🎙 Episode Guest José Soares - CTO at The Capital Hotels & Apartments Roles: Digital transformation leader, technologist, and innovation driver in hospitality Expertise: FinTech, mobile payments, gaming, telecoms, and hospitality technology Fun Fact: José started his career building mobile games before moving into fintech, gaming, and telecoms and now leads AI and digital transformation for one of South Africa’s fastest-growing hospitality groups.

🌟 Key Topics Covered From Mobile Games to Hospitality Leadership José shares how his diverse career - spanning gaming, fintech, lotteries, and telecoms - unexpectedly led him into the hospitality industry. Initially consulting on lotteries in Africa, he was approached by The Capital Hotels to bring a fresh, tech-driven approach to a traditionally process-heavy sector. Innovating a Process-Driven Industry Hospitality is notorious for “this is how we’ve always done it.” José discusses the challenge of driving digital transformation in a sector resistant to change, and how his fintech and gaming experience gave him an edge in payments, guest experience design, and system integration. Balancing Experimentation and Governance in AI José and Chase dive into the tension between encouraging staff to experiment with AI tools and maintaining secure, compliant systems at scale. José explains how to empower teams while putting the right policies in place to protect data and avoid chaos. Measuring Real ROI in AI Projects Too much of AI today is “vanity”; glitzy demos without measurable impact. José outlines his approach to defining ROI before launching a project, using data-driven pilots to see what really works before scaling. The Future of Hospitality Tech (3-Year Outlook) José predicts a shift toward greater cohesion across hospitality software stacks; moving from dozens of disparate systems toward more integrated, API-friendly platforms. Clean, orchestrated data will enable AI to deliver better guest experiences, operational efficiency, and cost savings. Personal Impact of AI On a personal level, AI helps José draft documentation, PRDs, and process flows faster, freeing him to focus on strategy. Professionally, he sees AI enabling small teams to achieve what once took 10x the manpower, dramatically speeding up innovation cycles. Advice for CTOs on Cutting Through the AI Noise José’s framework: focus on two things: where you’re bleeding and where you’re making money. Apply AI to those problems first. Everything else is just noise. Batman, Podcasts, and Learning José confesses he’s a lifelong Batman fan and comic book reader. While he doesn’t read many traditional business books, he absorbs insights through podcasts; his preferred learning medium.

🚀 Key Lessons for FinTech & Tech Leaders ✅ Draw from cross-industry experience: skills in fintech, gaming, and telecom can unlock new solutions in traditional sectors like hospitality. ✅ Balance freedom with governance: enable experimentation while securing data and defining standard tools. ✅ Measure ROI before you build: don’t deploy AI without clear impact metrics. ✅ Focus on your bleeding points and revenue drivers: prioritize AI projects that directly solve key problems. ✅ Expect software stacks to consolidate: prepare for a future where fewer systems do more, with clean data enabling AI-driven insights.

🎯 Actionable Takeaways

• Create a “sandbox” for employees to experiment safely with AI while maintaining compliance.
• Use your background from other industries to rethink outdated processes in hospitality or other complex sectors.
• Identify your top revenue and cost pain points - pilot AI there first.
• Plan for software stack integration now to future-proof your organization.

📖 José’s FinTech Insight “Focus on where you’re bleeding, and where you’re making money. Apply AI there first. Everything else is noise.”

🔗 Stay ahead in fintech, AI, and digital transformation. Visit www.scrums.com for expert insights on Africa’s fintech and startup landscape.

📌 Chapters 00:00 – Welcome & José’s Background 01:16 – From Gaming & FinTech to Hospitality 03:05 – Joining The Capital Hotels & Early Challenges 05:23 – Solving Technology Problems in a Process-Driven Industry 08:22 – Experimentation vs. Governance in AI Adoption 11:12 – Avoiding “Vanity” AI Projects & Measuring ROI 14:16 – Personal Impact of AI on José’s Work 17:19 – Building In-House Teams vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions 20:30 – How to Cut Through the AI Noise 21:46 – The Future of Hospitality Technology in 3 Years 25:53 – Great Experiences for Staff & Guests While Reducing Complexity 26:01 – José’s Favorite “Books” (Comics!) & Learning Through Podcasts 27:06 – Closing Thoughts

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