Tech Queen Pioneering Diversity by Balancing Tech Leadership with Personal Fulfillment
Elisa Caballero is a driven and dynamic professional who prioritizes family and believes in finding balance in both her personal and professional life. Her personality is reflected in her easygoing yet purposeful nature, as conveyed by her hashtags: #morningcoffee, #nodrama, and #easypcy. Elisa values life’s limitless possibilities and maintains an adventurous spirit, always willing to “give it a try,” which she proudly holds as her motto.
Music is a source of motivation for Elisa, especially songs that she can sing loudly in her car. A fan of thought-provoking content, her favorite book is “The Pillars of the Earth”, and she regularly tunes into Simon Sinek’s podcast, A Bit of Optimism, for inspiration. While she is a Mac user, she also enjoys painting, which, though she humbly downplays as a “more or less average” talent, showcases her creative side.
Having spent time living abroad in Wisconsin, Elisa has experienced life from different perspectives. If she were to write a book about her life, it would fittingly be titled “What a Ride”, capturing the richness and adventure of her journey so far.
Always give it a try!
Dancing Through Life: The Early Years in Madrid
Elisa Caballero grew up in the vibrant city of Madrid, Spain. As a child, she dreamtof becoming a dancer, a passion that reflects her love for creativity and expression. In school, her favorite subject was math, while history was her least favorite—ironically, a subject she has come to appreciate in adulthood.
Her earliest memory of technology revolves around her family’s first Intel PC with a 56k modem. It was a magical moment for Elisa, as it allowed her family to communicate with her brother, who was living abroad, via email. This experience sparked her lifelong interest in technology. Her first tech gadgets included a Walkman, followed by a Discman, and eventually her first Motorola cell phone, which she fondly remembers as a “brick.”
Elisa’s role model growing up was her mother, a working woman who managed to juggle a job while raising three children. Elisa is still in awe of how her mom achieved that delicate balance. Elisa credits her generation, which witnessed the rapid transformation of technology, as a key influence on her career choice. While her school and hometown provided opportunities, it was the technological evolution she experienced that truly shaped her path.
Engineering Success: From Early Fascination to Tech Leadership
Elisa Caballero pursued a degree in computer engineering, driven by her early fascination with technology. The moment her family got their first PC, she was captivated. To her, this was magic, and it sparked her desire to understand the technology behind it.
Her career began as a functional analyst, a role she chose after six years of development work. This shift helped her gain a broader understanding of the business side of technology. From there, she transitioned into project management and eventually moved into data, leading her to a role as a technical product manager. This blend of understanding business and technology became the perfect balance for her, and today, Elisa serves as the Head of Strategy and Operationsin Engineering at Glovo, a leading delivery app. In this role, she oversees the alignment of engineering teams with strategic goals, ensures the day-to-day flow of operations, and focuses on talent retention and growth.
Elisa’s path to Glovo came through a former manager from her time at Expedia, who became the CTO of Glovo and offered her the position. Her typical day is filled with meetings and problem-solving, something she thrives on. She takes pride in solving issues for her teams and enabling them to work more efficiently. One of her proudest achievements is writing an article for Forbes about Women in Tech and STEM careers, an opportunity Glovo provided that allowed her to express her thoughts on the topic.
Her biggest challenge in this new role has been navigating ambiguity and building a team from scratch in a position that hadn’t previously existed. Her “test and learn” mindset has helped her and her team grow through these uncertainties, though she recognizes that not everyone is comfortable with that approach.
Elisa wants to dispel the myth that working in tech requires coding skills—she emphasizes that the tech industry offers endless opportunities beyond development.Her biggest success so far has been her involvement at Glovo, where she has made a significant impact. She attributes her success to treating everyone equally, from colleagues to executives, and believes this mindset has been crucial in her career.
While she has witnessed failures, such as a poorly led data team that lost a significant number of members, these experiences have taught her the importance of retaining and motivating talent. What continues to inspire her is solving problemsand learning from others, and she finds fulfillment in clearing obstacles for her teams, ensuring that they can thrive.
