Animus 2018: Camille Burckhart - "Disrupting mindsets to challenge expectations"

The title of my talk is 'Managing Expectations.' I'm following Monica Puig, oh my god, so let's see if I can keep you awake and interested after such an inspiring talk. I was crying like a fool, I think every time I see that video and hear her speak live. I'm super grateful to be here today. I thank the 100, Carlos, for believing in me and thinking this could be a cool and interesting moment for all of you. It also fills me with pride that my mom introduced me, because even though for many years I wanted to be the rebel against her and not follow in her footsteps, guess what? I ended up at Popular Bank, being an executive just like her. So I thought it was super appropriate that she introduce me.

When I was a little girl, my dream was to be a scientist. First I wanted to be an astronaut. I realized that was a bit difficult. Then I wanted to be an archaeologist. I went to an archaeology class, found two or three worms, and decided that wasn't for me. And although I ended up studying finance, possibly lost somewhere between space and earth, I studied finance because it seemed like a neutral thing, not because I wanted to work in a bank. But in my third year of college, I took a class that blew my mind, it was about technology. Technology was what really got me interested in a profession. I said, with this you can do whatever you want, this is magnificent. But as you can imagine, as I told you yesterday, a bit rebellious, I said, wait, work at Popular Bank? That's not necessarily what I want to do, because it was my mom's reality. However, in a summer job, I found in the bank a space where I could really enjoy being part of the future, not just of a company, but of how an industry and even a country is being shaped. And since I started at Popular developing digital strategies, it was quite swimming against the current, which was precisely what I liked to do. I remember when I mentioned it, they really didn't take us seriously. The golden standard was the telephone banking, and the digital channel was like this alternative channel. In fact, we were called alternative channels. I remember the first mobile app we launched was in 2002, and you don't know how many people used it: 15. And the team was like five, generously. Nobody basically. Clearly iPhones didn't exist, and using mobile banking on something like this was the least user-friendly thing in the universe. But the bank trusted us, and we had leaders who said, go ahead, experiment, do it. And I realized that innovation and technology were part of Popular's DNA and the philosophy of how things were done. That's why today, I hope no one here remembers, but there was a thing called 'aguas rodantes' in the 50s, the bank also created the ATH network, things that are now a mega part of our lives. And thanks to being in a company like this, I had the opportunity to develop digital strategies that, as many of you know, have become something we use every day. Also, being part of the co-creation of things like ATH Móvil together with the people from Evertec, and those are things that, as I told you at the beginning, being part of the change of an industry, really enjoying how things are done. I always lament going to the market square and being able to buy a smoothie with ATH Móvil, and it just fascinates me. That's what really caught my attention. And that's how my journey began to become more of my mother's daughter than I ever imagined.

But when I started in the digital world, I hadn't realized that I would end up working in technology for the rest of my career, and even less that I would become a CIO and CDO, and on top of that, I didn't study computer engineering, and I was a woman. So I felt like a square peg in a round hole. It was like, one of these things is not like the others. But in a short time, I realized that what made our team do such cool things and have such a cool dynamic—and I hope all the girls from Popular here feel the same—was that we were a super diverse group. Today, the person who manages all of Popular's systems, who is back there, Sandra, is a lawyer and studied political science. The one who manages the bank's operations, a financier, a banker. The musician, me. Mariel, who manages our first fintech, ATH. And Regis, who you can't see there but many of you know who he is, the architect. So as you can see, we are not the typical executives you would expect to see in a bank. But that's what has made our team unique, and it's what makes our culture one where we encourage challenging the status quo. And why is this way of thinking important? Because change is the only constant. Who would have imagined that companies like Kodak, like Blockbuster—I imagine most of the audience here remembers those companies—would be completely displaced by models of doing things totally differently? Not a company that simply competed with them, but someone who decided to do something in a completely different way. And who would have imagined that Uber would move more people in a city like New York City, known for its yellow cabs, and that Airbnb would become the largest hospitality company without owning a single room? Therefore, technology and using this technology to disrupt models is not only important for the companies where all of you work to be successful, but for them to survive and remain relevant in the future. I believe that today and in the future, all companies will be mini technology companies in one way or another, either because the technological advances ahead of us will force us to use those models to manage and evolve our companies, or because the use of the data we have will present us with a quantity of insights that we will have to manage. That's why I always say we have to invite our children to study whatever they want. What we need are people who learn, who know how to think, who stand over the problem, who challenge the status quo, who know how to work with other types of people with different backgrounds. Because those soft skills are as important as the hard skills. I love engineers, and if I'm going to cross a bridge, I want to make sure an engineer built it. But you're still wondering, what does all this have to do with how I got to where I am? Clearly, after seeing Monica Puig, where I am now, I still have a long way to go and a thousand dreams I haven't started to achieve. But I confess that sometimes people ask me, and many times I'm not very sure of the answer. But I did want to leave you with four things that have helped me a lot and that might help some of you.

The first is to celebrate that you are a woman. You are unique. It doesn't matter how we dress, how we are, if we wear big earrings, if we wear flashy things, if we like to wear sneakers. What's more important is that you are who you are, and that you don't have to force yourself to fit a profile to survive in a man's world. When a year ago I asked all my colleagues how they understood my contribution as the only woman in the group—now we are two, Betina is also around, so at least we are two in the group—surprisingly, they told me a lot of qualities where they understood I contributed that had nothing to do with being a woman. That made me think a bit. The reality is that although gender obviously determines a lot of who you are and how you are, and you should celebrate it, it should never overshadow your real characteristics that make you contribute. One important thing I always like to say is that I'm never fully content that I've seen more men in this audience than last year. We have to keep fostering this. This is not a war of men versus women. We all want to work together to achieve things. Number two: believe in yourself. Monica said this earlier, and I loved it. Even though I thought, well, she stole my niche, but I couldn't change it. So believe in yourself. I was fortunate to be raised by parents who always taught me that whatever I set my mind to, I could achieve. I also had the fortune of having bosses who believed in me. But I think one of the most important things is that you convince yourselves. Look in the mirror and say, of course I can do it. Because no matter how big the idea you have in front of you, if you believe it, you will be able to convince others that it can be done. Number three: build a team. You can't do this alone, both in personal life and professional life. In personal life, I am like many of you. I am a mom, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a godmother, a lot of things. We play many roles. But at the end of the day, that perfect balance that people ask me about, how do you do it, how do you achieve that balance? There is never a perfect balance. It's impossible to do everything. But you have to choose those moments where you really have to be present, and in other moments, delegate. There's a book I love called 'Drop the Ball.' Sometimes you have to create new things, there are things you won't be able to do. And in the professional world, the same applies. You have to trust your team, create a team, recruit people who are better than you. Don't be afraid of that, because as your people grow, you grow as a leader. And number four: don't take it personally. Let's be realistic. Our lives and jobs are incredibly complicated. In my case, when a system goes down, sometimes we paralyze the country. We're on the front page. So it's not cool. And the things people say to you in that moment, believe me, are not nice, no matter how many nice things you've done before. But at the end of the day, the important thing is not to take it personally. It's not about you. People get upset and uncomfortable. So as I tell my kids, the best thing God made is one day after another. If you had a bad day, get up, because the next day will be better. So I leave you with a thought: we spend all our lives growing, learning, teaching, working, enjoying, having fun, teaching our children, doing different things, solving problems. But the most important thing is never forget to dream, because the crazy ones who think they can change the world are the ones who really will. Thank you all very much.