Interview with Henrique Costa

You were recently appointed Head of the Engineering Solutions Department, taking on the leadership of a key area in the company. Can you tell us a bit about your career path in the organization up to this position? How was that journey?

I began my career within the Controlar group at Sensing Future, an experience marked by the startup dynamic and the impact technology had in the healthcare sector. Later, I joined EIIT in Spain, working on a challenging Aerospace project, and in 2015 I became part of Controlar in the Test Systems department, taking on Project Coordination and Development functions. In 2022, I assumed responsibility for that department, one of the greatest challenges of my career to date. More recently, following the organizational restructuring, I naturally stepped into the leadership of the Engineering Solutions Department.

How would you describe the work of the Department? What are the main goals and challenges in the area you lead?

The mission of the Engineering Solutions Department is to contribute to the company’s vision: to be the best technological solution, always close to our clients.

To achieve this, the main challenges are keeping up with constant technological evolution and continuously improving our efficiency and effectiveness. We also play an important role in sharing and transferring knowledge across teams, making the department a generator of value and innovation. Our main goal is to be recognized by our clients and partners as a pillar of trust and technical expertise.

Tell us a bit about your team. How do you manage to keep motivation high, considering the workload and responsibility towards both internal teams and clients?

It’s a big challenge, but one that is possible thanks to the people who make up the team. We have professionals with a strong sense of responsibility, mission-driven spirit, passion for challenges, and great teamwork skills.

To handle the workload, we have been following an Agile approach since 2022, working in two-week sprints, which allows us to break down complex projects into clearer and more achievable steps.

Motivation comes from several factors. Internally, sharing results and distributing part of the profits to employees at the end of the year is extremely positive. Externally, receiving thank-you messages from clients for our effort and dedication is always an extra source of energy for everyone.

What skills do you value most in your team members?

Above all, I value that team members are grounded in the right values: dedication, willingness to learn, teamwork, and responsibility. Controlar’s values are trust, transparency, and ethics. Being an honest, responsible, and trustworthy partner is only possible if the people within the organization embrace those values. Technical skills can be developed along the way, but without this foundation, there is no sustainability.

In recent years, Controlar has experienced accelerated growth, with improvements in procedures, structural and process changes, while keeping up with project demands. How has this evolution been in practice?

It has been a very challenging but absolutely necessary process. Accelerated growth requires creating the conditions for an agile, flexible, and scalable structure. Simply responding by increasing the headcount would make the organization heavy and less competitive.

Our clients expect that as we grow, our responsiveness improves, not the opposite. This evolution has only been possible because the teams have shown remarkable adaptability and resilience, ensuring that organizational development keeps pace with business growth.

Colleagues see you as a calm, approachable, and assertive person. Do you believe these qualities are essential in a leader?

I believe they are. Leadership based on force or aggressiveness no longer has a place in modern organizations. That model only retains less confident people, while top talent won’t stay in such an environment.

Today, the most important thing is to be assertive, transparent, and communicative, involving teams so they feel part of something bigger. Additionally, it’s essential for people to know that we genuinely care about them, both in the effort we ask during urgent moments and in the support we provide during critical personal situations.

Over the years, you’ve been recognized with several awards for your work. How do you view these distinctions?

Taking on leadership roles means making decisions that inevitably won’t please everyone. Even when fostering openness and constructive criticism, we never have a full perception of the impact across the whole team.

That’s why the leadership awards I’ve received are an extra motivation. They are a sign that we are on the right path and that, despite the challenges, teams recognize the value of what we’ve been building. In fact, these awards are a reflection of the exceptional work of the people I lead, because they are the ones who turn vision into reality.

Productrónica 2023, in Munich