Inês Eusébio commenced her career in Consulting just after her graduation. She has more than 20 years of experience in Financial Services. This experience has provided and developed multiple skills and knowledge that she brings to the table to serve her clients better.
Prior to her current role as the Head of Digital Technology, Insurance, Health and Public Sector at NTT DATA, one of the biggest challenges Inês faced was starting the insurance sector at NTTData in Portugal. Being a small (although amazing) country and, at the time, the insurance industry sector had few references in the company, it was a difficult task but also a very big opportunity.
Leading with purpose was her answer to this context. She was able to bring on this same journey amazing people with complementary profiles that helped her, through the years and a financial crisis, position ourselves as the top IT consulting company in the sector.
Inês feels very grateful for this first part of the journey as she has grown to be a better version of herself, but more importantly, she has witnessed multiple colleagues and now friends grow as well. She was invited to climb a second mountain a couple of years ago.
This time not only changed her role, but Inês also took her family to Chile during a pandemic that changed her life forever. It was a very complex time emotionally, as she was making multiple changes to her life.
Inês is happy to share that, personally and with her family, she has successfully transitioned to being abroad. This has provided Inês with a secure base to grow in this new role and be a living example at work and home that good things will happen, which she firmly believes.
In an interview with CIOLook, Inês shares her professional tenure and her journey so far in the niche.
Below are the excerpts from the interview:
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at NTT DATA. What are the qualities and aspects that make it stand out as a trusted global innovator of IT and business services?
NTT DATA is the ninth largest company in the world and the sixth most valuable brand among service providers in the industry worldwide. We have a culture and talent management that differentiates us from other companies.
We are Top Employer in Latin America and Chile. This contributes directly to differentiating us in the type of service we provide to our clients since we are characterized by working closely with them. This allows us to develop tailor-made projects and bet on innovation.
Our talented professionals are people who want to be disruptive, to challenge the business, which will enable us to stay at the forefront in each of the sectors in which we operate and ensure that we are on the right track. This culture and differential model allows us to attract the best talent available in different markets constantly.
Enlighten us on how you have been transforming the IT sector through your expertise in the market.
One of the factors that helps us to be leaders in the transformation of the sector is the level of expertise of our professionals. The fact that we understand the culture of each company we work with makes us drive disruptive changes. But we can only do this because we have the best talent, and this differentiates us from the rest. We can also see that today’s markets are undergoing profound transformation processes, where having committed partners who understand the needs and complexities of each sector is key. At the same time, we have a deep understanding of the technologies and their trends. This is our focus and what differentiates us.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.
At NTT DATA, we work with clear principles of innovation and with the idea of having the best people for each project, both professionally and personally. Our values are applied in every act we perform to provide opportunities for our professionals to explore new opportunities. In addition, we have passion and creativity in everything we do to give accurate answers in good times or as it happened during the pandemic.
We create an environment for people to express themselves and deliver new ideas, which helps us to be disruptive. There is also the fact that we are consistent and transparent with our teams and our customers. Currently, there are a lot of people talking, but doing little in our society. This is why we must be transparent with our teams and our clients, to be able to generate opportunities in which there is a space that allows us to provide more personalized services.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
Technology evolves every day to bring us different and better ways to change our lives. However, IT solutions will only be useful or successful if, in the end, new ways of working or interacting are adopted.
As NTT DATA, we help clients understand the technology implications in every process of their value chain, innovate by creating new offerings, and capture this value through cost optimizations or new revenue. Our impact is often greatest when we can work with people from different backgrounds to provide a holistic response to the problems faced by an organization.
A proper diagnosis of the problem, together with the most appropriate technology lever, allows our clients to capture the tremendous value that increases the productivity frontier of their industry and creates a competitive advantage. We love to offer these types of solutions to our clients.
What, according to you, could be the next significant change in your sector? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?
A change that is already happening and that will be more and more noticeable is the lack of professionals. Hence, as a company, we encourage and value the environment where our employees feel fulfilled, are happy, and are linked to contributing to millions of people and improving their quality of life with technology. This allows people to be more proactive and productive.
On the other hand, with all our information channels, the availability of information is overwhelming, so it is important to know how to use it correctly. For that, we must have the curiosity to listen, and the challenge is to provide our professionals with the tools to know how to interpret, relate, and manage all this information in a better way.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for NTT DATA?
Whenever they ask me about my future, I usually say that it evolves naturally from combining a vision and a higher purpose. This vision stems from my constant drive to improve daily and from being fortunate enough to be accompanied by incredibly talented professionals.
Establishing a new world of “what can be” is simultaneously very motivating but also hard. With every change, there is resistance; however, this is my passion, and I love feeling challenged by every new possible transition. I see myself taking on new and greater responsibilities, not only growing personally but also facilitating each colleague’s personal growth to face even more complex challenges.
Together with my team, I want to continue to prove that NTT DATA is the perfect partner to meet all technological challenges and, at the same time, create a better future and a more harmonious society. I strongly believe that only by bringing everyone together and leaving no one behind we will collectively be responsible players and enable progress.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the IT sector?
I love Disney’s book Leadership Strategies, which says that it’s not the magic that makes things work; it’s how we work that makes it magic. Entrepreneurs have to ensure that all people matter, give their teams a purpose and not just a job, and give them the ability to do what they love and know that despite the obstacles, you have to keep going and stay positive. The other thing is overcoming fears; having fears is a normal human reaction, but the key is managing that fear.
You also must be consistent, to have better teams and generate better alliances with your clients. In addition, you must create strong and diversified teams, as well as learn from your mistakes. For the same reason, you have to be open to receiving the feedback that is given to you, to learn constantly.