She declares that her role is to live on a roller coaster of emotions, but with great satisfaction, she looks at her 16 years in the organization of her dreams. We speak with Wanda Weigert, Chief Brand Officer at Globant.
Wanda, you started at Globant in 2005 as a senior consultant and went on to create the entire communications department. How has your time at Globant been?
It’s a roller coaster. When I arrived, we were very few; there was a palpable vibe of wanting to transform the world, wanting to do something different, break the mold, and, luckily, that was something that kept transforming. Today we are 20,000 people in 18 countries, but the roller coaster still exists and motivates us to challenge ourselves.
Within the communication area, it has also changed a lot; from 2005 (when I joined) to date, I have teams throughout Latin America, the US, Europe, India; all these changes are reconfiguring how to achieve the objectives.
Transforming reality is no longer just transforming Argentina but transforming the reality of many other societies and other people.
Our industry itself has a transformative capacity that is very tangible. For example, bringing opportunities to boys and girls who otherwise would not have had access.
In 2006 we opened our first office outside of Buenos Aires, in Tandil, with the vision of going where people are and being able to help them develop. Today there are some incredible stories of globers working from unexpected places.
We have offices in Resistencia, Tucumán, Bahía Blanca, and wherever they are, they work for Google, for Electronic Arts, leading teams of 200 people; that is the transforming power of technology.
In an interview, you commented that with your team, the team, the projects, and the processes grow, but something they work to maintain is the essence of Globant. From your role as Chief of Brand, how do you promote it?
There is a culture that’s key to making us all vibrate by saying, “we are globers. “ I have it in my own flesh, but, although I have been in Globant for more than 16 years, it is something that is in the air and is breathed even with the most recent admissions.
It is very easy to identify with our values: think big, aim for excellence, innovate, try to generate a positive impact on the other… This gave us a strong foundation, such as facing the challenges of the pandemic.
Now that we touch on the pandemic, something that it exposed to the world was to rethink the purpose of people; we know the purpose of Globant, which is to “transform the world one step at a time.” Could you share how you live that organizational purpose and how it ties in with your own purpose?
After so many years, it is very difficult to feel separated from work, and this slogan of transforming the world is very tangible and real for me.
The technology industry itself has a transformative capacity that allows you to bring opportunities to boys and girls from all over the world. I feel very happy to contribute to making this reality happen.
In addition, I work every day to transform gender parity and generate a change in the industry reality because today, they are mostly men, and there is no reason why women should not have more space in the industry. There is no barrier, and transforming that reality implies a long-term vision. It is not something of the companies; it starts from the universities, that is why this reality must be changed. As a woman, I feel super motivated to contribute to this change. More girls are studying technology, who are not afraid of leadership positions, helping them reconcile their professional and personal lives.
One of your first actions at Globant was to create the internal newsletter to align communication. After 16 years, what actions do you promote to keep teams connected?
In the pandemic, we exploited digital channels much more, we took advantage of lost spaces such as those office chats, and we thought about how to relive those moments. Slack became our right-hand man. We started sending them to the globers attention to try to be close and find compatibility. We did virtual trips, after office, etc.
We tried to be close through the virtual, also from the real, finding great compatibility in the way.
How do you experience work after becoming a unicorn?
In 2005 there was no talk of the possibility of being a unicorn; there was talk of a dream of wanting to put the flag of Argentina as a leader in the technology industry, that vision of thinking big was there from day one and continues to be exponentially broadened, the goal always moves further, and we see the transformational power we can have.
It’s a roller coaster, it’s full of emotions, and it’s very vibrant. The founders and the whole team of management have the ability to convey this contagious dream, so it makes each one, from their place, want to improve themselves.
Before being unicorns, the IPO arrived; it was a great milestone for us to start trading on the US stock market, which meant learning again because very few Argentine companies had been able to do so. We were the first technology services company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and that significantly raised the bar of what processes, what views, what vision we should have, and everything leads you to a path of growth.
Being a unicorn does not define you as a company, the purpose of transforming and having a long-term vision defines you.
What should be the issues to be included in the agenda in organizations?
Inclusion and diversity, we are in 18 countries, we see multiculturalism, we live it, and we see how enriching it is, that encourages innovation, having different points of view and also because society is also changing and as organizations we have to be able to empower them so that everyone is who they are.
The issue of sustainability, its impact on the environment, how we can help make it a positive impact in the world, caring for globers, we need to create a growth and career development team.
What can we expect from Globant for 2022?
It will continue to be a roller coaster. We want to continue growing, and we announced openings in Tierra del Fuego, Bariloche; we want to continue growing here and in other Latin American countries, Europe, and the United States. We are going to work on the impact on the communities, we are launching a new edition of Women that Build Awards, which are the awards that seek to make women who generate an impact in the technology industry visible, and we hope to create more actions that continue to change reality and make other protagonists visible.
We have talked a lot about your professional role, and I would like to know a little more about your personal side. How would you define your singularity? What makes you unique?
I believe that having the necessary humility to recognize the talent in others and being able to continue putting together a team that can share the vision. Because in growth, one is enriched by others.
What can we learn about you that we don’t see on social networks?
With three young daughters, what you don’t see on social networks is all the mess that this means. Beyond that, I really like dancing, I met my husband dancing swing, so it would be a bit of hobby and a lot of mothering.
Wanda Weigert | Chief Brand Officer on Global