Luis Guardado is a highly engaged professional with 14 years of proven experience leading Project Management Offices (PMO) across the globe, serving in different multinationals such as HSBC, TELUS, United Nations, and Onelink.
Unveiling a Game-Changing Journey
Currently, Luis is serving as Vice-President of the Group EPMO (Global Strategy Execution) and keeping his role as Vice-President of EPMO and Solutioning for the Americas Region at Webhelp™. He supports the Corporate Strategy design and assures a flawless execution of the Regional Strategic Portfolio, in addition to leading the Pre-sales, Business Development, Solutioning, and Digital Transformation endeavors.
He has earned mastery in Business Administration, Innovation and Finance, Project Rescue, and Recovery expert. Wearing many hats and fulfilling the roles successfully, he is also an International Speaker and University Teacher providing Strategy, Portfolio and Project Management, Business Development, Design Thinking, Leadership, and Neurosemantic lectures. Currently, Luis is pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy.
Luis also represents several boards in educational institutions and NGOs dedicated to promoting knowledge sharing, entrepreneurial efforts, and social assistance to disadvantaged communities. Additionally, he is the Founder and President of the PMOex (PMO Excellence Center), an NGO dedicated to giving back to its community of professionals by serving as a link to global knowledge networks and world-class education.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GLOBAL PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
• TEDx San Salvador, Board member since 2011
• ESEN University, Advisory Board member since 2013
• UCA University, Advisory Board member since 2013
• PMO Global Alliance, Global Awards judging committee, since 2022
• PMO Global Alliance, President El Salvador Hub, since 2022
• PMOEx, Founder and President, since 2022
• The PMO Leader, Advisory Board member since 2022
• Stakeholders.News – Specialized Magazine, Central America Ambassador 2023
• Service Management Institute, Central America and The Caribbean Director, since 2023
Best in class Recognitions
Undoubtedly, 2021 proved to be a pivotal year for Luis and EPMO’s team and the professional community in their country, El Salvador. The company was fortunate to participate in esteemed competitions within the global knowledge community emphasizing the advancement of “Portfolio, Program, and Project Management.” As a result, it proudly secured several notable recognitions, including “Best PMO of the Americas” by the PMOGA™; “Best Project Manager of the Americas” by CCW™, and “Best PMO in LATAM” by BRPO™.
Apart from it, Luis was RANKED #2 IN THE WORLD – Best Project Manager, Issued by Contact Center World Association in Feb 2022.
In 2022, it earned recognition as one of the “Top PMO Leaders of the Year” worldwide by the PMOGA™, as one of the “Top Disruptive Leaders to Watch” by Tycoon Magazine, and in 2023 as one of “Most Influential Masterminds to Follow in 2023” by CIO Today Magazine and as a one the “Top Revolutionary Business Leaders Everyone Should Know” by CIO Times Magazine.
Additionally, this year, Luis has been awarded the highest award worldwide for expert professionals in Corporate Strategy and PMO management, “Best PMO Leader in America,” being part of the select group of best professionals worldwide, “The best of the best”. This recognition has been granted by the most prestigious knowledge institute in the world for professionals in these branches, “PMO Global Alliance ™.”
The Spirit of Service
The recipe for generating value as an EPMO within Webhelp is based on three fundamental principles.
- “Keep it simple,” allowing the company to develop adaptability and flexibility and ensure scalability while continuing to focus on generating the expected value for the business.
- “Putting People First,” which enables them to focus on what matters, the personal well-being of the entire team.
- To act as a “One Stop Shop,” facilitating the organization’s transformation through the multiple services offered by the EPMO, acting as “Goalkeepers” that ensure the execution of the Corporate Strategy.
A Conscious and Connected Leader
As a distinguished leader, Luis recognizes that focusing on the roots of human behavior, both in society and business, allows one to anticipate and calculate with a surprising degree of accuracy how others will react to the plans, impulses, and beliefs. Developing human management models focused on understanding and accepting diversity in people allows one to take advantage of the most significant potential of companies and their collective ability to think and create. His focus has always been on teamwork, team spirit, and focus on the wellbeing of the game-changers.
In this sense, Luis proposes a new dimension within this holistic vision, a more human one and therefore more complex, a dimension that, if ignored, can generate many difficulties within the Implementation process of any strategy, even the best structured one.
Focusing on the “Well-being of People” is taking care of their happiness, understanding what makes them smile, what sustains them, their set of beliefs, and their daily gasoline; is to build excellence from a sustainable model that puts the happiness of employees first, where people go first, people second, and people third.
