Get To Know: Hubert da Costa, SVP and GM EMEA, Cybera
Hubert da Costa, SVP and GM EMEA for Cybera

Get To Know: Hubert da Costa, SVP and GM EMEA, Cybera

We caught up with Cybera’s SVP and GM EMEA, Hubert da Costa, to find out what makes him tick…

What would you describe as your most memorable achievement?

My first million dollar order or cutting the tape at the first international office I set up from scratch, located outside of America, in the EMEA region.

What first made you think of a career in technology?

My love and inquisitiveness of all things tech. It inspires me to see how we can and have progressed. It touches every facet of our lives from social to commercial and health and helps progress us as human beings. It sounds corny, but all the above made me crave a career in tech and to be a part of that progressiveness and know that I have contributed to a brighter future.

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position?

Lead from the front but also ensure everyone in my immediate and extended teams have a mandate to deliver in the most creative honest way possible. If they make a mistake, that’s okay as long as it was made with the correct behaviour. Just learn from that mistake and move on. Basically, ‘do’ – don’t wait for permission or to be spoon-fed. Once I’ve set the vision and mission as the ‘ready’ and ‘set’…. let’s just GO.

What do you think will emerge as the technology trend of 2019 and why?

As we evolve from the core to the edge and then cloud, we’ve almost gone full circle from having the intelligence in the core (mainframes) to where we are located (laptops and mobiles with high-end processors and mega storage) and now the cloud, meaning we don’t need the storage in our hands anymore. So, while we see that develop, SD-WAN will come to the fore for sure and in turn, enable technology to hyper accelerate into areas we didn’t see as agile in the past, like legal, PS, manufacturing and most of all, healthcare with biotechnology.

What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry?

Cloud and most of all, security.

How do you deal with stress and unwind outside of the office?

Associate with all things that make me smile – my dog mostly, so walking, swimming and playing with her. Lately, after spending a long time in the wilderness, I enjoy watching Liverpool play football.

If you could go back and change one career decision, what would it be?

Nothing. Everything I have done in my career has given me the grounding, experience and ability to deal with the next role, which has always been a bigger role. So even analysing the difficult companies I’ve been in, that was always a learning for me in how to handle a given situation, making the next bigger role even easier.

What are the region-specific challenges when implementing new technologies in Europe?

Location, language and culture. The primary thing to always embrace when expanding geographically is it’s always about local execution – that helps you assimilate in-country very quickly and fast tracks you through the language and cultural roadblocks you will inevitably face by running your business remotely.

What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months?

Bringing an established business from America and launching it in EMEA and APAC has seen me go back to my roots. You have to get involved in everything as you start the team – from sales, to channel, to marketing, technical, finance, operations, HR and even facilities. So it hasn’t been boring that’s for sure. As the next 12 months evolve and Cybera grows in sales, stature and brand, I’d expect to see the role being more structured than ubiquitous.

What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain C-level position in your industry?

Lead from the front. Ensure your vision, mission and goals are crisp and clear, trust your team to deliver these and ensure they know you always have their back so they are free to execute and enjoy their roles.

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