Costa Rica. Jun 29, 2026. More than 70 representatives from multinational companies with operations in the country, together with global experts, gathered at the second edition of the GBS Forum to analyze how to strategically integrate artificial intelligence into Global Business Services centers operating from Costa Rica.
The gathering, organized by CINDE with the support of McKinsey & Company, 3M, BAC, Roche, and Western Union, enabled the exchange of practical experiences on AI implementation and a technical discussion on the challenges of moving from isolated pilots to transformations at scale.
“Today, the conversation is no longer about whether companies should use artificial intelligence, but about how to integrate it strategically to strengthen their global services and avoid losing relevance in an increasingly competitive environment. The experiences shared and the findings from a CINDE exploratory survey confirm that, among the most advanced operations, AI is being used mainly to optimize processes, support decision-making, and improve productivity, while the main challenges are now concentrated around governance, specialized talent, and organizational alignment,” said Marianela Urgellés, Managing Director of CINDE.
The services sector currently sustains a significant share of the country’s skilled employment and contributed US$10.509 billion in higher value-added services exports in 2025. In that same proportion, it is one of the industries where AI adoption will have the most direct effect on the nature of work and the skills multinationals will require in the coming years.
“GBS leaders know that artificial intelligence will transform their function. The real question is whether they will lead that transformation or be caught by surprise. Organizations that are doing this well are moving quickly, betting on experimentation at the level of each area of expertise, and fundamentally repositioning GBS: moving from being a cost center to becoming the engine that drives AI adoption at scale,” said Luis Aguilar, Leader of McKinsey’s Costa Rica center and Client Capabilities for Latin America.
What type of talent do global companies in transformation require?
During the forum, multinational companies agreed that the main challenge is no longer access to technology, but the ability to redesign processes end to end, sustain clear governance over the use of AI, and have teams prepared to operate in contexts of continuous change.
This redefines the type of talent the sector demands: professionals with technical judgment and critical thinking, capable of interpreting data, validating results, and orchestrating AI-assisted workflows; leaders with change management and process design skills; and employees with a structural disposition toward continuous learning through short, modular training paths that can be applied directly to their roles.
“Operations will tend to manage more work, with greater speed and complexity, and will require more professionals in analytical and supervisory roles, and fewer in transactional tasks. For Costa Rica, this opens a clear opportunity to raise the quality of employment associated with global services, provided that the population develops the competencies that companies investing in Costa Rica are beginning to require,” Urgellés emphasized.
With this second edition of the GBS Forum, CINDE consolidates the gathering as a technical platform that anticipates the evolution of the ecosystem, facilitates exchange among sector leaders, and provides input for key stakeholders in the country to make informed decisions at a time of profound technological transformation.
About CINDE
CINDE is the expert and strategic guide for investment, business development, and talent development initiatives in Costa Rica. Thanks to its 44-year track record working with multinational companies and its role as a key player in the investment ecosystem, CINDE has developed dozens of talent development initiatives as a key element of Costa Rica’s business climate and has supported the establishment of more than 400 multinational companies.
About McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm committed to helping organizations accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth. We work with clients across the private, public, and social sectors to solve complex problems and create positive change for all their stakeholders. We combine bold strategies and transformative technologies to help organizations innovate more sustainably, achieve lasting performance gains, and create workforces that will thrive for this generation and the next.
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