LEADERSHIP ADVISORY

Santiago Vela Gomez (Santi Vela) is an Executive Advisor in AI and Enterprise Transformation, with over 20 years of global experience across education technology, business intelligence and advanced analytics. He works with business leaders, government agencies and organisations across Asia Pacific, advising on the design, governance and deployment of AI-enabled solutions to improve decision making, operational performance and workforce capability. His expertise combines structured governance, stakeholder alignment and the practical application of technology within complex enterprise environments. Santiago is recognised for his work in responsible AI, digital governance and enterprise capability design, helping organisations define clear policies, decision boundaries and operating models for the safe and effective use of emerging technologies across industries.

He specialises in translating strategy into execution through structured competencies, roles and authorisations, ensuring accountability, compliance and measurable outcomes. His experience spans the full transformation lifecycle, including strategy, risk management, change management and cross-functional delivery. He has led programs across Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America, working with organisations such as ILSC Education Group, Kaplan Business School, Box Hill Institute, Clariden Executive Education, Lonsdale Institute and SoD Australia. Prior to his advisory work, Santi held leadership and academic roles across Australia, China, Singapore and Colombia, including Director of Marketing Studies in Ningbo and lecturer in Change Management at Kaplan Business School, bringing a strong combination of academic leadership and enterprise experience.

n Singapore, he served as Director of the Advanced Predictive Analytics program for Clariden Global, and in Colombia held executive roles including Head of Commerce at Yamaha and Protección S.A., a leading superannuation and retirement fund organisation. He also worked with PACCAR Inc., where the deployment of his work as Digital Brand Specialist for Kenworth Trucks extended across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, leading digital, telematics and CRM transformation initiatives across enterprise dealer networks. Santi is also a co-founder of Beautiful Marketing, one of the first fully digital agencies in Adelaide, as well as SoD, the School of Digital, a pioneer in AI education in Melbourne, and the Metaverse Business Academy in Orlando, Florida. Based in Brisbane, he currently serves as an Associate Facilitator of Agentic AI executive programs at the Australian Institute of Management.