Álvaro Gaete

Álvaro embodies what it means to have the Hatch values embedded in his personality and throughout his work. Offering constant support for others—in his region and beyond, Álvaro empowers young professionals, while giving them opportunities to participate in meetings, join workshops and gain exposure across the company.

As a nominator of Álvaro shares, he “is a person who is capable of showing up to a meeting and supporting however he can, even if he has not been participating in the project.” Álvaro jumps right in to support others, and is known to his colleagues as a champion for equal opportunity for everyone.

Why do you believe in diversity and inclusion?

I think many personal and professional factors have modelled my attitude and understanding of the value of diversity and inclusion in our society and Hatch in particular. Before joining Hatch in 2006, I worked some years in an industrial project in Abu Dhabi, UAE, an opportunity which exposed me and my family to a very multicultural and diverse life and environment. At the same time, as my sons and daughters grew up, they provided the family with different, modern views of the present and future, challenging in some way my understanding of changes taking place in our society and opening new perspectives about diversity and inclusion.

As a professor in postgraduate programs at a local university in Chile for more than 15 years, I have had the opportunity to meet professionals ranging from young to senior and from many industry sectors, which has also contributed to move my personal limits and beliefs of the possibilities with regards to the positive effects of diversity and inclusion in our life and work environments.

What do you think we need to do as individuals to improve inclusivity?

I think that to be empathetic is important, as well as to treat others as equals and respectfully, getting rid of our own prejudices. I think the big learning, exposure and openness to diversity and inclusion may come from our personal lives, family environment and communities where we live, so we can take these spaces and opportunities to model our attitudes and actions to be more inclusive. That personal change will probably also be reflected at work.

What does positive change mean to you?

A move in the direction of embracing key aspects of modern life to build a better future, such as diversity and inclusion, leaving behind paradigms and opening our minds to better teams and align with younger people, business and societal contexts, and new technologies and methods. This will lead us, as a Company, to create a more balanced, harmonious, integrated, and enriching work environment for all.

What are you most proud of?

I feel proud of having been able to “convert” myself from a very different work environment and industry (Defense Systems engineering projects) to suit in our mining engineering projects, applying technical and management practices learned from defense systems in our engineering projects. At the same time, I am very grateful of Directors and Managers for giving me the opportunity to develop SAM Region Hatch Quality Management System in collaboration with the quality team members (thank you guys!) and all the colleagues from Business Units, Practices, PDG and Shared Services. It was a great opportunity to work together with many colleagues and to gain a deep understanding of our culture and how we work.

What do you like most about working at Hatch? How do you think the Hatch culture is different from other companies?

Its atmosphere, which is something I quickly realized when joining the Company. It has to do therefore with everybody’s attitude towards others, treating colleagues with respect and courtesy regardless your position, which creates a very positive and friendly work environment. I remember when in 2007 we carried out a global research about pros and cons to transfer and share knowledge across all Hatch hubs, to discover that more than 80% of us were willing to share and support others with just a call. I consider that a very distinctive value of our culture, which significantly contributes to achieve a one-team organization.