CIO Edge Mexico Speaker Insights With Pedro Martinez – CIO Americas at Edenred
In the build-up to our CIO & CISO Edge Mexico event on the 31st of May in Mexico City, we will be sharing some speaker interviews from our distinguished lineup of CIOs, CISOs & IT leaders, next up is Pedro Martinez, CIO Americas at Edenred, Pedro will be presenting a talk on our CIO Edge track at our event themed “Transformation During Disruption”, CIOs, CISOs, and IT leaders can check the event agenda & reserve a free event pass here:
CIO Edge Mexico – What are your main responsibilities as the CIO of Edenred in the Americas?
PM- My current role is to provide technology services that permit our growth ambition sustainably. We must ensure a 24×7 efficient operation, with scalable infrastructure and proactive operations monitoring. We provide a secure and compliant environment protecting the interests of our users and communities where we work. We offer the best technical architecture to simplify the embedded complexity of our markets and channel the innovation that will have our solutions always ahead of the competition.
CIO Edge Mexico – Can you briefly describe an Edenred mission in the Americas for those who do not already know?
PM- We are a leading digital platform for people at work, connecting over 52 million users and more than 2 million partner merchants in 45 countries via approximately 950,000 corporate clients. And then, how you need to go deeper to explain all the services that we offer, from those focused-on employee benefits (restaurant, supermarket, culture, or home office) to the ones on mobility (from commuting to gasoline, maintenance, and integral fleet management) and the ones in the digital payment ecosystem (including personalised cards, processing, authorising or acquiring Point of Sales)
Our strategic plan aims to generate sustainable and double digit-profitable growth for the company in all our regions under a powerful purpose, to enrich connections and enhance the experience of users, corporate clients and partner merchants in the workplace well-being and incentives, fleet and mobility and corporate payments segments. And knowing that we can only make this ambition possible with the best use of top technology resonates with our #techforgood motto.
As part of its Beyond22-25 strategic plan, which places the ESG dimension at the heart of all its actions, Edenred has announced accelerating its extra-financial commitments. In line with SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative) standards, the Group has committed to net zero carbon by 2050. It has also stepped up the objectives of its Ideal policy, to become, by 2030, an employer of choice and a trustworthy Company for Good through its solutions that encourage more virtuous and responsible behaviours linked to food and mobility
CIO Edge Mexico – As you are responsible for enabling the digital transformation within the company, what are your key priorities, and which challenges are you facing?
PM- In two ways, for one, our team also creates and maintains all the system layers that transversally can be used for all our businesses, looking for the efficiency of scale and focusing our creative teams on customer-oriented best experiences. The other is the best management of our most powerful asset, the data we manage with our customers, users, and merchants. Ensuring proper quality management permits us to use it for internal use cases (from customer churn management to merchant insights that we embed in our offers or administer our pricing), but also to create data-powered solutions that help our customers to make their best choices as users of our applications.
CIO Edge Mexico – In your opinion, what are the leading global digital trends across the financial industry?
PM- We live in times of aggregation of intertwined global digital trends across the financial industry:
- Digital Transformation: The financial industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation, with traditional financial institutions adopting digital technologies to enhance their services, improve operational efficiency, and stay competitive in the digital age.
- Fintech Innovation: Financial technology (fintech) companies continue to disrupt the industry by leveraging technology to offer innovative financial products and services. This includes digital payment solutions, robot advisors, peer-to-peer lending platforms, and blockchain-based applications.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and ML technologies are being deployed to improve various aspects of the financial industry. They are used for fraud detection and prevention, credit scoring, risk assessment, customer service automation, and personalised financial recommendations.
- Big Data Analytics: Financial institutions leverage big data analytics to gain insights into customer behaviour, market trends, and risk management. They use advanced analytics techniques to process large volumes of data and make data-driven decisions.
- Open Banking: Open banking initiatives are being implemented worldwide, allowing customers to share their financial data securely with authorised third-party providers. This enables the development of new financial services and fosters competition among financial institutions.
- Cybersecurity: As digital transactions increase, the importance of cybersecurity also grows. Financial institutions invest heavily in cybersecurity measures to protect customer data, prevent cyber-attacks, and comply with regulatory requirements.
CIO Edge Mexico – Which prospective projects are you conducting?
PM- I am blessed with a comprehensive portfolio of initiatives in the region that ensures that if you love working at Tech, you will find the perfect spot for doing what you love! I will exemplify two cases, “Go Hub” is a Data-powered fleet management platform that integrates all necessary services in a single solution and source of truth. And a great example of a solution is having our customers at the centre of what they need, applying data analytics with a flawless user experience. This product was ideated in Brazil. We are implementing our roadmap to use it in all the countries where Edenred is presently focused on the sustainable growth we ambition.
The other example is deploying a new Service Desk and Field Services model for our Americas Region with our new partnership with “Kyndril”. The objective is to standardise our operations support for the prompt, personal and effective response that all our Edenred team needs. We want that the service we deliver internally mimics the one we provide in our customer satisfaction centres for our solutions, having a flawless digital workplace that avoids most of the potential issues and, when happening, solves them most effectively.
CIO Edge Mexico – What are the keystones when building a successful Digital Strategy? In your opinion, what is the end point of transformation and what do you think are the key steps CIOs must take to get there?
PM- When building a successful digital strategy, several critical components can contribute to its effectiveness. Here are some keystones to consider: Clear Vision and Objectives of the Business; Customer-Centric Approach; Data-Driven Insights; Omni-Channel Experience; Agile and Iterative Approach; Collaboration and Partnerships; Talent and Skills Development; Robust Technology Infrastructure; Continuous Evaluation and Optimization; and Change Management and Communication.
Remember that each organisation’s digital strategy may vary based on its unique circumstances and goals. It’s essential to tailor your approach to your business needs and continuously adapt to the evolving digital landscape.
CIO Edge Mexico- In your experience, do you face skill gaps in IT? What can you advise other CIOs to overcome it?
PM- In the current scenario, organisations face several bottlenecks and challenges when trying to find and contract tech talents. Some of the main ones include intense competition; evolving skill requirements; high salary expectations; cultural fit and team dynamics; time constraints; and lack of diversity.
To mitigate these bottlenecks, organisations can take several steps, such as: building strong employer branding and showcasing an attractive company culture to appeal to tech professionals; developing partnerships with educational institutions, coding boot camps, and industry associations to tap into emerging talent; offering competitive compensation packages and attractive benefits to attract and retain tech talent; leveraging remote work options or flexible working arrangements to expand the pool of potential candidates; among other actions.
CIO Edge Mexico – What technological areas does Edenred prioritise in 2023 for the Mexican and LATAM markets?
PM – We are doubling the bet on our data transformation: Edenred global data teams lead Goup’s data transformation and will power our new strategic plan, BEYOND 22-25, that has just been unveiled. The Edenred Data Platform, built on Microsoft Azure cloud Technology, is connected to over 50 sources of data, among which over 1 billion transactions each year. Thanks to more than 150 practitioners in the Americas (data analysts, data scientists, data engineers, and product managers) worldwide, data is a business reality for Edenred, allowing us to drive growth, improve business excellence, and encompass data-powered solutions.
CIO Edge Mexico – What can the attending delegates expect from your talk at our CIO Edge Mexico event on the 31st of May?
PM- You can expect a dynamic conversation and the presentation of a successful case that is little known in the market but with great results showing the added value technology can bring to the business.
CISO Edge Mexico – Thank you for your industry insights Pedro, to sign up for the event clink below, to enquire about speaker or sponsorship opportunities for our events contact us here: