's theentire beach, if I could put it
in a context.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, what has your experience been in BPO across
the world?
What countries have youinteracted with?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
You know, I worked from Latin America to the Middle
East, to Eastern Europe, toPakistan and Philippines.
So I touch many places, I touchmany cultures and different
takes, and it goes againtechnology is technology, but
(05:10):
people are your infrastructureand people.
We by nature, love to help, andsome cultures love to help more
than others.
And I think that's the mostpowerful thing about BPO work is
that you're trying to solve aproblem and people are willing
to help.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Can you help me think throughthe like scripted versus the
unscripted world of BPO?
You know, and like the types ofproblems that come in.
The types of problems that comein and I'm sure it's often, you
know, very similar, buteverybody on the other end of
the phone is a person, thecustomer is a person and they
(05:50):
have different nuances to theircase and you know how.
Maybe that's like thoughtthrough.
You know, in the differentcountries you've had BPO
operations.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You know, countries like the nature of the country
will dictate sometimes thenature of the call or the nature
of the task at hand.
For example, the Philippinesare very service oriented.
Dominican Republic they're veryquick and casual and don't have
the patience, so they might bebetter for something like an
(06:20):
outbound sales call.
And then you have places likein Eastern Europe that are a mix
of all.
They're very tech savvy, butit's culturally diverse and can
really help grasp things quicker.
And then you have countrieslike India, which is very task
(06:41):
oriented in the box and this iswhat it is.
So, you know, I think script isvery important, but I always
welcome people who think outsideof the box and who can really
think things through, and it'snot only the script.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, where, specifically in Latin America,
did you have BPO operations?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I worked a lot with Dominican Republic, Mexico,
Brazil, of course, Even Brazil,did you know?
Even you can even do Japanesesupport from Brazil or out of
Peru.
So I discovered these things asa creative mind, that I am
always looking outside of thebox and thinking about that.
(07:23):
But I think Latin America it'svery well positioned right now
to really be in a spot whereit's going to make a difference,
especially with things changingwithin the United States.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah, maybe we'll hit on that for a second.
Tariffs are on everyone's mindright now.
We read about it all the time.
Do you see that having animpact on the services sector?
You?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
know I always, when somebody tells me you can't do
this, I always say yes, we can,and it goes back to si se puede,
no, the thought of yes, we can.
I think that things arechanging tariffs and there's a
political change going on andthere's a lot of uncertainty,
(08:11):
but it's also pushing US andEuropean companies to change, to
prioritize things and changethings, and I think that's where
, if you look at the Americas, Ithink that's what I would call
it.
I don't want to call it LatinAmerica If you see the Americas,
I think it's becoming not justa trend, but more the norm
(08:31):
because of what you said before,which is terrorists, political
uncertainty that are pushing,and I think I'm a firm believer
I always been, and this is why Istudied Portuguese in college
that Latin America is no longerthe backup plan, it's the
strategic plan.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
That's really interesting, you know,
especially as we think aboutChina becoming more and more the
adversary Right.
And if you have a strongadversary, you know, maybe I'm
going back 20 years of likeyou're either with us or not,
Right, and it feels like theAmericas are mostly lining up
(09:16):
with the US.
I'd love to get your take onthat of you know there will be
winners and there will be losers, you know, in the next five, 10
years.
And where do you see LatinAmerica?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Well, you know, as a person who worked on the global
space my entire career, I don'tsee China as an adversary.
I see them, as always, as aformidable competitor that has
helped the Americas not be.
You know, united States hasalways had their back to Latin
(09:54):
America.
I think now they change and nowthey're facing Latin America
and they're seeing theopportunities and along with
that there's also geopoliticalthings that Latin America is a
little bit more stable than it'sbeen and that allows and China,
on the other token, is alsovery unstable for all the things
(10:14):
, which is for the first timevery unstable for all the things
, which is for the first timeChina is not selling as much as
they used to.
So China created, opened up themarket in the Americas and now
the United States is takingadvantage of that.
