Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with exceptional people—leaders, colleagues, and multidisciplinary teams who have shaped my professional journey. In this section, I’ve gathered some of the feedback and recommendations they’ve shared, as a reflection of how I work, collaborate, and bring value to every project.
If you’d like, you can reach out to them directly through their LinkedIn profiles, which are linked in each testimonial (see more references).
Professional References
Ilse De Bruin
CPO At Nowports
I had the pleasure of working alongside German Rivas (better known as Pope) during my time as Chief Product Officer at Nowports, where he served as Director of User Experience, Research, and Design. Although he had already spent three impactful years with the company before I arrived, our year working together left a lasting impression on me.
German is the kind of leader every organization hopes to have — someone who doesn’t just stay in their lane, but actively contributes to the broader success of the company. He exemplifies true corporate citizenship. Whether it was engaging deeply in strategic conversations, helping shape our customer-facing experience, or uplifting the overall quality of our brand and digital products, he brought clarity, structure, and integrity to everything he touched.
His leadership of cross-functional initiatives — from launching our flagship customer web application to running insightful customer focus groups and navigating complex build-vs-buy decisions — consistently reflected both strong product intuition and a customer-first mindset. Beyond delivering results, he took it a step further by introducing scalable mechanisms that improved communication, execution, and visibility across our Product and Tech teams.
German is a hands-on leader who balances strategic vision with attention to detail, and his work ethic sets the tone for those around him. He cares deeply, contributes fully, and leads with humility and precision. Any organization would be lucky to have him.
Santiago García da Rosa
CTO at Nowports
I enjoyed leading Pope as part of my experience as CTO at Nowports. He was one of my best hirings!
He has everything you would expect from a Senior Director, ownership, accountability, pro-activeness... he cares about his team as much as he cares about exceeding expectations on each delivery.
Jonathan Leonardo
GROUP PRODUCT MANAGER At Nowports
Since joining Nowports, I have led the evolution of digital product design at one of the most important logistics startups in Latin America. Founded in 2018 and becoming a unicorn in 2022, Nowports is a digital freight forwarder that optimizes international logistics in Latin America through technology, automation, and financing. My approach combines user experience strategy, user-centric research, and operational design, with a comprehensive approach that crosses multiple areas of the company.
Giorgia Tomietto
VP OF PEOPLE at Nowports
I had the chance to collaborate with Germán (aka Pope) at Nowports, leading the Design & UX team, and I wanted to share a few thoughts on his leadership:
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Pope's a fantastic leader—he inspires, guides, and teaches, all while keeping the team engaged. He’s built a tight-knit group of top-notch pros.
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During our time working together, Pope consistently championed a transparent, people-first culture. His strong values helped us hit our business goals, and he was a role model for the People team on many projects.
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Pope's an awesome person to work with. He’s detail-oriented and always adds a personal touch, keeping interactions human and focused. He was a great colleague.
Thanks for your support and for choosing Nowports as your professional home. Wishing you many more successes!
Linda Jimenez
Senior UX Designer At Nowports
Working with Germán (Pope) at Nowports has been one of the best experiences of my career. As Director of Product Design & Research, his leadership not only guided us in creating strategic, user-centered solutions but also helped us grow as a team and as professionals.
I always felt heard and valued while working with him. His leadership style fosters trust, collaboration, and continuous learning, turning every challenge into an opportunity for innovation. He motivated me to give my best and to contribute with a more strategic vision in every project.
Beyond his knowledge and experience, Pope is someone who truly inspires and genuinely cares about his team. Any design and research team would be lucky to have him.
Adrián Aubone
CPO At PedidosYa
Pope is one of the best leaders I’ve had the chance to work with. I recommend him for his technical expertise, sharp eye, warmth and people-first mindset, his drive and full commitment to building meaningful solutions—and, of course, for his great taste in classic movie soundtracks!
Scott Schmidt
Senior Director At PwC
Germán is one of the most talented designers I have worked with in the past 17 years. What makes him so talented is the way he builds off of his gifted design eye with such strong technical skills. Every project we have worked on together he approached enthusiastically asking the right questions in order to understand the goal of the end users. He comes back with thoughtful, innovative ideas while working within the brand guidelines. His work for pwc.com/us has been leveraged across many other territory websites of PwC.
Germán works extremely hard and is always committed to getting the project completed within the agreed timeframe, if not sooner. He continually asks for feedback and applies lessons learned to future projects.
Perhaps Germán's best quality is his pleasant nature. No matter how difficult the demands of the stakeholder, he remains even-keeled and committed to a successful project. He is truly a pleasure to work with!
I see nothing but success in Germán's future in whatever capacity he chooses.
Martín Rubino
VP OF PRODUCT AT NOWPORTS
I highly recommend German Rivas based on his exceptional performance as the Director of User Experience at Nowports. German is an outstanding professional, showcasing remarkable strengths in proactivity and a collaborative team spirit. His leadership skills have significantly contributed to the success of our projects, and his ability to inspire and guide his team is truly commendable. German's dedication and innovative approach to user experience have greatly enhanced the overall product quality. I have full confidence in his abilities and believe he would be a valuable asset in any professional setting.
Bruno Aicardo
GROUP PRODUCT MANAGER AT NOWPORTS
I have worked alongside German for over 3.5 years and can vouch for his exceptional professionalism. His mastery of design, user experience (UX), and branding is outstanding; he is always one step ahead, bringing proactive ideas and innovative solutions.
Beyond his technical expertise, German is an empathetic leader, genuinely committed to the development and well-being of his team. He fosters a work environment based on unity and camaraderie, which inspires the entire team to give their best and continue growing together.
His impact extends beyond his team; German proactively seeks to collaborate with other areas, understanding that success is a company-wide effort. A truly complete and valuable professional.
Amparo Bengochea
Senior UX Designer & DesignOps at Nowports
Working under Germán’s leadership has been inspiring and has significantly contributed to my growth. As Director of the Nowports Design Experience team, he combined user-centered solutions and pixel-perfect attention to detail with a supportive leadership style.
He was always approachable, especially during times of change, actively listening to concerns and creating space for open conversations. He genuinely cared about my development, which I deeply appreciated, often sharing his expertise, relevant articles, and videos to help me grow in the UX field and deepen my understanding of Design Systems.
Germán consistently celebrated my achievements, offered thoughtful and constructive feedback, and made me feel both supported and valued. His blend of professionalism and approachability makes him a true asset to any organization. He built and led an outstanding team, and I’m truly grateful to have been part of it.
Diego Carrión
Senior User Researcher at Nowports
I had the privilege of working under Germán’s leadership on the UX team at Nowports for three years, and his impact on my professional and personal growth was extraordinary. Germán leads with empathy—he consistently created open spaces for honest dialogue, active listening, and knowledge exchange, ensuring every voice was heard. He placed full trust in my work, championing projects such as our User Personas, the Top & Target Accounts research, and our UX Writing efforts, celebrating each milestone and giving me the autonomy to excel. Beyond individual support, Germán cultivated a team culture grounded in respect and shared learning, transforming us into a close‑knit, high‑performing group. Any organization would be fortunate to gain a leader so genuinely human‑centred and empowering.