Luis is a recognized influential figure in the Global community of PMO experts. He is honored to earn this recognition, and over the years has maintained utmost integrity in fulfilling the many responsibilities of the role.
Luis adds, “Thanks for the compliment; I appreciate it. As a professional from such a small and developing country, it has been an honor that I have taken great responsibility. A few months ago, we reflected with some colleagues from the team, and we thought, “What great blessings. Why us?” After a few minutes, the question changed and became to a What for? And the answer we agreed on was: To serve, to make our gifts available and give back to the society of our country, wherever they need us.“
The Art of Knowledge Sharing
Luis has been a university professor in different educational institutions for many years. He is passionate about teaching and knowledge sharing and sees it as a virtuous activity.
Luis believes education is a gift, perhaps one of the greatest ones. Education is the ultimate ticket to success. He has been entrusted with opportunities that have allowed him to care for his family.
Teachers share their understanding and way of being. They transmit values and inspire you to be better; they facilitate your learning and enhance your skills; they give all of themselves in the classroom and make their work a true vocation of service. Certainly, a very noble role in protecting multiple aspects of society, such as culture, academia, and social welfare.
Apart from teaching, Luis is a lifelong learner, who thoroughly practices what he preaches. He is convinced that, for the professional of the future, stopping learning is a “non-negotiable”; in his particular case, studying amuses him a lot. Certainly, much of what he studies and researches is related to the knowledge areas in which he works, but other than that, since he was a teenager, he was inquisitive and a fan of philosophy.
A little over two years ago, Luis started his Ph.D. in “History of Philosophy,” and lately, he is enjoying it a lot. Of course, he is not the most outstanding student in his classes but imagines how much fun it is for an Industrial Engineer to speak with Anthropologists, Sociologists, and Philosophers who have been contributing to these areas of study for years.
An Overview of PMOex
The recognitions obtained in 2021 and 2022 strengthened Luis’s desire to put his knowledge and experience at the service of the community. That is why he and his team created the First Center of Excellence in Latin America, specializing in PMOs and Corporate Strategy. Its primary purpose stems from its responsibility to impact the societies in which it could grow and develop. The goal it wants to achieve is to provide its community of professionals with new development opportunities, linking them with global networks of knowledge and training. PMOex issure that by increasing the competitiveness of human talent, it is impacting a critical edge for economic growth in its country and Latin America.
Its Center of Excellence has initiated the establishment of synergies with a carefully selected group of strategic partners. Through close collaboration, it strives to enhance the competitiveness of its human talent by providing them with top-notch education and valuable professional experiences. Through strong connections with renowned higher education institutions within the country and prestigious specialized knowledge institutes worldwide, its PMO Excellence Center has successfully trained approximately 1,300 young Salvadorans. These individuals have acquired corporate strategy, portfolio management, and project management expertise, with at least 40% pursuing careers directly related to project management. It also takes pride in the success stories of professionals who have secured positions in foreign companies representing El Salvador. Its young talents actively participate in designing and coordinating international leadership gatherings specifically focused on PMOs.
More about El Salvador’s Current State and Progress
El Salvador, a small nation located in Central America, boasts a strategic geographical position that facilitates global connectivity. With 321 kilometers of the Pacific Ocean coastline, seaports, 17 free zones, and several special regimes offering attractive tax incentives, El Salvador can become a leading business destination in Central America and Latin America. However, there are still significant challenges to overcome on this path.
In this context, El Salvador’s most valuable asset in achieving this goal lies within its human capital. With over 23,000 new technicians and professionals entering the job market annually, the country benefits from a young workforce, with 55% of the population under 40. Furthermore, 21% of graduates specialize in STEAM careers, encompassing fields related to science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Salvadoran talent has increasingly occupied leadership positions in global companies, championing successful strategies that adhere to the highest quality and productivity standards worldwide.
Luis fondly states, “In our experience, we have also played a role in advancing new benchmarks of excellence in Project Management.”
Turning a Dream Project into Reality
“Memento Mori” is a Latin phrase that recalls the mortality of human beings and the transience of life; Luis and the team decided to name this new project that way. “MM” is an interview format program that will launch in 2024 for an American communication network; currently it is just finishing recording the first season.
“MM” is a space to share with exceptional human beings and devotees to service who seek to leave a better world than they found, honoring life with purpose. Additionally, the program includes special guests with whom Luis and the team will discuss philosophical topics, books, and more than one music lover.