Amir Capriles
Vice President of U.S. Government, Pegasystems
As a leader for a rapidly growing North America government enterprise go-to-market team, Amir Capriles cultivates a culture of accountability and empathy. Capriles and the government team are passionate about helping agencies build for change and tackle increasingly complex situations, whether it’s one small, critical application or at massive scale like the U.S. Decennial Census.
Capriles learned the importance of client centricity early in his career. Before pivoting into leadership, he was a consultant leading technology implementations. He developed leadership qualities like perseverance and grit when he left Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at age 17 with two suitcases and $500 to attend college in Virginia. His experiences have helped him develop empathy and a deep understanding of how to support and empower his teams’ successes.
Today, Capriles is known for creating an inclusive environment and building high-performing teams, regardless of where employees sit in Pega’s cross-functional organization.
“Amir is a purpose-driven, empathetic leader with a keen ability to bring people together,” said Hayden Stafford, president of global field operations at Pegasystems. “He empowers his team by providing a clear vision for success and encourages them to be bold by taking strategic risks that get results.”
Working beyond just his direct reports, Capriles mentors teammates to hone their skills on a variety of topics fostering client success and leadership. He seeks out opportunities for his team to try something outside of their day-to-day scope of work, offers new strategic ways of thinking and build confidence so they’re comfortable raising their hands to lead a project.
“Each person on my team is essential to creating value, beyond the solutions and services Pega sells,” Capriles said. “Meaningful work begins with the people behind the solutions.”
Why Watch
Capriles understands there is a very small window to make an impact with a prospect or client, so it’s critical to act fast with a customer-centric obsession. He believes in encouraging his team to take strategic risks and try different approaches.
“If we don’t try new things, we aren’t pushing ourselves hard enough to learn what is working and what isn’t,” he said. “This outlook advances our mission to transform the way our work supports our clients. I subscribe to the notion to take a risk without being afraid of failure. Fail fast and learn faster.”