And I think if the leaders inthe business environment see
(10:37):
what the Americas have to offerI mean there's three vital
things Cultural time zones,language affinity I mean, if you
see those things, I mean I cantell you stories on when that
does not work, when that doesnot work I really see that for
the first time in a long time,the Americans can really support
(11:05):
each other, being the NorthAmerica being supported by the
South American market.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
In many ways, yeah, and you know, when the economy
is growing overall, from a macrostandpoint there's somewhat of
a rising tide lifts all boats.
But in times of maybe stagnantgrowth and I'd argue 2025 might
be that time there's really moreof a India I see in the IT
sector is losing to LatinAmerica.
(11:29):
So the IT sector is maybestable, but Latin America is
growing.
That means that more projectsare being moved from, say, india
to Latin America.
Do you see that too?
Do you see Latin America likemore work moving from other
countries to Latin America?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
I see three things going on.
First of all, wages areincreasing so there's economic
pressures with India.
Also, there is internalpressures that talent is being
moved so there's no longevity ofpeople who are working on your
projects.
From a technology perspective,I've seen it in the software
(12:07):
side of the business where I seea lot of movement and people
are not there as long tounderstand coding, to understand
your business, to understand todeliver.
And also the geopoliticalaspect that I think the Latin
American or the America's talentit's much more focused on
(12:28):
American needs so understandsvery quickly what is at hand,
because many of them have beentraining in the United States,
many of them come from thatbackground, many of them have
that cultural near.
They feel closer culturallythan any other one that I've
seen in my experience.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Can you comment a little deeperon that, stuart?
When you say closer culturally,what does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
culturally.
What does that mean to you?
Well, me, I'm bicultural andI'm bicultural, bilingual, so
I'm the perfect example.
I'm going to give an example.
I know an interior designcompany that had for many years
all of their staff in the US.
The pandemic changed everythingand I recommended that they
move all of their operations andthey try very technical
architectural architects,engineers, and try it.
(13:24):
I said, try it.
And she was the person Irecommended.
She called me.
She says I couldn't believe it.
The level of understanding, thelevel of adaptability, how
culturally sound they were.
I didn't know, I didn't think Iwas talking to them, they could
talk up my time zones, theycould, you know, all those
things add value in what youbring to the table.
(13:46):
So I think that's what I meantby saying I've seen it, I
experienced and I believethere's a lot of upside.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, I think that's spot on.
I want to ask you, stuart youknow somebody with a lot of
executive experience.
You probably have worked withVCs, private equity.
You track M&A activity.
How is that impacting the worldof nearshoring in 2025?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
impacting the world of nearshoring in 2025?
Well, I think there's a lot of.
I don't think I know there's alot of cautious out there
because of what's going on onthe geopolitical side and
there's a lot of uncertainty.
So the VC and private equitiesare very cautious.
However, I think they'rewatching Latin America closely,
(14:35):
especially in B2B services.
However, I think they'rewatching Latin America closely,
especially in B2B services,health tech and fintech.
I mean, monterrey is one of thebiggest hubs for fintechs.
They have over 200 startups.
I believe those who are able tobalance automation and
authenticity are going to beable to come on top.
Those who are bringing thatsort of mix to the table are
(14:57):
going to be able to come on top.
Those who are bringing thatsort of mix to the table are
going to be able to come on top,especially after the recent.
I mean, if you're looking at therecent acquisition of Google by
, of Wiz by Google, they're notlocated in the United States, so
that tells you that companiesare looking outside into the
market.
So I'm a firm believer thatbrings opportunities.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Yeah, I'm sure you get asked advice all the time.
You know and maybe I'm thinkinga company post-acquisition
that's integrating a US company,integrating Latin America team
members or operations absorbingthat what would be your best
advice for creating a successfulculture post acquisition?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Respect the time zones, respect the cafecitos,
honor local culture.
Lead by trust.
Don't micromanage.
Have a presence but don'tmicromanage.
Have a presence but don'tmicromanage, but trust.
There's great leaders out therein each country.
I mean each one of them.
(16:07):
Each region brings a powerfulthing to the table.
Colombians are very creative.
Argentinians are very boldthinkers.
Think outside of the box.
Mexicans are veryentrepreneurial.
Brazilians lots of energy andtrust and language.
So you need to empower yourlocal managers to really embrace
(16:28):
holidays, build rituals andthat.
