IAOP Chapter: Central America

The last meeting was a collaborative effort with the Governance Chapter on August 7, 2009!

The last meeting of the IAOP Central America Chapter hosted by Chris Disher & Associates was held as a joint virtual meeting with the IAOP Governance Chapter which is chaired by Vantage Partners. It was held on Friday, August 7, 2009 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Chapter chairs Danny Ertel of Vantage Partners and Chris Disher of Chris Disher & Associates discussed “Managing Cultural Differences in Offshore Relationships.” The meeting opened with a few comments from the chapter chairs about outsourcing governance and then they shared results from the Vantage Partners Offshoring Relationship Management study to set up a discussion on the following questions: What are the most significant cultural differences between customers and providers in Central America offshoring relationships? How do those differences impact the challenges customers and providers face in managing their Central America offshoring relationships? What mechanisms are most effective for managing cultural differences and challenges?

Three special panelists shared their experiences on how customers and providers in Latin America offshoring relationships can effectively manage cultural differences.

Panelists:
Steve Rudderham, VP - Client Engagement, Capgemini
Mauricio Velasquez, Commercial and BDVP, Teledatos S.A.
Julia V. Santos, Director- Worldwide Strategic Outsourcing, Johnson & Johnson Group of Consumer Companies

Stay tuned for next meeting plans!

IAOP members wishing to attend the next meeting please email our chapter coordinator, Amanda Corbett at amanda.corbett@outsourcingprofessional.org

If you are not as yet a member of IAOP and would like a guest pass for the meeting, please Request a Guest Pass.

IAOP Members:

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Meeting held April 23 & 24, 2009 in Guatemala! 

This meeting of the IAOP Central America Chapter, chaired by Chris Disher of Chris Disher & Associates was held on April 23 & 24, 2009 at the Hotel Vista Real in Guatemala City and hosted by Invest in Guatemala. 

Following a similar format to the first meeting, this day-long meeting on April 23 included lunch and a networking session. Our program featured the following diplomats and industry leaders. Rafael Espada, Vice President of Guatemala, Michael F. Corbett, chairman of IAOP, Chris Disher, president of Chris Disher & Associates, Don Althoff, EVP of Flex Fuel, Estuardo Robles, principal advisor of Roaring Jaguar, Roger Conrado, president and CEO of GVC Partners, Lori Blackman, president of DNL Global, Steve Rudderham, president of Genpact Latin America, Mario Lopez, director with Transactel, Nina Kawalek, CEO of RCCSP Education Alliance and David S. Anderson, CEO of The Utopia Group.

Thanks for joining us on April 24 as well, when Transactel, 24/7 Customer, Genpact and Universidad Rafael Landivar O Marroquin provided tours of various call center sites.

Chairman’s Summary: Inaugural Meeting – September 10-12, 2008

The Central American Chapter opened in Managua. I do want to thank everyone for their involvement in making the inaugural event such a success. We enjoyed the participation of over 100 people from over 80 companies and over a dozen countries. The media also covered the event on television and in the local papers.

A special thank you to our keynote speaker, Dr. Arie Lewin, from The Duke University CIBER program. Dr. Lewin released his newest data from the Offshoring Research Network. In sharing the input from over 1600 companies, Dr. Lewin concluded that offshoring of work is now a core agenda item for C-Suite executives and a core component of global strategy. These observations formed the foundation for our discussion as we explored the opportunities for further development of the outsourcing and offshoring industry in the region.

Our panelists, John Hammitt from Quickstart Global, Steve Rudderham from Genpact, Nevres Genc from Transactel, and Val Vandegrift from Sitel provided insights on the implications of Dr. Lewin's findings and conclusions.  Professor Bill Sax from Duke University and Lori Blackman of DNL Global and  Human Capital Chapter chair, drove discussions on the priorities and potential programs for human capital development in the region.

Javier Chamorro, Executive Director and our host from ProNicaragua, also spoke about the needs in the Region. He pledged support to our chapter mission through assistance in Region-wide collaboration.

Pro Nicaragua also hosted a tour of BPO facilities at Almori, Sitel, and Chris Marlett's new technology park. We learned about the University system in Nicaragua during a presentation by Dr. Happle and Dr. Ernesto Medina of the American University in Managua (UAM).

Our Chapter will now focus on the number one priority for the industry in the region; human capital development and sustainable industry growth through a robust pipeline of qualified labor.