On the lighter side of things, we ask Carlos Kazuo, CEO at Keeptrue, what makes him tick.
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement?
The most memorable moment of my professional career was when I participated in the SAP Brazil project. At that time, I left the accounting control sector and migrated to the technology sector. It was a crucial moment because I learned ERP. Through this project, I also started understanding the technology market in Brazil.
What first made you think of a career in technology?
I decided to leave the accounting control sector and decided to become an ERP consultant.
Just before the Millennium Bug, I started to realize that companies were going to start looking for technological solutions, and this could enable a transformation of my career.
Soon after, I stopped working at Roche, a pharmaceutical company where I was in the accounting control sector and became an ERP consultant. From then on, I started my migration to the technology sector. It has been more than 20 years.
What style of management philosophy do you employ in your current position?
With the COVID-19 pandemic, business management became more complex due to the lack of face-to-face communication and the emergence of virtual meetings. Because of this, I needed to increase the freedom of managers to make their own decisions. We learned not only to have more control but also to follow the whole process within the company.
What do you think is the current hot technology conversation topic?
I have noticed that companies are increasingly looking at process automation, and we are calling this ‘End Training Process’.
I also see companies are starting to use data analytics to better analyze data using Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is a lot of talk about AI and how to use this technology in day-to-day tax and accounting.
How do you deal with stress and relax outside of the office?
I enjoy going to the countryside, to my farm, where I can walk and take care of my vegetable garden. I also like to relax by listening to music and watching my soccer team, Corinthians.
If you could go back and change one career decision, what would it be?
There are no decisions I would like to change, but I could have dedicated myself a little more to studying English. Although I participated in several international projects, this was always the most difficult part of my professional path because I did not always have fluent English.
What do you currently identify as the top investment areas in your industry?
In the corporate world, companies are increasingly looking to reduce costs – especially in the back-office areas. In this aspect, KeepTrue and other companies in the sector are focusing on the so-called ‘hyper-automation’ of back-offices. We realize that process automation is a subject that still has a lot of possibilities to be worked on.
What are the specific challenges of the region when implementing new technologies in Latin America?
Our automation and analytical solutions sector is innovating in some aspects. In Brazil, we are creating a tower to receive data from documents, and it will serve other Latin American countries. However, all countries in the region face the same problems: The difficulty in using AI to read documents and how to automate this input process in the ERPs. A large part of the work of the fiscal and accounting areas is in the process of receiving documents, where the greatest volume of problems are concentrated.
What changes have you seen in your job role in the last year, and how do you think they will develop in the next 12 months?
All sectors have undergone changes in the last few years, such as adjusting and being able to work in the virtual world because of the pandemic. The big challenge was to get used to this new model, especially in our area that required face-to-face contact.
We have now gotten used to this new reality and are making our environment more and more hybrid.
We are prioritizing face-to-face meetings and leaving the virtual world only when it is really necessary. I believe that the hybrid working model is our future.
What advice would you give someone aspiring to a C-level position in your industry?
Finding a C-level position can be challenging. Knowing the local market and understanding how to conquer it is essential. It is necessary to analyze all the market conditions so that it is possible to sell products and stand out among the other companies.
Usually, professionals have great product ideas but no knowledge of how to take them to the market. I believe that anyone who is seeking a C-level position has to keep this in mind.
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