A critical look at the future and AI.
Interview with Diego San Esteban, Commercial Director of N5, a leading fintech in Latin America.
The world to come is mysterious to a large part of us. AI and the artifices it will be able to create will change our reality forever. Therefore, the possibility of interviewing a Systems Engineer from USAL, who has worked on the transformation of the financial industry and in public and private institutions from technological implementation and human development, is one more way to probe the future. Especially because, beyond his technical tasks, he will be directly involved in the construction of the future as a trainer of professionals in the area.
- The training led you to study at national and foreign universities and the work made you a financial industry advisor, university professor, but also a writer. Authors usually have “vital themes”, that is, themes that obsess them and make them write a lot, so as never to exhaust the restlessness. What would you say is yours?
I write because I am passionate about observing and accompanying processes of transformation. What drives me is helping to build bridges between strategy, technology and people. Writing, for me, is a way of collaborating, of putting into words what sometimes, in a meeting, remains floating without being named. My vital theme is this: how real change occurs in organizations, without losing what already works. How it transforms without breaking. It is my way of contributing, of opening conversations and of accompanying those who have the challenge of making things happen.
- In one of your cover letters you confess that you work “at the crossroads between strategy, technology and innovation to transform industries, especially the financial one.” Every cross is conflict, an encounter of two different directions. What would you say is the conflict between strategy and innovation? In what sense do you experience the meeting of forces of the industry in which you work?
More than a conflict, I see a natural tension. Strategy orders and prioritizes. Innovation pushes and challenges. Both are necessary, but they require different languages. In the financial industry, this is experienced strongly: solid institutions, with complex structures, which at the same time must respond to an environment that is changing faster and faster. I see it every day: helping teams to innovate without losing focus, and so that strategy does not become an excuse to slow down. The challenge is to integrate those forces. And that requires dialogue, criteria and experience.
- You permanently generate newsletters, short articles where you venture to read what’s coming. You work in an area of innovation, but those texts are usually dystopian. The cross again. In this sense, what things scare you about the implementation of Artificial Intelligence? Which of them do you think can be avoided through education or communication?
AI is a powerful tool. What worries me is not the technology itself, but how and what it is used for. I am concerned that automatic decisions are made without understanding the context, or that key processes are dehumanized by seeking efficiency at any cost. From education, we can train professionals with criteria, not only with technical skills. And from communication, we can anticipate debates, explain without simplifying and build a more conscious adoption culture. It is not a question of stopping AI, but of implementing it intelligently and responsibly.
- What does the firm you work for today do? What specific tasks do you perform there? How much of your vital concerns can you express in that work?
I am Commercial Director of N5, a company that powers the digital transformation of banks, insurers and fintechs through a modular, scalable platform designed to integrate with agility into complex environments. We automate processes, improve the customer experience and simplify daily operations with a focus on real impact.
It translates into a very concrete conviction: each commercial proposal must be able to be sustained in the customer’s operational reality. At N5, we work with companies that can’t afford to promise without delivering. That is why, from the first contact, we seek to understand in depth the problem, the systems, the people involved. What interests me is not only to close an agreement, but that the client can say later: this did us good, it made us move forward. That is the real impact. The rest is presentation.
From my position, I accompany institutions that are ready to take a technological, but also human, leap. It’s not just about selling a solution: it’s about deeply understanding the client’s business, the challenges they face, and building a proposal that improves their reality. On that path, I can express what matters to me: helping technology free up time, improve processes, and generate tangible impact for the people who use it.
- If you had to advise your students what to study, how to prepare for the world to come, what would you recommend to them?
I would recommend that you do not limit yourself to the technical. That they learn to think, to write, to listen. That they develop criteria. That they don’t fall in love with the tools, but with [their ability to solve] the problems they can solve. That they explore AI models, yes, but also logic, philosophy, system design, communication. The most valuable thing about the professional of the future will be their ability to integrate different worlds. The tool changes. What does not change is the need to think deeply and act with integrity.
- How important is the truth and how much importance do you place on human relations within a productive social group? How much do you think each factor affects business success?
Both are essential. Truth without a link can be violent. The bond without truth, ineffective. In my experience, the best teams are the ones that manage to build trust to say what matters, even if it’s uncomfortable. And that they do so with respect, without exposing or remaining silent. That combination — attentive listening, openness, and care for one another — is what keeps things moving. Because when conversations are real, decisions are real, too.
- “I’m not interested in what sounds good on a pitch. I’m interested in what changes realities,” you once said. What does this mean in your work role, specifically at N5?
It translates into a very concrete conviction: each commercial proposal must be able to be sustained in the customer’s operational reality. At N5, we work with companies that can’t afford to promise without delivering. That is why, from the first contact, we seek to understand in depth the problem, the systems, the people involved. What interests me is not only to close an agreement, but that the client can say later: this did us good, it made us move forward. That is the real impact. The rest is presentation…
Thank you very much, Diego San Esteban, for this juicy talk!
