Nicarao Advisors LLC

Providing fractional sales and business development services. Strategic Planning and Execution; Leadership and Team Development; Sales and Marketing; and Customer Relationship Management.

Principal

Currently Seeking New Opportunities

Currently seeking Vice President Sales Opportunity

Liberty Latin America

Sought to take on oversight of company’s largest supplier contract to ensure compliance, identify and address performance issues. Member of governance committee. Shrunk contract costs significantly and maintained a positive vendor relationship despite changes in scope of contracted services.

Director - Contract Management

Cable & Wireless Communications

Recruited for a role that swiftly changed into 100% pandemic response to address issues that arose concerning daily operations. Since there was no playbook on how to conduct business during such a time, created and implemented Covid_19 procedures in only 5 days. Ensured ongoing service to customers for installation of video, internet, and telephony services through the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Director - Technology & Operations

TalentAdore

Completed a series of courses through the University of Helsinki on artificial intelligence (AI), which led to my being contacted by company founder. Tapped to help the CEO of this innovative startup offering a new, AI cloud and SaaS based virtual recruitment tool to carry out three critical initiatives in North America. First, assess the product compared to existing solutions on the market in the US, then canvas market to evaluate potential demand. Lastly, create a strategic plan and a solid go-to-market (G2M) strategy.

Developed and implemented grassroot initiatives that helped the company gain traction in the market with limited resources.

Advisor

ADTRAN

Promoted to lead a small team in LATAM to provide telecom solutions to corporate clients. Oversaw regional operations including strategic planning, marketing and resource allocations. Personally managed 6 accounts to help drive sales, and assisted team in closing sales. 

Conducted in-depth analysis to determine most effective channels to drive sales with distribution partners swiftly. Positioned Adtran as the equipment provider of choice to affiliates of one of the largest corporations worldwide (America Movil) despite an extremely challenging sales goal.

Vice President - Regional Sales Latin America

Recruited to aggressively grow customer base first in Mexico and then LATAM with a team of sales engineers engaged in business development activities. Implemented formal processes, procedures and account management protocols to accelerate productivity and drive excellent performance and customer satisfaction.

Increased capture rate exponentially, won a multimillion-dollar, strategically vital bid to provide services for a division of the largest Spanish content producer in the world, a multibillion-dollar giant. Rapidly built brand awareness of the company’s products in the region.

Director Strategic Business Development

Nokia

Handpicked by executive management to drive sales growth in select LATAM regions with a team of 20 account managers and solutions engineers. Held P&L accountability of more than $50M. Created a clear sales operation plan to support and guide growth goals. 

Addressed collections issues by cutting accounts payable days by 200% and increasing sales to late customers by 15%. Trained, groomed and motivated team resulting a 20% improvement in sales to existing customers.

Area Vice President – Central America, Andean Region & Mexico

Chosen by executive management to develop and implement a strategic sales plan to seize sales opportunities following the acquisition of an American telecom provider by one of the largest global telecommunications provider (Telefonica). 

Built a 60-member high performing sales team from scratch to serve Telefonica clients in 5 Latin American countries. Won large multi-year contracts and paved the way for robust future business development opportunities.

Area Vice President – Andean Region Telefonica Customer Business Team

Asked to build a new sales organization from scratch in Mexico. Recruited, hired and trained a team of 30 that included account managers, project managers, solutions engineers and supply chain managers to service clients in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador.

Generated titanic revenues from a large contract and YOY incremental sales after initial contract period. Established a formidable presence in these 4 countries.

Country Manager - Mexico

Recruited based on earlier finance experience. Managed finance operations in LATAM market place to support planned growth in this region. Rapidly built strategic relationships with financial institutions that resulted in robust funding to support sales.

Director- Project Finance

Rabobank

Trade & Project Finance
Negotiated in collaboration with account managers to close structured trade finance transactions for the food and agricultural business sector. Utilized credit enhancement from Export Credit Agencies, Multilateral Development Banks and the private insurance market to provide exceptional sales and service. Generated $3- 5M in portfolio customer sales.

Vice President

VP|SD|Sales ExecutiveǀDriving Strong Revenue Growth for Technology Companies Globally through Strategic Partnerships and High Performing Teams

Throughout my career, I’ve been sought to develop business in new markets, turn around sales in underperforming regions, and accelerate growth in established markets. At the same time, I’ve enjoyed building and leading large, customer-centric teams that are instilled with the mindset that we’re in the business of providing innovative solutions to meet every client’s unique needs.

