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"We came for the price and stayed for the service" - Carlota, AAVALABS

Carlota Montoro · 28 October 2026

Leadership · HR & Culture · Consultantin
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Key topicsThe Courage to Keep Business Simple: Why Clarity, Honesty and Common Sense Are Radical Leadership SkillsIn a business world full of management gurus, fashionable strategies and promises of overnight transformation, Carlota champions a more grounded and honest approach to leadership. She explores why leaders need to challenge advice that doesn't fit their organisation, confront uncomfortable truths and resist the pressure to follow every new trend. By stripping away corporate jargon and unnecessary complexity, CEOs and founders can communicate more clearly, make better decisions and build cultures where people understand what matters and why. The key takeaway is that simplicity isn't a lack of sophistication; it takes confidence and courage to ignore the noise and focus on what genuinely moves a business forward.Turbulence — How a CEO and Head of People Hold Steady Through a Hard StageCarlota Montoro has mentored CEOs on talent and systems strategy since 2015, and does some of the most useful work in complex or ambiguous moments, when a leadership team needs to stay aligned. When a company hits a difficult stage, the people team is often asked only to cut costs and manage exits; Carlota makes the case for a closer partnership between the CEO and the Head of People at exactly that point. The conversation covers what that partnership should look like: shared decisions, honest alignment across the leadership team, and a practical plan the organisation can follow. Listeners leave knowing what a CEO should ask of a people leader when the pressure is on, and what a strong partnership adds when a company is under strain.How Leadership Teams Adopt AI Without Handing Over the Decisions That MatterCarlota Montoro brings technology and AI into the day-to-day running of an international business as Head of People and Infrastructure, on top of more than a decade of people leadership in London and Madrid. Leadership teams often swing between buying every new tool and avoiding AI altogether; Carlota takes the practical middle, adopting what helps and deciding in advance which calls stay with people. The conversation covers how a leadership team chooses where AI earns its place, how to bring staff along with the change, and where human judgement should keep the final say. Listeners leave with a clear way to sort the work AI can take on from the decisions a leadership team should keep.View all topics →

About Carlota Montoro

Carlota Montoro, podcast guest

Strategic Business Advisor to CEOs & Founders

Aavalabs Head of People & Infrastructure12 years Working remotelyFounders & CEOs Adviser on people, structure and growthMadrid Spanish-born people leader, Europe focus

Making Business Simpler, More Human and More Effective

Carlota Montoro is a strategic business consultant, people and infrastructure leader, and advocate for a radically simpler approach to building successful organisations.

With over a decade of consulting experience and seven years working closely with the same business, Carlota has developed a practical, no-nonsense perspective on what makes companies work - and what gets in their way. Her work brings together business strategy, people, infrastructure and organisational effectiveness, helping leaders move beyond unnecessary complexity and build businesses where people, processes and purpose genuinely align.

Carlota believes that too many organisations have made business harder than it needs to be. Overcomplicated processes, borrowed management philosophies and corporate jargon often distract leaders from the fundamentals: creating clarity, building trust, putting the right structures in place and allowing talented people to do their best work.

Her approach is refreshingly direct. No corporate theatre. No one-size-fits-all formulas. No promises that sound impressive but fail in practice. Instead, she helps leaders challenge conventional thinking, strip away what isn't working and focus on what genuinely moves their businesses forward.

Working closely with CEOs and business founders, Carlota is passionate about creating organisations that are not only commercially effective but also transparent, honest and human.

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