Elisa Caballero’s 10 Favorite Things:
- Favorite Book: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
- Favorite Podcast: Simon Sinek’s A Bit of Optimism.
- Favorite Hobby: Painting, which she enjoys despite calling her talent “more or less average.”
- Favorite Activity: Singing loudly in her car to motivating music.
- Favorite Physical Activity: Paddle sports, hiking, and running for mental clarity.
- Favorite Childhood Memory: Getting her family’s first Intel PC with a 56k modem.
- Favorite Place: Madrid, Spain, where she grew up.
- Favorite Subject in School: Math, although she appreciates history more now.
- Favorite Tech Gadgets: Early gadgets like her Walkman, Discman, and her first“brick” Motorola cell phone.
- Favorite Personal Philosophy: “Always give it a try.”
From Managers to Mentors
Elisa Caballero has not had a formal mentor throughout her career but has been fortunate to have managers who played a mentor-like role for her. Her current manager continues to guide and support her, providing feedback and looking out for her professional growth. Despite not having a female role model in her field, Elisa now recognizes the importance of such connections. She finds mentoring women and girls particularly meaningful and feels a deeper level of understanding and connection that she wishes she had experienced in her own career. Although male mentors have been instrumental for her, Elisa sees the value of having female mentors to inspire and guide women in tech.
Empathy in Leadership: A Guiding Principle
For Elisa Caballero, leadership is about empowering her team to succeed independently. She believes a good leader enables their team to thrive without constant oversight, while a bad leader micromanages. Elisa admires leaders like Sheryl Sandberg, whose book “Lean In” reshaped her mindset, inspiring her to seek the balance between personal and professional success as a woman in tech.
As a leader, Elisa describes herself as humble and collaborative. She views herself aspart of the team and focuses on clarifying paths, providing tools, and ensuring the success of her team members, which she considers her own success. Her leadership values emphasize teamwork, collaboration, and genuinely caring for the people she leads. She believes that people are the fuel of any organization and that neglecting them can lead to talent loss, business challenges, and work disruptions. Elisa is dedicated to getting to know her team members on a personal level to understand what motivates them.
Her strengths include simplifying complex concepts and having strong empathy. However, she acknowledges that these can also be weaknesses: simplifying things too much can sometimes leave people needing more detail, and her deep empathy can lead her to take on others’ problems, making it hard to strike a balance between professional boundaries and personal connection.
These lessons and traits have shaped Elisa into a thoughtful leader who prioritizes the well-being and success of her team.
Breaking Barriers: A Champion of DEIB Initiatives
To Elisa Caballero, diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEIB) represent the foundation for building a fair and equal workplace, where everyone feels they belong. Her experiences at Glovo have demonstrated the importance of investing inDEIB efforts, with dedicated teams, budgets, and community support groups actively working toward creating an inclusive culture.
Throughout her career, Elisa has often been the only woman in the room, an experience she did not see as a barrier but did recognize subtle biases like being expected to take on admin tasks by default. Elisa is now more vocal about addressing these biases when they arise. She sees the lack of female role models as a significant barrier for women in tech and believes that fostering more female leaders will inspire future generations.
Elisa advises companies to focus on the roots of the issue—engaging young women early on through STEM education initiatives. She believes companies need to invest in breaking stigmas surrounding tech careers for girls and empower them to pursue these fields.
Elisa recognizes that one of the main challenges in implementing DEIB is maintaining balance, ensuring that efforts to uplift minority groups don’t alienate others. However, she is a firm believer in the benefits of diverse teams, particularly at the C-level, where multiple perspectives lead to better decision-making and overall business success.
Reflecting on her own career, Elisa wishes she had been more aware of the biases earlier, recognizing that calling them out sooner could have had a positive impact.As a leader, she is committed to mentoring and supporting women in tech, working to break the bias both internally within Glovo and externally through community and school engagement. Her goal is to ensure that the next generation of women sees a place for themselves in tech, with or without a background in engineering.