I’ve also held operational roles which have complemented my sales and leadership background. It’s been rewarding to identify cost-saving opportunities and to improve top- and bottom-line results by streamlining back-office processes and procedures. 

My global experience includes regions spanning the U.S. and Latin America (LATAM) and I’m proficient in Spanish and Portuguese with a deep respect for diverse cultures and people. 

Highlights:

STRATEGIC PLANNING & EXECUTION – Developed and implemented sales strategies that enabled Adtran to deliver telecommunication solutions for corporate clients in LATAM and catapult revenues in a historically low volume market (less than $2M annually) to more than $30M annually. Built strong and cohesive relationships with distribution and alliance partners.

LEADERSHIP & TEAM DEVELOPMENT– Motivated, mentored and led numerous teams of managerial, technical and sales professionals including project and supply chain managers, account managers, and solution engineers who contributed measurably to the growth and success of companies such as Nokia Networks and Adtran. Groomed a team to hit 120% over target while increasing ROI in one of the most competitive markets worldwide. 

SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – Built a robust network of industry contacts that have been instrumental in uncovering new opportunities and have maintained strategic relations that have been vital in adding additional revenue streams. Key driver in growing Nokia’s revenue from zero to well over $1B in LATAM year-over-year. 

I love to talk about industry trends and innovations in the technology space and connect with likeminded professionals. If you are similarly interested, please send me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn or reach me at GAMairena@gmail.com

Guillermo Mairena

Grow Achieve

An online community and educational platform for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to grow and learn to avoid the top reasons small businesses fail.

Founder/CEO

Your IS Dept

Fractional Consulting, Mentoring, Coaching - provided technology and leadership services to small/mid-market organizations to include due diligence work for investors investigating potential acquisitions.

•	Digital Transformation: Led CRM and Health Information Strategy, reducing software/service expenses by 12%.
•	Technology Turnaround: Successfully implemented technology strategies, doubling business volumes and improving operational efficiency.

Executive / Fractional Executive

Fortune Beast

Fortune Beast - A strategic holding company managing a portfolio of small cap health care organizations.  Hold multiple executive roles, including CIO, CISO, and CEO for our portfolio companies as we built and grew them as they support each other and external clients.

- Fractional CIO/CISO for pharmacy, health care, and agent marketing organizations
- Holding company CIO/CISO developing corporate ecosystem strategies and solutions
- Managing partner developing and implementing business and operational strategies

Chief Information Office / Managing Partner

Columbia Advisory Group

A Managed Service Provider (MSP) with heavy presence in the higher education space, city governments, and commercial sectors providing managed services, staff augmentation, consulting, and fractional/interim services to its customers.

-- Interim Chief Information Officer Tarleton State University
•	Operational Strategy: Reorganized technology team and developed aligned operational strategies for higher education and commercial sectors.
•	Operational Strategy: Reorganized technology team and developed aligned operational strategies for higher education and commercial sectors.
•	Leadership Development: Built a business-oriented IT team and created a revenue-generating service center.
•	Data Strategy: Championed data warehouse and governance architecture, enhancing data reliability and reporting.

Interim / Fractional Chief Information Officer 

OneShare Health

Building and leading strategy and innovation for a rapidly growing young national non-profit healthcare program payor quickly expanding to a mid-sized organization.  Providing executive leadership and stability to a changing leadership team addressing growth challenges, maturing leadership teams, and and organization looking for guidance on how to grow.  After the loss of the CEO and COO, worked with remaining c-suite executives to divide duties and manage the business until a new CEO and COO could be found. while building a successful technology team from scratch.

•	Growth Leadership: Guided the organization through rapid growth, developing technology strategies and compliance frameworks.
•	Operational Savings: Reworked commissions, saving $350K monthly, and consolidated systems, reducing costs by $500K annually.

Chief Information Officer - CIO

OrthoSynetics

Private Equity (Palm Ventures) / Hedge Fund (Silver Point) owned Dental Practice Management Services Company with over 100 practices with over 350 locations in 32 states and Puerto Rico - Brought on to evaluate and refocus failing technology strategy for the company while working with the executive team to develop technology/operations business strategy. This led to an on-going multi-year effort to modernize the organization and teams while working with clients to resolve operational issues and provide support and guidance on technology / HIPAA compliance while preparing for a corporate sale.  Responsible for both strategic / hands-on technology management as well as operational delivery of technology services to Orthosynetics’ clients.

