Cristina Sancho.
Let's talk
Portrait of Cristina Sancho

Keynote speaker · Co-founder and CEO of initIA

We have the intelligence. Do we have the imagination?

Technology can already do more than we know to ask of it. Now it’s up to us to imagine better ways of working, decide what to entrust to technology, and take responsibility for what we build with it.

Leading teams since 2011 at:Amazon · Netflix · CEO of Taringa!

Let's talk about your event See the talks

Who I am

I led teams at Amazon and Netflix, was CEO of Taringa!, and today I build automation systems for small and mid-sized businesses at initIA, together with my cofounder Johan Duque.

On stage, I share what I see every week bringing AI into the day-to-day of real businesses, and what I learned making decisions in organisations that were growing, changing or closing a chapter.

  • Amazon2011 — 2014Global social media team, Seattle.
  • Netflix2015 — 2021Launched the service across Southern Europe.
  • Taringa!2021 — 2024CEO through its relaunch and shutdown.
  • initIA2024 — todayCo-founder and CEO. Automation applied to real work.

Talks and sessions

I've been on the inside.

I talk about the decisions that shape an organisation: how we build a culture, how we lead through an ending, and how we imagine the work that comes next. These talks draw on my experience leading teams, navigating change, and building technology with companies.

KeynoteWorkshop

We Have the Intelligence. Do We Have the Imagination?

What we hand over to AI, what we free up in people, and who answers for those decisions.

SMEs and leadership teams · ES · EN

Technology can already do far more than most organisations know to ask of it. This talk invites us to imagine better ways of working and decide what to entrust to AI, what we want to free people up to do, and who takes responsibility for those decisions.

For events on technology, the future of work and leadership · Keynote in English or Spanish · Workshop for leadership teams

What your audience will take away

  • A way to spot where we keep applying technology to processes that deserve to be rethought.
  • Questions to help decide what work AI can take on and where human judgement matters most.
  • One process in their own organisation to re-examine the very next day.

The experience behind this talk

  • initIA. We build automation systems for the operations of small and mid-sized companies, working with the people who lead hybrid teams.
  • Amazon, Netflix and Taringa!. Years of leading teams through change in organisations of very different sizes.
I'm interested in this talk
KeynoteWorking session

What Amazon and Netflix teach about building culture

Two opposite ways of working at scale, seen from the inside.

Executive committees · ES · EN

At Amazon and Netflix, I experienced two very different ways of working at scale. I look at how culture shapes daily decisions, talent and the relationship with the customer — and what a leadership team can learn without trying to copy an entire company.

For boards, founders and leadership teams · Keynote or working session · English or Spanish

What your audience will take away

  • Questions to identify which behaviours are actually reinforcing their culture today.
  • Ideas they can carry into their own organisation without copying someone else's model.
  • A clearer view of the gap between the values a company declares and the decisions it makes.

The experience behind this talk

  • Amazon. Three years inside its customer-obsession culture.
  • Netflix. Six years launching and growing millions of members in Southern Europe.
  • Taringa! Culture and leadership decisions as CEO through the company's relaunch and shutdown.
I'm interested in this talk
KeynoteTeam session

We learned how to get there.
We never learned how to leave.

How to lead an ending: the signals, the decisions and the responsibility.

Founders and people leaders · ES · EN

Knowing when to close a chapter — and how — affects the people who leave, the people who stay, and the trust placed in whoever leads. I've been on both sides of that conversation: as an employee and as the CEO responsible for closing a company. I talk about the signals, the decisions and the responsibility it takes to do it well.

For founders, executives and people leaders · Keynote or team session · English or Spanish

What your audience will take away

  • Signals that tell you a chapter needs an honest conversation.
  • Questions that help you make a difficult decision with greater integrity.
  • Ways to care for people and preserve trust within a team during a departure or company closure.

The experience behind this talk

  • Taringa! — I led the shutdown of the company and the conversations with its team.
  • My own career — I've also had to recognise when it was time to close a professional chapter.
I'm interested in this talk

Want to bring the conversation to your team?These talks also work as working sessions or workshops shaped around your situation.

Let's talk about the format

About

Why I talk about this

At Amazon and Netflix, I learned what culture can make possible when everyday decisions reinforce it. Later, I led Taringa! through a relaunch that ultimately required me to make one of the hardest decisions of my career: closing the company.

Today, at initIA, I work with companies bringing AI into their operations. I see first-hand the time and capacity technology can free up, and the questions it raises for those leading the change.

My talks draw on those experiences. I speak about technology, culture and leadership through the decisions I've had to make and the ones I see being made every day.

Visit initIA

Stages and conversations

Where these conversations have happened

Talks, gatherings and interviews where I've shared these ideas with founders, teams and professional communities.

Past appearances

Interviews and podcasts

Full conversations
SpotifyReinicIAndo con Rodrigo MirandaKnowing when to leave: from Amazon and Netflix to reinventing yourself. YouTubeTechnology Creates Capacity. We Decide What It Becomes. | Cristina Sancho TEDxUNYPIn this TEDxUNYP talk I explore why efficiency doesn't hand time back to us on its own, and what that means now that AI is arriving at work. YouTube Risk&Flow PodcastWhen the Right Career Move Is Walking AwayYoutubeKyero Podcast: Building an AI Real Estate Agent Kyero Pro Podcast features a real-world case study of an AI agent being deployed inside a working real estate agency on the Costa del Sol. YouTubeThe Startup Podcast · NovaWith Jaime Medina — Amazon, Netflix, Taringa! and initIA: making decisions with conviction, even when no one else understands them.YouTubeThe Pool con Christian RasmussonCristina Sancho on Leadership, Culture, ...and Knowing When to QuitEntrevistaIdeally Square Global · iSG ExclusiveSystems, culture and the future of human-centered AI.

For organisers

Everything you need.

Formats
Keynote · Working session · Hands-on workshop · Tailored training
Languages
English and Spanish
Based in
Madrid · Málaga · Available to travel
Materials
High-resolution photos and long bio available on request
Short bio

Cristina Sancho is a keynote speaker and co-founder of initIA. She has led teams at Amazon and Netflix and was CEO of Taringa!. Today, she helps small and medium-sized businesses expand their capacity by building systems that take on repetitive work across their operations. Her talks bring together technology, culture and leadership to explore how we imagine new ways of working and take responsibility for the decisions that come with change.

Contact

Let's talk.

Tell me who will be in the room, what conversation you want to open, and what you'd like to happen afterwards. We'll shape a proposal for that audience.

Or, if you prefer

Virtual coffee30 minutes to get to know each other

Cristina Sancho

Were you at one of my talks?

Good to meet you. Let's keep talking.

I'm Cristina Sancho, keynote speaker and co-founder of initIA. Choose how you'd like to stay in touch.

LinkedInConnect with me30 minutesLet's have a virtual coffee

Or, if you like what I write, join my newsletter

Got five more minutes? There's plenty here:

My talks Why I talk about this Where I've spoken For organisers