🟨 Chapter 3: AI, Purpose & Reinvention

From International Contractor to Father of Two

In the Netherlands, I continued working for Liberty Global, now with new leaders, new platforms, new cultures… and new demands.

But I was lucky. I landed in a fantastic team, with colleagues from Poland, Serbia, Croatia, the UK, and more.

I kept learning. At first, English was still a challenge, but I realized I didn’t need to worry so much. At this level, people help you, they guide you. What matters is collaboration, not perfect English.

And Here We Are…

After a year as a contractor, Liberty Global told me there would be no more contracts. The only option was to become a full-time employee, but that meant earning less. It wasn’t easy…

During that time, my second child was born while I was still at Liberty Global. A new light. And a new responsibility.

In 2022, Liberty Global outsourced everything to Infosys and I became their employee. I had to decide whether to become a full-time Infosys (India) employee, or let go.

I decided to stay. It was tough. My dreams shrank quite a bit, but we adapted.

Working Nights, Holding Up the Day

In this world, production deployments happen at night. Thousands of connected customers. Critical changes. Nothing can go wrong.

You plan so no one notices. But something can always happen. Working nights is exhausting. It takes a toll. But I know that’s what I’m paid for.

And I keep doing it with pride.

Project Management: Finding My Center

I’ve always liked the technical side, but over time I discovered that leading complex projects is what truly excites me.

Organizing. Planning. Communicating. Solving. Knowing when and who to involve. That comes naturally to me.

It’s no longer about knowing everything, but about understanding how things work and how to connect the people who can solve them.

Currently, I’m leading flagship television projects, coordinating offshore teams, and transforming the team to an agile methodology. We work in two-week sprints, track our effort with story points, and hold regular follow-up meetings. On top of that, we have to prepare technically to completely overhaul the video headend for a company like Sunrise in Switzerland, where the demand for quality and professionalism is at its highest. We’re talking about migrating more than 200 servers—transcoders, packagers, backoffice, hardware, and vendors. It’s truly complex. And not just that: similar projects for Virgin Media in the UK, or implementing video advertising for our friends at VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands.

I can say it: I’m proud of the level I’ve reached. I don’t see others as competition. Once you’re in the top league, you have to cooperate with them, learn from them, and yes, sometimes get frustrated—but that’s part of the process. All the effort was worth it.

And Meanwhile… We Discovered the World

We took this time to travel, explore, live. We visited places we had only seen on TV before. Every city, every train, every market was part of a deep family learning experience.

We traveled through Croatia, France, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland. Each destination was a lesson, an adventure, and an opportunity to grow together. The UK and Nordic countries remain on our pending list for when we can visit them.

And even though I still miss my loved ones, I realized that’s life: A sum of brave decisions.

The Awakening: AI, Purpose & Future

I’m probably facing another big change. I decided to start this blog. I’m building my own startup. And it all started with artificial intelligence.

In just two years, AI became part of me. An extension of my mind. A co-pilot.

Now I don’t hold back because something feels too big or I don’t understand it. With AI, everything can be explored. It’s what I dreamed of as a child.

But I think there’s something deeper. Living alone, with more time for myself, has made my mind wander and look for ways to return home. Distance and solitude have given me space to think, to dream, to plan.

40 Years… and Another Half to Write

I’m 40 now. I work. I fight. I live. 15,000 km from what still feels like home. With two kids and my wife. And a new chapter ahead.

Yes, I’d like to return. But now I’m not alone. Any decision must be well thought out.

And so I go:

Fighting. Working. Living. Because nothing is impossible. And happiness is built with your thoughts.

Live in the present. Enjoy what you have. And fight for what you love.

My story is still being written. And this time, it’s going to be different.

Thank you for reading. All the best,

— Claudio