Our people
Len Lapuz-De Guzman and Darlene de la Cruz are technology leaders in Macquarie’s Manila office. Over the past 15 years, they have each been integral to the evolution of Manila as a technology hub. The colleagues say they’ve enjoyed the innovative culture that promotes diversity and has enabled them to learn and grow.
Len is the Co-Country Lead for Macquarie Group in the Philippines and the Manila Lead for our Corporate Operations Group
After completing a Computer Engineering degree in 2001, I joined a graduate program for a technology company where I explored different roles from engineering, software development and testing to service delivery management.
I was very happy there but when a friend sent me a job ad for a Global Service Desk Manager for Macquarie, I was intrigued. It was early days for Macquarie’s Manila office and during the interview I heard how Manila would play a critical role in the global delivery of technology, and the technology transformation of Macquarie. I joined the Technology team in 2009 and the rest is history.
Initially, I worked on a transformational project to move from regional delivery into a global operating model for tech, with a 24/7 team in Manila. I had the chance to travel to Hong Kong, Sydney, London and New York, to connect directly with our users and bring them on the transformation journey. I also spent six months in Philadelphia, building out a team.
These experiences really shaped me as a person, broadened my perspective by exposing me to different cultures, and developed my passion for diversity, equity and inclusion.
I then moved into a service delivery team for Manila infrastructure, becoming a people manager as well as delivering business improvements.
Right now, as Associate Director in Technology, my role involves looking at the big picture while juggling decision management, insights and reporting. I lead Service Management for Commodities and Global Markets and Macquarie Capital globally, which gives me broad exposure and a deeper understanding of what the business does. I also find opportunities to uplift the value, breadth and depth of skills we have and help further our people’s careers.
Developing diverse tech talent is something I’m passionate about, which is why I’ve been the management sponsor of the Women in Tech Employee Network Group (ENG) for the last five years. This is a voluntary, employee-led group that gives women in tech across Macquarie the chance to exchange ideas and build relationships. More recently, I’ve also represented Manila in Macquarie’s Asia Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. I’ve seen it embedded into how Macquarie does things, from the top down, and become important to our business - from the Employee Network Groups to our business priorities.
Macquarie supports me to be a mum to my family, as well as leading the team in Manila, and to create a balance to work effectively in these roles.
Macquarie doesn’t put you in a box. You can grow laterally, vertically and you’re supported to shape your own career. You’re encouraged to move outside your comfort zone and go places you never thought you’d go.”
I’ve been empowered to pursue new challenges at Macquarie, while being supported by my managers along the way. Change is a constant and I’ve evolved, learned and transformed on a personal and professional level.
My advice to anyone looking to start a tech career would be to be open and ready to be surprised with opportunities that you never really planned for.
One of the challenges of working in technology is that it’s fast moving, so you have to be opportunistic, and push yourself to learn, relearn and unlearn to continually equip yourself with future skills. You can’t rest on your laurels, you always need to be relevant in what you do, uplift the value, and have a learning mindset.
Tech transformation requires you to bring both the tech people and your customers in on the same journey, so collaboration is critical.
Darlene is Vice President of Engineering for Banking and Financial Services Technology in Asia
I grew up watching Star Trek. While living in outer space didn’t appeal to me, even as a child, I knew I wanted to work with computers. There was never a doubt in my mind I would be a software engineer.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Prior to joining Macquarie, I had various experiences ranging from creating games for phones, implementing enterprise resource planning software for manufacturing companies, and building UIs for web apps to administering databases.
In 2010, I had a job interview with Macquarie where the interviewer and I had a debate on certain technology implementation. I thought that was cool. I like telling this story because it’s a good reflection of Macquarie’s culture - people are empowered to speak up and share their ideas. By then, I knew I had found my home.
My first team was in Banking and Financial Services Technology, working on a security and user access project. Since then, I’ve worked with different divisions and projects such as credit cards, distributed finance, and car loans. Somewhere along the journey, I became a delivery manager. But I am a software engineer at heart, so I talked to my manager about my aspirations to be a Director of Engineering instead. My manager was supportive, and this new opportunity gave me autonomy to elevate the skills of our teams and challenge the way that we work.
Today I’m Vice President of Engineering for Banking and Financial Services Technology in Asia. I make sure we have the right culture, tools and practices for our engineers to flourish. I belong to the leadership team of Banking and Financial Services Technology, and I am also a part of the global Engineering Leadership Team of Macquarie, representing engineers from Asia and encouraging collaboration between engineering teams in different business areas.
Macquarie puts its people first and the emphasis on continuous learning allows you to grow and shape your own career path.”
I’m inspired by the fact that there is always something new happening. We have ambitious goals where software engineering plays an important part in our ability to evolve and deliver exceptional customer experiences alongside our leading digital banking platforms.
It’s exciting to be part of an organisation where I’m empowered to carve my own unique career path. And while this may not be the final frontier, I’ll continue to explore and discover new things along the way. That’s what makes it fun!
First, it’s OK to make mistakes. In fact, making mistakes is when you learn the most, because you’ll remember them more keenly than the successes. Second, communication skills are essential to be effective in any role, including software engineering. Finally, change is constant. Focus on what is important and what you can control – everything else is noise.
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