•	Strategic Leadership: Transformed outdated technology platforms, leading to a 99% improvement in system availability and a 25% boost in development efficiency.
•	Operational Excellence: Managed $27M P&L and RCM for client-facing technology services, reducing annual costs by $650K while enhancing service quality.
•	Analytics Innovation: Implemented near-real-time analytics, significantly improving decision-making processes.
•	Team Revitalization: Rebuilt technology support and development teams, reducing complaints by 90% and turnover rates.
•	Security Compliance: Developed and executed a comprehensive security strategy, ensuring HIPAA and PCI-DSS compliance.
•	Infrastructure Modernization: Created a strategic roadmap for a hybrid-cloud system, cutting client go-live time by 50%.

Chief Information Officer | CIO

I am a Senior Executive experienced in multiple industries, over 10 years in multiple aspects of healthcare, and entrepreneurial experience in growth and turnaround organizations.  Both a Chief Information Officer (CIO) with P&L and RCM experience, as well as operations experience and a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with experience turning around troubled organizations, I excel at solving complex problems!

WHAT I DO:  Understanding and driving strategy is becoming a lost art with many confusing daily tactics with strategic decisions.  I excel at developing short and long-term strategies while mentoring my team to grow with the organization.  My experience helping to turn a troubled (formerly public organization) practice management organization with over 300 locations in 32 states and Puerto Rico highlights my abilities to build relationships with physicians, manage multiple aspects of complex environments, and ability to retain and gain market share through well-formed strategies.

WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT: Starting my early career in sales and marketing, I evolved to become a strategic technologist and CIO before crossing lines into operations and more senior leadership roles.  This combination of roles and experience in multiple industries give me a broad set of knowledge from which to craft innovative solutions.

SPECIALTIES: Strategic Planning | Company Growth | Budgeting | Team Building | Leadership Development | Turnarounds | Mentoring | Change Management | Security Management/Risk Management | Policy/Procedure Development | Crisis Management | Disaster Planning | Operations | Audit/Enterprise Security | Health Information Technology | HIPAA / SSAE18 / SOX / PCI DSS | Digital Transformation | P&L | Finance | Public Speaking | Cloud | Azure | Public Speaking

ME: I love tech, science, and learning! I am intensely curious and delve deep into topics to understand them.  I believe learning is a constant pursuit.  It is this passion to always learn that drives success in my personal and business pursuits.  

I love to fly! It was a childhood dream that I was able to make happen.  

KD5GID - my FCC-issued amateur radio operator call sign.  I have enjoyed spotting storms for the NWS with SkyWarn and used my skills on a search team in East Texas after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

My wife and I love SCUBA diving! We take a trip each year to blow some bubbles, even if it is a short trip (the Florida Keys are wonderful).

There is more about me, but that is another conversation!

Toby Buckalew, MBA

I have been fortunate to have held the title of "CIO" five times in my career.  During that journey, I made some great decision, stumbled a few times, made some not-so-great decisions, and leveraged a little bit of luck from time-to-time.

Tomorrow evening, I will be sharing my journey to the C-Suite at the Association for Business Technology Professionals DFW meeting.  If you are looking at how others made it to the top, or just how they made it anywhere, this would be an opportunity to learn from someone that has been there.

Let your networks know and I look forward to seeing you there!

Time: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm CST
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Location: 13727 Noel Road

Register on the ABTP website
 https://www.abtpdfw.org
or on EventBrite
 https://lnkd.in/giChVeqD

#LeadershipDevelopment
#CLevelInsights
#CareerGrowth
#NonprofitLeadership
#ProfessionalJourney

Transformational Executive as both CEO an CIO | Strategic Leader | Expert in Turnarounds & Digital Transformation | Proven Track Record in Growth & Innovation

Join us for Holiday CHEERS! Tech-Connect!

The Association for Business Technology Professionals DFW (ABTP) invites you to an evening of networking, celebration, and gratitude. This special holiday happy hour is dedicated to connecting technology professionals and thanking you for your continued support of ABTP and its mission.

Enjoy great conversations, build new connections, and celebrate the season with us! Delicious food will be provided, and your first beverage is on us—because nothing says “cheers” like good company and a festive toast.

Date & Time: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | 6 PM – 8 PM
 
Location: Bar Louie at the Toyota Music Factory, Las Colinas

To register - or even sponsor, visit the EventBrite page:
https://lnkd.in/ghi7rXHr

Be sure to like, comment, and share this post to let your networks know and thank you for supporting the work of ABTP in the community!

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