Pipefy has announced Rafaela Costa’s appointment as Global Vice President of Alliances & Channels and Professional Services. This is a new role, and the combination of Professional Services and Channel leadership is interesting.
Sandra Denton was the previous head of Alliances and Channels. She stepped down in 2023 and now acts as an advisor to the company. She did not appear to be responsible for professional services within the firm.
After reflection, the combined role makes sense. It allows Pipefy to coordinate its professional services employees with its partners’ much larger professional services teams. Customers are happy because they get the vendor’s expert on the project, but the partner can provide the volume that Pipefy couldn’t.
Alessio Alionco, Founder and CEO of Pipefy commented, “Rafaela is a visionary leader and a strong mentor, helping to empower teams to deliver outstanding results. We are incredibly thrilled to have Rafaela join the Pipefy leadership team, and she is already making an impact on bringing our innovative workflow automation solution to more organizations worldwide.’”
Who is Rafaela Costa?
Costa joined Pipefy in June and has more than 26 years of experience, mainly in professional services. Her last full-time role was six years as Vice President, Latin America Service Leader at Salesforce. She leads a team of around 350 professional services employees across Latin America.
During her time at Salesforce, Costa built out the professional services organisation. She also developed and implemented a program to enhance the Partner ecosystem in the region. Pipefy will expect her to replicate this experience on a broader scale.
Costa has experience in Europe and Latin America, delivering large-scale technology projects and building teams. She has worked for Microsoft, Sigma Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks, Mycom OSI, Nortel Networks, and GSK. Costa’s experience in coordinating distributed teams across Europe and Latin America is what Pipefy is looking for.
Costa holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Executive Education from INSEAD. She also has qualifications from Wharton, Insead, and the Project Management Institute. Costa is currently enrolled in an Advanced Boardroom Program for Women at Saint Paul School of Business.
Costa commented, “I am excited to contribute to Pipefy’s mission of empowering organizations worldwide to be more efficient now enhanced with cutting-edge Pipefy’s AI-driven workflow automation solution,”
“A key focus of my leadership will be fostering a customer-centric approach. By integrating Professional Services with Channels & Alliances, we aim to enhance Pipefy’s ecosystem. This alignment is crucial for delivering seamless experiences and maximizing the value we provide to our customers worldwide.”
“I look forward to collaborating with the talented team at Pipefy to drive innovation and excellence in our offerings. Together, we will unlock new opportunities and reinforce our commitment to providing best-in-class, customer-focused services and solutions.”
Enterprise Times Times: What does this mean
Pipefy and Alionco have lured Costa out of her well-earned sabbatical where she spent more time with her family, conducted volunteer work and studied. She is returning to a full-time role with many demands on her time. However, she has proven several times in the past she is more than capable.
Her experience at Salesforce will be invaluable, and she may still have a considerable network of contacts in both Europe and Latin America to help find and locate the partners that Pipefy wants to take on.
What will be interesting is how she approaches the combined role and whether this could become a blueprint for future appointments in other organisations that want to strengthen their partner network.
