I am excited to announce that I recently joined Cloudflare as Vice President and Managing Director for Latin America. As many of you reading this likely already know, Cloudflare is on a mission to help build a better Internet. And that’s a big part as to why I joined this team — to contribute to this in Latin America specifically and interconnect all across the world. Cloudflare has had a strong presence in Latin America for years. First investing in the region back in 2014, when it expanded its network into Latin America to be closest to the users here — to provide even faster and reliable connections without compromising security. Over the past couple of years, our reliance on the Internet has increased, and Latin America is the fourth largest region in terms of online users globally. You can see how this makes Cloudflare’s mission even more important and presents a significant opportunity in Latin America.
A little about me
Being in the IT industry for two decades, this has shown me the profound impact of technology on everyone's lives. Working within technology for years and seeing the industry evolve, with other companies that have been part of fueling my desire to deliver impactful results, I have already seen the impact Cloudflare has had at a massive scale, including in Latin America. Our further commitment to what's to come in the region excites me. Not only in the business world with digital transitions, but also in promoting a better Latin America through the power of a more secure, performant, and reliable Internet!
Prior to joining Cloudflare, I was director of the Small Business and Commercial Segments for Cisco Latin America, where I directed an international team, leading sales and the business development efforts by digitizing the operational processes, sales cycle, and go-to-market strategy to drive scale within the SMB market. During my career I also have had the privilege to manage Segments Sales (Enterprise, Public Sector), Product Sales Specialists Teams, and business unit organizations in Security, Collaboration, Data Center, and Enterprise Networking.
Why Cloudflare
My personal mission has always been expanding into new markets, building new organizations, and developing talent to drive incremental growth to gain market share — and more importantly, to deliver value to customers. I actually started my career working for Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs mostly building new products and helping propel innovation. That was the first time I learned the power of technology, and its impact not just in business but in transforming lives.
Today, we are living in a very digital world, where all companies, industries, and countries are being transformed by the power of technology. At Cloudflare, I see a great opportunity to make a big impact, and in supporting Latin American countries. By taking advantage of this digital transformation, organizations of all sizes in the region can become even more productive with the technologies that are now available for industries and businesses of all types! Again, Cloudflare’s mission, to help build a better Internet, is key to why I decided to join. It all circles back to this. The inspiration and energy behind this mission is something you see in the entire team here from the get go. I have certainly seen this reflected in the work Cloudflare has already done in Latin America, but there’s a lot more we’re looking forward to. We are in a unique position to deliver significant value to customers and to millions of people in Latin America and beyond.
Growth opportunities in Latin America
It's often been said that Latin America has been slow to adopt digital models, compared to the United States, Europe, and some countries in Asia. The shift to the cloud has just begun. Businesses are starting to move from on-premise technologies to the cloud, and many organizations are leveraging a multi-cloud environment as the platform to help propel them.
Cloudflare is in an unparalleled position to help transform the way Latin American companies do business and make that shift. We have seen this, in helping power many organizations in the region already, from customers like El Universal, to financial services like Bidu, Bitso, and Naranja, as well as retailers like Facily, and Falabella. This includes thousands of other Latin American customers of all sizes and types. We are also in partnership with a number of organizations to extend our services even further in the region, through Alestra, Cipher, NeoSecure, SYNNEX, TIVIT, and more.
By providing security, enhancing the performance of business-critical applications, and eliminating the cost and complexity of managing individual hardware — there are no tradeoffs for organizations, with this all within Cloudflare’s global cloud infrastructure and services. To give a sense of impact in the region, on average we block nearly seven billion cyber attacks every single day in Latin America. That’s something we’re very proud of especially as we see these threats developing.
When it comes to speed and reliability, with Cloudflare’s direct connections to more service and cloud providers, our network can reach 95% of the world’s population within 50 milliseconds (the blink of an eye is 300-400 milliseconds!). Cloudflare’s network is one of the most interconnected and also the largest networks in the world — already spanning more than 270 cities globally and this includes about 40 in Latin America. Being closest in proximity to Latin American users and organizations enables even more speed and reliable connections not only within Latin America, but also in and out of the region to anywhere else in the world.
I am very much looking forward to making an impact first hand to even more customers, partners, and users in Latin America.
Through the power of technology and innovation, let’s accelerate Latin America’s digital transformation! Let's contribute to having a faster, more secure, and more reliable Internet in the region. I know a better Internet can be key to transforming Latin America and igniting productivity.
If you are interested in partnering with us, or would like to explore how we can help ensure your organization’s Internet properties are secure, fast, and reliable — reach out to me, ctorales@cloudflare.com anytime. Also, we are hiring, and I’m helping grow our team! If you are interested in embarking on an ambitious mission to help build a better Internet, check out our open positions.