DEIB = represent the foundation for represent for building a fair and equal workplace, building where everyone feels they belong.
5 Best Quotes by Elisa Caballero Inspiring OtherWomen:
On Expectations: “Don’t expect anything from anyone, and you will be happier.”
On Finding Balance: “You don’t need to have all the answers; you just need toknow who does.”
On Success: “Work from a place of personal fulfillment, rather than focusingsolely on promotions and rewards.”
On Leadership: “A good leader enables their team to thrive without constantoversight.”
On Overcoming Bias: “Don’t be deterred by biases or misconceptionssurrounding tech careers; there are diverse opportunities waiting for you.”
Mindful Living: The Importance of Mental Health
Elisa emphasizes the importance of maintaining good mental health through physical activities, seeing sports as her form of mindfulness. While she doesn’t meditate traditionally, she finds mental clarity in physical exercise like playing paddle, walking her dog, hiking, going to the gym, and running. These activities help her de-stress, reset, and manage the pressures of a busy lifestyle. Elisa also enjoys hobbies like reading, painting, and cooking, which further aid in maintaining balance.
Earlier in her career, Elisa experienced burnout due to over-investing time and effort, often working long hours without realizing the toll it could take. Over time, she learned the importance of setting boundaries and finding the balance between work and personal life, a principle she has carried throughout her career.
What motivates Elisa daily is the excitement of having a full day ahead to accomplish many things. She encourages companies to focus on flexibility in supporting mental health, recognizing that different people have different needs.She believes that organizations should allow employees to build their own work-life
Words of Wisdom: Navigating the Path Ahead
Elisa shares profound wisdom for navigating setbacks and managing expectations, advice she received from her brother early in life. His words, “Don’t expect anything from anyone, and you will be happier,” guide her to approach both personal and professional situations without expectation, reducing frustration. She believes in working from a place of personal fulfillment, rather than focusing on rewards like promotions, trusting that the rest will come naturally.
When asked about the worst advice, Elisa can’t recall any specific instances, as she tends to discard poor guidance. However, one of the most valuable lessons she wishes she had known when starting in tech is that “you don’t need to have all the answers, you just need to know who does.” This approach has helped her navigate the complex and ever-evolving industry.
If she could advise her younger self, it would be to “take it easy” and understand that success takes time. She stresses the importance of not trying to control everything, reminding her younger self to “chill” and let things unfold.
For young girls and women entering STEM fields, Elisa’s advice is to not be deterred by the biases or misconceptions surrounding tech careers. She emphasizes that these fields offer diverse opportunities, far beyond the stereotype of just sitting behind a laptop every day.
Looking ahead in her career, Elisa remains focused on growth, learning, and fostering diversity. Her ultimate goal is to help build balanced, diverse teams within the tech industry and look back with pride on those accomplishments.
People enjoyed the podcast very much. Especially the Comms team at Glovo, they loved it.
Biography
Elisa Caballero studied Computer Engineering in Madrid and technology project management at Harvard University. In July 2021, she was appointed Global Head ofEngineering Strategy and Operations at Glovo. Elisa has extensive experience of more than 13 years in the tech sector, having worked for companies such as Banco Santander, Vrbo, and Expedia, and has been a huge advocate for Women in Tech since the beginning, participating as a board member of affiliate groups and collaborating with the community to embrace diversity and reduce the gender gap.
“I realized Glovo breathes diversity since the first day I joined. Even before I startedI knew about the different communities that are built here to support gender, race, and sexual orientation. What I wasn’t aware of is the number of events and initiatives that each one of these groups was organizing and the number of people joining and supporting them. And not only that, even in the onboarding they work on raising awareness of unconscious bias that we all bring so that we start from the first day to become more inclusive. There are many allies within the group that will make sure everyone has a voice and avoid discrimination. It quickly becomes part of your day-to-day and also part of your DNA.”
