Leading Business Transformation Through Technology Discipline

With nearly 30 years of experience in information technology, Gustavo has worked across multiple disciplines, including IT services management, architecture, business partnership, and project management. His leadership approach focuses on managing IT as a business unit, aligning technology investments directly with business drivers, value creation, and long-term operational resilience.

A Career Built Across Disciplines

I currently serve as the Global CIO for CMPC, a pulp and paper company headquartered in Chile with operations throughout Latin America and beyond. My professional journey in technology spans close to three decades, during which I have worked across many areas of IT, like analyst roles, global IT services, architecture, business partnering, and project management.

Moving through different disciplines helped me build empathy for how technology teams operate and how decisions made in one area affect others. More importantly, it shaped my belief that technology must always be connected to business drivers. That idea may sound simple, but in practice it is not easy to achieve.

From early in my career, I have viewed IT not as a support function, but as a business unit. Every dollar invested in technology must return value to the organization, ideally two or more dollars in business impact. We are not here to implement technology for its own sake. We are here to create measurable value.

That is also why I prefer to talk about business transformation enabled by digital technology, rather than digital transformation alone. Technology is the means, not the objective.

Aligning Global Strategy with Local Reality

Operating as a global CIO in Latin America brings its own complexity, with varying regulations, varying infrastructure maturity, and local business needs. To manage this effectively, we rely on a strong global architectural foundation that allows consistency, while still respecting local requirements.

 Technology only matters when it clearly returns value to the business. Digital transformation without business transformation is just activity, not progress. 

One of the most important mechanisms we use is structured governance with the business. I currently run eight steering committees across CMPC, each aligned to a specific line of business. These committees meet quarterly and serve as a shared forum where IT and business leaders discuss priorities, pain points, and value creation.

This approach ensures technology initiatives are directly connected to business goals. It also allows us to reprioritize throughout the year when conditions change. Strategy cannot be static. The ability to adjust direction, while staying aligned with business objectives, is critical in today’s environment.

Transformation Starts with Mindset, Not Tools One of the most common mistakes companies make is assuming technology is the hardest part of transformation. In reality, technology is often the easiest component. The real challenge is mindset.

It is very common to see major platforms or tools implemented successfully, only to be underutilized or unable to deliver the expected value. This usually points to a lack of change management and to a lack of leadership alignment.

Transformation must start with preparing the organization, especially the leadership and the board, to think differently about how the business operates. Digital initiatives only succeed when people understand why change is necessary and how it connects to business outcomes. Without that shared understanding, even the best technology will fail to deliver impact.

Choosing the Right Technology, Not the Most Popular Today, CIOs face constant pressure to invest in cloud, data platforms, automation and cybersecurity. Many organizations rely heavily on market benchmarks or analyst quadrants to guide decisions. While those tools are useful, they should not be the final answer.

Not every company needs the most advanced or most expensive technology on the market. What matters is choosing what is adequate for the industry, the business model, and the organization’s maturity.

I have seen many cases where companies invest heavily in large platforms but end up using only a small fraction of their capabilities. At CMPC, we try to take a different approach, starting small with the right technology, then scaling as value is proven. This allows us to control cost, reduce complexity, and ensure adoption grows alongside business needs.

The Evolving Role of the CIO

Over the next three to five years, I believe the CIO role will continue to evolve toward deeper business ownership. The CIOs who make the biggest difference are those who manage IT as a business, challenge processes, identify inefficiencies, and help the organization improve its operations.

Technology leaders have visibility across the entire company. With that visibility comes responsibility, not just to reduce costs or deliver projects, but to question how things are done and propose better ways of working. Operational excellence is important, but real impact comes from improving business processes and enabling sustainable efficiency.

Lessons for Fellow CIOs

For CIOs, especially emerging leaders in the region, one defining lesson that stands out is success depends on balance. Strong service delivery is essential, but without a strategic vision, opportunities are lost. At the same time, focusing only on the future without operational excellence undermines credibility.

The second lesson is listening. CIOs must listen to their teams, internal clients, and the business. Many issues appear urgent on the surface, but deeper conversations often reveal that they are neither strategic nor impactful. Listening helps separate noise from real priorities.

Technology leadership today is not about having all the answers. It is about asking the right questions, creating alignment, and ensuring that every technology decision contributes meaningfully to the business.