UCC strategic meeting: Global leadership with the client at the center

On March 13 and 14 in Viña del Mar, Chile, a group of UCC’s global and corporate leaders came together for a strategic planning session aimed at strengthening the company’s strategy around four key pillars: Clients, People, Sustainability and Processes.

For René Díaz, who took over as CEO in January of this year, “it was essential to have an alignment and planning meeting that integrates and builds a strong communication fabric with the leaders of each country, always keeping the customer at the center and acting as a global logistics provider offering effective solutions.”

One of the key highlights of the meeting was the participation of the Country Managers — the top executives of each UCC office — whose contributions are crucial both for shaping global strategies and for strengthening the operational relationships between subsidiaries.

Esteban Rodríguez, Country Manager of Costa Rica, shared: “This type of gathering allows us to learn from best practices in other offices and to understand how they handle different types of customers. This helps us standardize many processes, especially those related to customer service.”

Fernanda Canevaro, main executive in Peru, noted that the initiative is “crucial for each country, helping to optimize commercial strategy and identify opportunities for growth, innovation, and continuous improvement. This ensures the company remains competitive in a globalized environment.”

In the same line, Sonia Maíllo, Country Manager of UCC Iberia, remarked: “For our office, it’s important to share the challenges and needs we encounter in operations. By aligning around the same ideas and purpose, we’re able to offer that tailored solution our clients are looking for.”

Juan Fernando Montoya, the main executive of two of UCC’s newest offices—Colombia and the United States—said: “It’s truly rewarding to see how the operational capabilities developed in other countries, combined with a talented team, make a real difference and support the company’s future plans.”

Additionally, Ricardo Norambuena, COO and Acting Country Manager for Chile, pointed out that UCC faces “the challenge of optimizing technology and leveraging the information we have. Our market share gives us deep insight into client realities. However, clients today are exposed to much more information, which makes logistics more complex.”

René Díaz concluded that to meet these challenges, “we must rely on our second most important pillar: People. We need to maintain and develop teams with the best possible capabilities in every office. This is what will allow us to grow and evolve into the future.”