And that comes from a lessonyou know.
Before I moved back to thiscountry, I was in Spain just to
bring a personal story and Iclosed my biggest deal ever on
my last day at my last job and Ihad a two and a half hour lunch
(16:48):
with the client.
I said why did you wait so long?
He goes, I really needed to getto know you.
So you know, don't worry aboutclosing the deal, worry about
collaborate and I think youyou'll have success.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, I like that.
I like that.
Speaking of Spain, um, you gotme thinking about how fortunate
we are to have a guest like youthat's so well traveled, and I
know it's like picking yourfavorite child, but what are
some of your favorite citiesthat you've been to across the
globe?
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Gosh, that's a great question.
I'll give you three of myfavorite cities.
Buenos Aires, of course Greatfood, great wine, great people.
I'm a beach person, so I'mgoing to be biased.
Madrid has an energy.
(17:43):
It's New York on steroids andI'm very Latin, but those are
the two cities that stand out.
And then Tokyo and Sao Paulo,because it's chaotic poems, it's
chaos 24-7.
(18:03):
There is something about thatchaos that it's very, it's like
a poem, it's like a moving, it'sI always said I always use the
analogy is like a Blade Runneron steroids.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I like that.
I like that Tell us more aboutyour time in Sao Paulo, my time
in Sao Paulo was crazy.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
You know, at that time we were opening up a
multinational company.
We were opening and the trafficwas horrendous, so we would go
and we would use helicopters toget from one place to another.
That's it.
And, of course, my favoritecity of all is Barcelona, the
(18:47):
pearl of the Mediterranean.
Along with Tel Aviv.
Those are my two favoritecities I've ever been to.
Tel Aviv is the only placewhere you can actually have
watermelon on the beach whileputting a business plan together
and seeing the next high-techthing.
Everybody's thinking of how wecan make things better.
And Barcelona, I will neverforget.
(19:07):
At one time everybody wasputting also business plans on
the beach and I said, and Iwould ask, and I said, and they
would tell me that I would usethe story and say why you're in
the beach?
It's because the future isstraight ahead and I need to
think of the future.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I like that, I like that.
And then, stuart, I think inthe pre-show you had mentioned
something about Medellin.
Can you share more about yourexperiences there?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Wow, you know, medellin is very unique the city
with the best coffee on earth.
Rains, bandwidth and heart.
Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I like it.
Good stuff.
I'd be remiss if I didn't talkabout your football soccer
experiences and stories.
Can you share more about that?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
You know I've been involved with Real Madrid,
probably the best sportsorganization in the history of
sports.
They are the global benchmarkfor business discipline,
creativity and values.
Everything I do in life, Ialways think of what they have
accomplished by having thosethree things Business,
(20:14):
discipline, creativity andvalues.
And I use that every day that Ido things.
In everything I do, I learnedso much.
There's a book called Anybodywho Wants to Get into the
Business and Wants to UnderstandBusiness.
There's a book I was part ofcalled the Real Madrid
Revolution and it tells you alot about the business of
(20:35):
football and how an enterpriseevolves because it's very
uniquely made, because it's notowned by a corporation or a rich
uncle or something.
It's owned by the people and itoperates like a business and it
creates tremendous synergiesand tremendous culture.
(20:55):
It's not only one of myfavorite sports entities, it's
also one of my favoritebusinesses that I've ever been
involved with.
I like it.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Good stuff.
Well, stuart, this has been asfun of a conversation as I was
hoping, honestly, more.
I love the sayings, thepersonal experiences, the energy
that you brought to the table.
I want to thank our sponsoragain, plug Technologies PLUGG
great way to connect talent fromall over Latin America to US
(21:27):
companies.
Stuart, I want to give you thelast word here on the podcast
because I know you have afavorite saying.
Can you bring it home for uswith your favorite saying?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Because that's how you're all in.
You know, in my life I go allin my approach to life, work,
partnerships.
Always it's about collaboratingand it's always about being all
in Love it Everyone.
Thank you so much for listening.
This is the Near Short Cafepodcast.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Always it's about collaborating and it's always
about being all in.
Love it Everyone.
Thank you so much for listening.
This is the Near Short Cafepodcast.
We'll see you next time.
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