Nourdine Bihmane (Marrakech, 1977) has found in Spain a place where he feels fully identified, both for its culture and the value placed on family and a positive attitude towards challenges. A resident of Madrid for eight years, Bihmane decided to take on the leadership of Konecta, a leading Spanish multinational in customer service with over 120,000 employees in 26 countries, motivated by the opportunity to continue his life in Spain and the challenge of driving the company's technological transformation. With a solid background in the tech sector, Bihmane joined Atos in 2000, coinciding with the founding of Konecta as a spin-off from Banco Santander. After holding top positions at Atos, where he served as CEO until December 2023, he took over the leadership of Konecta six months later. Since then, he has driven strategic alliances, such as the collaboration with Kraken, the British energy services platform, and launched Katalyst, a plan to accelerate globalization and the adoption of artificial intelligence in the company. Konecta, which serves over 500 top clients like Netflix, Iberdrola, Vodafone, and banking entities, aims to reach 2.5 billion euros in revenue by 2028. The company is betting on the integration of generative artificial intelligence while maintaining the importance of human talent and team cohesion. Bihmane emphasizes that digital transformation does not mean the disappearance of jobs, but rather an evolution of professional profiles. AI allows for task automation but also creates new job opportunities. In this regard, Konecta has launched an ambitious training plan, investing 20 million euros over three years to equip its employees with digital skills and technical certifications. Konecta's international expansion strategy has been strengthened by opening centers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and India, and by growing in English-speaking markets like the UK and the US. The goal is to consolidate a global operation with a common corporate culture and English as the working language. Regarding AI application, Konecta is developing solutions such as virtual agents that assist employees and autopilot systems to manage basic interactions, always supervised by humans. The company is moving towards a hybrid model, combining the efficiency of technology with the empathy and creativity of people. Bihmane acknowledges that the adoption of AI will transform the sector but insists that technology always requires human intervention for improvement and adaptation. Empathy and the ability to solve complex problems will remain irreplaceable. Collaboration with companies like Google, Uniphore, and CrewAI allows Konecta to offer advanced services and adapt to the technological needs of its clients. The alliance with Kraken, for example, positions the company as a leader in comprehensive energy services management, from generation to customer service. Managing an organization of 130,000 employees in 26 countries presents a challenge that Bihmane faces by relying on a strong team and a corporate culture based on values such as respect, hard work, and human relationships. Talent retention is a global challenge, but Konecta's leadership position in key markets facilitates the attraction and development of professionals. Bihmane underscores the importance of maintaining Konecta's Sevillian roots despite its international expansion. The Konecta Foundation, integrated into the company and with a strong social commitment, is one of the elements he values most and aspires to globalize to replicate its impact in other countries. Source: abc.es