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EY Global Delivery ServicesVice Chair highlights the importance of the company’s headquarters in the Málaga-based technopolis, which already employs 930 professionals
EY GDS Spain is entering its fourth year of operations. Were there any challenges or surprises when adapting the global practices to the Spanish context?
There are already 930 people working at this centre and, soon, there will be more than 1,000 in a multicultural and multilingual environment: we communicate and deliver projects in over 25 languages. This is the centre’s main distinguishing feature due to its location at the crossroads where Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa meet, as well as its links with Latin America.
Our approach is always to respect global standards while integrating local cultural nuances, including legal considerations. In Málaga, in particular, we are developing a wide range of initiatives regarding automation and artificial intelligence, as well as areas such as cybersecurity or other services such as financial crime prevention.
What makes EY GDS Spain unique compared to other global centres?
This centre is one of our key hubs in Europe. We work with many clients, not just European ones. And, due to the cultural abilities that I mentioned before, regarding language, time zone, and the fact that some of our clients prefer a Europe-based workforce, we can meet those expectations from Málaga.
We are very well connected to the rest of our centres around the world. There are almost 1,000 people in Málaga, but EY GDS employs more than 80,000 people worldwide. So this centre works seamlessly with the rest. In Europe, we are in places such as Poland or Budapest, but we are also in India, the Philippines, Buenos Aires… This makes it possible to combine the best of both our local and global abilities. I think what makes Málaga unique is its talent, quality of life and environment, which is very special. That is why we are capable of attracting high-level talent.
Málaga TechPark is an innovation centre. How has being part of this ecosystem influenced the way EY GDS operates in Spain?
We work closely with universities and training centres. In many cases, we even collaborate with them in the design of their academic curricula. Moreover, we recruit. Last year, we welcomed around 160 student interns. That collaboration between Málaga TechPark and universities is very positive, and that is what we are interested in. Even universities approach us to ask for advice on new training programmes or degrees, so that they can bring their students to EY GDS Spain later on. I believe public-private alliances and Málaga TechPark have created a very solid ecosystem in Málaga to train the next generation of talent.
Attracting and retaining top talent is always a challenge. What strategies have been most effective for EY GDS Spain, especially in high-demand areas such as AI or data analytics?
From EY GDS Spain’s perspective, we are a highly attractive place to work in terms of brand. The type of work that we do is very interesting. Now we are advancing towards more technological areas. That is why EY GDS Spain has always been a place where professionals come to learn and grow. We have outstanding training programmes and we are well known for helping qualify people.
From a local point of view, we work closely with the internship programme, as I mentioned before. That is one of the ways we attract talent. We are also present in different locations to ensure access to the best talent available. Here we have a very solid series of abilities regarding AI, cybersecurity, data management… Having a strong presence here gives us access to that talent.
That is another way in which we look to attract. More broadly, our value proposition for employees in terms of learning, growth and collaborative culture is highly compelling. In fact, we are one of the preferred places to work worldwide, including our headquarters in Málaga.
How do you ensure that people remain productive and connected in such a global and complex organisation?
In terms of connectivity, it is embedded in our culture because, as a global organisation, we are designed to collaborate across languages and cultures. We carry out numerous mobility programmes for our employees. For example, people from India come here, and people here go to other centres. We also have different interest clubs: a foodies club or a photography club.
Moreover, we have initiatives like Gratitude Week, a whole week where we thank each other, with a day dedicated to bosses, another to coworkers and another to the people who report to you. That is how we foster a positive working environment.
Our culture is usually like this. That is also how we hire and qualify people: this is a job where you need to work with people. And not only with the coworkers who sit beside you, but with people across different time zones and cultural backgrounds.
All of this is very attractive to people because it gives them the experience of not only working in a local environment, but also being exposed to our professionals and clients from all over the world.
How has EY GDS Spain integrated AI, automation and the cloud into its daily operations?
At EY GDS Spain, AI is a cornerstone of our technological development. In cybersecurity, for example, we are building automation models to detect and respond to incidents more quickly than human-led processes.
Some of those models are developed here, working alongside our global teams. We maintain many alliances and collaborations with leading companies such as NVIDIA and Microsoft, as well as with data companies like Snowflake. Working with our strategic partners allows us to build and develop our new technologies.
Internally, to upskill our workforce, we have initiatives like AI Academy. Moreover, we have developed programmes such as the Distinguished Technologist Program.
EY GDS Spain was once primarily associated with accounting and tax services. Now, we hire a significant number of engineers and technologists. That is why we have a special acknowledgement for distinguished technologists.
Which operational priorities will guide EY GDS Spain in the coming years?
We are going through a period of tremendous global change. There are many geopolitical problems, the technological change is brutal and businesses are evolving rapidly. One of the great areas that will have a direct impact on us is AI. Our mission has remained largely the same over the last hundred years: giving counsel, having highly intelligent people who provide trust and advice. This will continue, but it will increasingly be enhanced by AI, agents and other technologies such as Copilot.
It will be a collaboration between humans and machines. This great revolution will shape EY GDS Spain as the professional services firm of the future. If we do not fully embrace this opportunity, others will. That is why we are trying to be at the forefront by developing new tools that will allow us to automate tasks while people focus on higher-value work.
New job positions will also emerge as AI orchestration drives demand for the recruitment of engineers. Some of them will disappear because they will be automated, but new ones will appear. Ethical AI is a particularly critical area, and we will have a fundamental role to play there. It is one of the matters that we are already implementing. We are always prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead.