A decade at Avature. Then, a bold step into an exciting and somewhat unknown field at the time. And finally, a comeback to keep exploring new challenges—now with a fresh perspective and new expertise to enrich the journey ahead.
After nearly ten years at Avature, diving into different roles and teams, Vic Prieto decided to step outside his comfort zone and explore the fast-evolving world of AI. But in 2023, he found himself back—mainly drawn by the same things that made Avature special to him in the first place: the people, the culture, and the opportunity to make an impact.
Now, as the manager of the AI Orchestrator team, he’s leveraging his experiences to help shape Avature’s AI capabilities and solutions. Read on and accompany me as we discover his journey, what he learned along the way, and what excites him most about the road ahead.
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When did you first join Avature? What initially attracted you to the company?
That was back in 2011. I was working somewhere else and started interviewing for new opportunities. After considering several options, I ultimately chose Avature. My interviews took place in person at the old office on Guatemala Street in Palermo, Buenos Aires—back when our Engineering area was just a few people (now we’re in the hundreds worldwide!) I immediately felt connected to and valued by the people who interviewed me—one of them was our VP of Product Engineering. On top of that, the proactive and creative environment I sensed during my visits sealed the deal for me and I joined as a developer in the Integrations team.
How was your Avature journey those first years, and what did you enjoy most about it?
I spent nearly a decade at Avature, working alongside truly incredible people—both professionally and personally. About three years after joining Integrations, I was eager for new challenges and decided to transition to the former Main Objects teams. Then, in 2015, I had the exciting opportunity to build the new Performance team from scratch, becoming its manager. In that role, I also collaborated closely with almost all teams from the Development area thinking on ways to optimize processes mainly. After that, my next challenge was as Lists manager and later Tools manager, which gave me a deeper understanding of the Avature platform from multiple perspectives.
Throughout those years, I worked on challenging, rewarding projects that pushed us to grow and brought the joy of shared success. But beyond the technical and professional achievements, what I value most are the friendships I built along the way—many of which I still cherish today.
When did you decide to leave Avature, and when did you come back?
I left Avature in 2020, back when AI was starting to become a big thing, and I wanted to explore new challenges directly in the field. It felt like the right time to step outside my comfort zone and gain new perspectives.
After a couple of years exploring the AI and e-commerce fields, in 2023, I came back to Avature. I rejoined the A-Team as Chatbots Manager. Later, in early 2025 when the AI Orchestrator team was created, I moved there as the team’s manager. I’m excited to be back and to contribute to Avature’s AI capabilities and solutions, helping shape the way we leverage AI.
How did your previous experience at Avature influence your decision to come back? What aspects of our culture drew you back?
My time at Avature had been amazing. I had taken on different roles in multiple teams, so leaving wasn’t an easy choice. But during my time away, I had the opportunity to complement my experience and knowledge by working at different startups, each at a unique stage of growth, with varying practices, domains, and challenges. When I started considering my next step, I found out that Avature was looking to expand its AI teams. It felt like the perfect match!
Above all, what drew me back was the human and professional quality that Avature has always prioritized, nurtured, and embraced. The best way to foster productivity, success, creativity, and innovation is by ensuring that teams operate in a positive environment—one built on collaboration, trust, and shared commitment.
Were there any skills or experiences you gained outside Avature that you felt would be valuable if you ever returned?
As I said, during my time away, I worked at startups of different sizes and stages, which strengthened my focus on agile development with a results-driven approach. I also gained experience managing budgets, working with temporary outsourced reinforcements, and making critical decisions that highly contributed to the future of the organizations I was part of. I knew that everything I had learned would be valuable at Avature.
Did you stay connected with former colleagues or follow Avature’s updates while you were away?
It was impossible not to stay connected! My “almost-a-decade” at Avature came with countless professional relationships and friendships. Plus, my wife, Yamila, is also about to hit her ten-year Avature anniversary—so in a way, I feel like I never really left!
What is it that you enjoy the most from your current role? What opportunities excite you for the future?
What I enjoy most about my current role is helping build teams and contributing to both collective and individual growth. In that sense, all my roles over the past ten years have had that common thread, regardless of the specific position.
And that also connects to the challenges and opportunities that excite me about the future. Mainly the opportunity to help develop new teams focused on cutting-edge AI technologies—all while being part of Avature’s exceptional culture.