Welcoming Luciano Rolim as our new Head of GTM LatAm!

Luciano helps companies across Latin America adopt AI and turn it into real revenue, while ensuring their evolving needs are met by the product. With 30 years in the tech industry, spanning Big Tech, startups, and management consulting, he brings deep experience to the role.

Originally from Brazil, Luciano moved to the U.S. nine years ago and now lives in Key Biscayne, a small island near downtown Miami. It's a strategic hub for serving both Latin America and parts of Eastern Europe.

His focus has always been on selling cutting-edge technology, and he’s passionate about uncovering opportunities where advanced solutions can solve real, complex problems.

How did you get into AI?

Back in 2018, I was leading Expedia's B2B operations in Latin America and Southern Europe when I got a call from the founder of Olivia.ai. He said, “Luciano, I have an opportunity that’s much more intellectually stimulating than selling hotel beds, I think you’ll love it.”

A month later, I joined Olivia.ai, where we used machine learning and natural language processing to help people improve their financial lives. Later, I joined the founding team at Hyperplane, where we developed a proprietary LLM designed to model behavior based on financial transactions.

Why are you at Openlayer?

AI is eating the world. Having a front-row seat to observe, govern, and understand what’s working (and what’s not) in the most strategic AI projects is a rare and exciting opportunity.

What resource has made you better at what you do?

A few things:

• Time
• Listening carefully
• Paying attention to outliers
• The genuine pursuit of mutually beneficial relationships
• And my wife, who’s been challenging me to be a better person for the last 20 years (still trying!)

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Focus on problems, not people.

What part of your work do you love the most?

Learning. I love the journey of going from feeling lost, or even like an impostor, to mastering a new domain.

How do you unwind outside of work?

I like to head down to the beach and pretend I’ll catch a big snook (always catch-and-release). I also enjoy reading, at the time of writing, I was revisiting Cien Años de Soledad, and cooking with my kids.

What’s one daily trick that keeps you motivated during a hectic week?

Bills. Sometimes, you’ve just got to keep it practical.

Bonus: What’s your favorite image from 2025 so far?

A sunset from home. Just beautiful.