Apparently they are two friends who sit on a couch to chat. But they are also co-workers in one of Telefónica’s most innovative departments, the data unit (CDO). María García Gutiérrez, director of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Privacy Products, and Mercedes Jiménez López, director of Data Transformation and Advance Analytics, are part of the soul of Kernel, the digital heart driven by artificial intelligence (AI) of Telefónica where they are standardized and They curate the data that, guaranteeing privacy, is generated in the company, and one of the key technological pillars of its digital transformation.
Theirs are two profiles that destroy the well-worn stereotype that women shy away from technical careers and that technology is great for them. “As a telecommunications engineer (she studied at the ESADE Deusto University in Bilbao) I know what it is like to be in a minority in class, when we are only 10% of the students. But women have a lot to say in technology. In fact, here we are both, leading the challenge of digital transformation,” emphasizes García Gutiérrez.
She joined Telefónica Spain as an intern in the data warehouse department. “I never thought I would get to where I am. “You never imagine yourself as a leader,” she humbly acknowledges, remembering those timid first steps in one of the largest technology companies in the world. That was more than 19 years ago, during which she has worked in the areas of BI-Big Data, AI and Market Research.
Their job consists of capturing customer insights and translating them into business decisions, always ensuring the privacy of the data generated by Telefónica’s customers when they use its products and services. “I like challenges. I am one of those who never give up on anything, I am always looking for a way out of the next problem. I am inspired by the fighting spirit of my grandmother María Luisa, my mother’s mother. Like many others of her generation, she experienced an exodus from the rural world to go to work in industry in Bilbao. When I encounter a difficulty I always think what she would do,” she points out.
Mercedes Jiménez López, director of Data Transformation and Advance Analytics, is not one to have references, she follows her own model, but she has been lucky to have key people in her life who have always supported her, giving her strength to seek new paths , among them his family and his boss, who gave him the opportunity to develop a technical career at a managerial level: “It’s not what they tell you, it’s how they look at you when they tell you. I will always remember the image of my beloved math teacher giving me a prize. The way she looked at me at that moment, happy for me, because anything was possible,” she declares.
Although she was not aware of it at the time, over time she has realized that many women face their professional careers with the handbrake on. “We unconsciously have gender biases. Sometimes we set invisible limits for ourselves, or we simply believe that those limits are immovable. Curiously, those who have helped me be aware of this bias have been male bosses. That’s why I know that we have to be attentive, detect these biases and help more women develop their leadership, not only in their personal lives but also in management positions.”
His career, like that of García Gutiérrez, also passes through different departments of Telefónica: marketing and business, finance and, finally, through the CDO area at an international level. “I am super proud of what we have achieved with Kernel. We are a great transatlantic: it costs a lot to turn, but we have made it turn and it no longer stops at all,” she declares, satisfied to participate in a project that has become the fundamental piece for the development of Telefónica’s digital home services.
He graduated in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid, has a Master’s degree in Finance from ICADE and PDD from IESE and has learned about technology working alongside the best. His daily life is looking into a future that is already present. The design of data transformation passes through his hands to enhance the Analytical and Artificial Intelligence capabilities in the Telefónica Group in a scalable way. His mission: explore new ways to combine data to understand customers better and make the company offer services or products more relevant to them. “Society is experiencing enormous change. Technology is transforming our way of life. Without Kernel, without the heart that allows us to function as a digitally native company, we would not be able to address the challenges and opportunities of the future,” he declares.
They are not empty words. The formerly known as ‘Telefónica’s fourth platform’ articulates an ecosystem of its own and third-party products and services around communications (My Movistar, Smart Wifi, Secure Connection), gaming (Game Pass, Fortnite), e-commerce (Rakuten, Amazon), television and video (Netflix, Disney Plus), energy (Solar360), security (Movistar Prosegur Alarmas) or financial services (Movistar Money), among others.
García Gutiérrez uses an aeronautical metaphor to represent the complexity of his sector. “We are changing the plane in flight, we cannot stop. The company continues and we are transforming it,” he points out. She remembers that as a child she dreamed of being a doctor. Or scientific. Or perhaps she will dedicate herself to something related to technical drawing, with the ability to create structures where others only see a blank piece of paper.
Perhaps that is why he earned the title of yacht skipper, because, after all, the sea is like a large canvas where everything is yet to be drawn. “On the one hand you have the guidelines established by the nautical charts and regulations. On the other hand, the sea is unpredictable and you have to solve the problems it poses as you go. One of my best experiences was years ago skirting the coasts of Ibiza and Formentera with my husband. I really want to repeat it with my children. They are still small, I have to wait a little, but I really want to pass on this exciting challenge to them,” he confesses.
While remembering those childhood fantasies of becoming a doctor, Jiménez López smiles and shows a book about Ramón y Cajal. “At 8-9 years old, medicine was my passion. I had this book on the nightstand and I reread it over and over again,” she declares, amused. But the dream of seeing yourself handling a scalpel or a stethoscope is not the only point of union between both directives. “I am also passionate about the sea, like María, but for scuba diving. And tennis. I love laying out a play and directing how you want the game to go,” she notes.
In the game of life, he recognizes that he is where he wanted to be, although getting there has not been a bed of roses: “I would say to my self from yesterday that all the fight and effort during all these years have been worth it,” he concludes. García Gutiérrez adds to that message for his past self: “I would tell him to keep thinking up things, looking for solutions. If you fail, you get up, but keep going, because in the end something promising always awaits you.”
Both women have forged a career in a territory until recently with a markedly masculine character, but where the unstoppable talent of women like them is increasingly making its way with more force. Tenacious women of extraordinary worth who end up leading multidisciplinary and plurinational teams and directing strategic projects for Telefónica.
