Pablo Che León Sarmiento

Mentor

I am driven by helping people and giving back to the community. My story is just one of the many examples out there of how I was able to reach my goals and dreams thanks largely because I was not alone, I had a group of people providing me an opportunity, advice and encouragement along the way. I hope my story can serve as an inspiration to young students
for them not to give up and to always dream big regardless of their background, upbringing
and gender. Unfortunately, this does not only depend on being able to dream big, but also
on having the adequate support system. I have witnessed how mentors can have an impact on
people’s lives, one word of guidance combined with humility and hard work has the
potential to set you to an incredible journey with unimaginable positive consequences and
Possibilities.

During my career I was able to join the women in tech network at work. This was a life
changing experience. I was one of the few men attending their weekly meetings and
periodic events in the city with other women in tech. This was an eye opening experience
for me, I realized how subtlety in language makes a difference on how roles and
responsibilities are taken by both genders, in addition it was evident that more women were
needed in tech roles and a way to increase the numbers of women and encourage more
women in tech was through education, support and empathy.

I want to be part of Qian Zhen Memorial Scholarship as a mentor. My story is a consequence
of multiple mentors throughout my life giving me their invaluable advice and time. This is
my opportunity to give back and have an impact in the lives of young talented scholars.
I was born in a small city, south of Peru, Ilo. At an early age I was able to attend a local
American school, I learned English as a native language and early on my life was exposed to a multicultural environment, which ultimately shaped me. I graduated as an Industrial
Engineer in Universidad de Lima, and during my undergrad years I attended Korea University as an exchange Student. After graduation, I worked for Ericsson for almost 10 years in Peru, Argentina and Ireland. Later, I decided to do my MBA at CEIBS in Shanghai, China with a 2
semester stay at IESE in Barcelona as an Exchange student. Currently I am living in Medellin,
Colombia working for VTEX, a technology commerce company, where I focus on preparing the company’s expansion to Asian markets. Not sure how exactly I got here, but something I
know is that it would not have been possible without the support of my family, friends and those
caring mentors guiding me at every step I made.