"I cannot complain about how far I have come, but it has been with a lot of effort." This phrase from Guayente Sanmartin very well exemplifies the trajectory of one of Barcelona's most internationally successful executives and current vice president and global general manager of HP's 3D printing business for plastic parts. "I haven't gotten to the top directly, the easy way; before, I had to travel the world and develop all kinds of functions in diverse geographies," Sanmartin highlighted in a meeting with young entrepreneurs from Aijec held this Wednesday.
The executive, based at HP's headquarters in Sant Cugat, encouraged Aijec entrepreneurs to think big and to have a dream that guides their professional journey. "When I was a teenager, I wanted to be president of Telefónica; that was the challenge I set for myself. Dreaming is free, but it is very important to have a dream," she reflected. Sanmartin also emphasized the need to learn from mistakes: "the important thing is not what you failed at, but the learning you gain from that experience." Another key is having good bosses "who sow the ground where you can flourish."
Another of her pieces of advice is the need to be aware "of the impact that our decisions as executives have on employees." "We must not leave corpses along the way," she stressed, after acknowledging that for 20 years she has relied on a coach to improve day by day. "I am a very demanding person with the team, but I take into account the impact I have on people."
The executive, who started at HP Sant Cugat after graduating in telecommunications and specializing in satellites at the UPC, has developed her career in the American multinational in multiple locations, such as Paris, Singapore, and California. Her first major position of responsibility came in 2008, when she was appointed marketing director of HP's large-format printer division. Two years later, she accepted the challenge of moving with her family to Singapore to lead that division in Asia. "There I learned what real diversity is, the diversity of the soul," she reflects.
Her next leap was to Palo Alto (California). "They put a $6 billion super-business in my hands," highlights Sanmartin, who recalls that this stage "was extremely difficult" and that it cost her integration into the United States. "I understood that I had to adapt or leave." Six years later, in 2018, she returned to Barcelona as vice president and general manager of the large format division worldwide, a position she held until last summer, when she moved on to lead HP's MultiJet Fusion 3D printing business. This unit is also based in Sant Cugat and has Sanmartin as the top person responsible for the plastic-based additive manufacturing area and Ramon Pastor as the director of 3D printing with metal.
"My dream was to lead the large format division, and then I asked myself, what now? I felt eager, capable, and strong enough to take on new challenges and I thought I wanted to lead a business that would have an impact for HP, but also an impact for people and for society. That's why I chose 3D," explained the executive.
"3D printing impacts all of us, because it is a technology that helps disrupt any industry. It is a transversal business and it is important that we all know what 3D can do for each of us," she emphasized. After recalling how the parts manufactured by their printers were key to quickly producing respirators during the pandemic or giving as an example the 3D molds that are already being printed for knee operations, Sanmartin encouraged Aijec entrepreneurs to identify how the incorporation of additive manufacturing could help their companies.
Thus, she explained that at HP she has a "scouting team" whose mission is to identify all the applications that companies are already giving to this technology. "It is impossible to know everything we can do with 3D and that is why we invest efforts in identifying all this potential," she highlighted, after revealing another of the great veins of her business: that the world increasingly demands personalized objects.
Finally, when asked about how she has managed to reconcile her professional career with her family life, Sanmartin explained that in life people must divide their time fundamentally into five things: family, work, sports, friends, and sleeping well. "Of these five things, one must choose three to try to do them well; I chose work, family, and sleep. You always have to choose and stop doing something. My husband chose other things and that's why it has been easy," she concluded.