Vanessa Cornejo

Personal & career background

I was born in Arequipa, Peru, and now live in Lima. I am passionate about project management, continuous learning and discovering new places. Outside work, I enjoy travelling, exploring new ideas, spending time with my family and focusing on personal growth.

I graduated as a geologist from the National University of San Agustín in Arequipa in 2013. I am currently completing a PADE in Project Management and am a member of the Project Management Institute.

My experience in mining and geology provided me with a strong technical foundation, particularly in technology implementation. Today, I manage projects across exploration, laboratories, production and concentrate sales, giving me a broad understanding of the mining value chain.

This background allows me to combine technical expertise with project planning, stakeholder management and leadership.

Challenges, projects & learnings 

Can you describe a project you delivered at Datamine that best showcases your expertise?

One project that best represents my expertise was the implementation of Reconcilor for a major mining company in Latin America.

As Project Manager at Datamine, I coordinated the implementation from planning through to delivery, working closely with the client and multidisciplinary technical teams.

I was responsible for managing the scope, schedule, risks, stakeholders and resources while ensuring that the solution met the client’s operational requirements. The project allowed me to combine my mining and geological background with project management and technology implementation in a complex environment involving production teams, technical specialists and business stakeholders.

What was your role in the project?

As Project Manager, I was responsible for delivering the implementation within the agreed scope, schedule and quality standards while meeting the client’s expectations.

I coordinated Datamine’s multidisciplinary team and acted as the main point of contact between the client, technical consultants and internal stakeholders. My responsibilities included planning and tracking the project, defining priorities, coordinating resources, monitoring progress, managing risks and issues, following up on deliverables and maintaining clear communication with the client.

I was directly involved in decisions relating to priorities, resource allocation, timelines, scope clarification, risk mitigation and issue escalation. I also facilitated alignment between the business and technical teams, ensuring that decisions reflected both the client’s operational requirements and the project objectives.

My role extended beyond coordinating activities. I took ownership of the project, anticipated potential challenges, removed blockers and guided the team towards the successful delivery and adoption of the solution.

What made this project challenging?

One unexpected challenge was the initial resistance from some users to changing their established processes and adopting Reconcilor. Although the technical implementation was progressing as planned, it became clear that technical readiness alone would not ensure successful adoption.

I adapted the approach by increasing communication with key stakeholders, involving users more actively in the validation process, clarifying the benefits of the new solution, and prioritising training and feedback before progressing to the next stages.

This helped build confidence among users and ensured that the solution reflected the operational realities of the site.

The most important lesson is that a successful technology implementation is not only about delivering a system; it also requires managing the change surrounding it. Early stakeholder engagement, clear communication, user involvement and appropriate training should be treated as core project deliverables rather than activities left until the end.

In mining, where operational continuity is critical, understanding the site’s reality and adapting the implementation strategy accordingly can make a significant difference.

How did the project improve the client’s or operation’s way of working?

The project created a more structured and reliable process for managing production accounting and reconciliation information.

Users gained better visibility into data validation, responsibilities, discrepancies and outstanding issues, supporting faster and better-informed decisions. The implementation also strengthened planning and execution through clearer validation points, regular progress reviews, structured issue tracking and closer collaboration between business users and technical teams.

This helped shift the project from a primarily technical implementation towards a more collaborative and process-focused approach.

One of the most important improvements was the increased involvement of users in validating the solution and understanding how the new workflows supported their operational requirements. This created a greater sense of ownership and helped facilitate the adoption of Reconcilor.

How does this project experience influence the way you support Datamine customers today?

This experience has strongly influenced how I approach Datamine customer engagements. Every mining operation has its own processes, priorities, constraints and people, so I first seek to understand the customer’s operational reality before determining the most appropriate implementation approach.

Today, I focus not only on delivering the technical solution but also on ensuring that it creates value for the customer and can be successfully adopted by its users. I pay close attention to stakeholder expectations, communication, project risks and potential resistance to change.

The experience has also taught me to be proactive: to identify challenges early, bring the right people together and adapt the project approach when necessary.

I believe this combination of mining knowledge, project management expertise and customer understanding allows me to build stronger relationships and deliver more sustainable results for Datamine customers.

Beyond the work

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

I enjoy travelling, discovering new places and exploring new ideas. I also value spending time with my family and pursuing opportunities for continuous learning and personal growth.