About Juan Vélez
Juan has an MSc in Information Technology from Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Germany and a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the Pontificia Bolivariana University in Medellín, Colombia where he also studied for a Diploma in Project Management. He joined Vattenfall as a trainee in the IT Security team in 2017.
“I find risk a really interesting area of IT because you need both the technical knowledge but also the ability to communicate well with others.
Everyone has a different view of risk: what I see as a risk may not be seen as one by someone else so it is important to be able to understand how different people think across the business.
As well as dealing with problems when they arise, I try to take a very proactive approach to look at what could happen and to minimise the risk.
Confidence in staff to deliver
Although IT is perhaps not as visible in contributing to Vattenfall’s fossil-free ambition as some areas of the business, it plays just as important a role. It’s like a theatre where you have a technical team in the background making sure everything works so that the actors on stage can perform!
I have a lot of autonomy in my work and always feel that the business has confidence in its employees to deliver without the need for micro-managing and clocking in and clocking out. I think there is an understanding across the business that if people are happy in their work then they will deliver results.
IT is a high pressure and intense area to work in so I find it important to really switch off when I’m not working through meditating and exploring the outdoors.”