How does a climber from Chile end up shaping supply chain strategy in Cambridge, Massachusetts? For Matias Opazo, the turning point came after meeting GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik — a conversation that ultimately led him to join the company and start a new professional chapter.

In April 2024, Opazo visited GE Vernova’s headquarters alongside fellow students from MIT’s Supply Chain Management program. During the visit, they took part in an open discussion with senior leadership, gaining direct insight into how the company is evolving its supply chain to support global electrification and decarbonization efforts.

That experience proved decisive. Instead of pursuing the conventional path many MIT graduates take toward large tech or consulting firms, Opazo chose GE Vernova. The company’s mission — delivering reliable, sustainable, and accessible energy — aligned closely with his personal values. He was also drawn to its leadership mindset, which frames GE Vernova as a “130-year-old startup”: a company combining legacy expertise with agility and ambition.

A Personal Connection to Energy

Opazo’s interest in energy began long before MIT, during his time climbing in the mountains near Santiago. Surrounded by nature, he developed a strong environmental awareness, but also witnessed firsthand the growing need for energy infrastructure.

As transmission lines expanded into natural landscapes, he began to understand the complex balance between environmental preservation and rising energy demand. For him, the challenge became clear: how to provide electricity for millions while minimizing environmental impact.

Now, after a year at GE Vernova, he is actively contributing to that balance. He has worked across multiple manufacturing sites, collaborating with teams and observing how innovation is implemented in practice. His role involves supporting long-term strategy using next-generation supply chain frameworks to improve efficiency, scalability, and value creation.

More recently, his focus has shifted toward automation — helping integrate robotics into manufacturing processes to enhance productivity and maintain technological leadership.

Preparing for a More Automated Future

Working alongside teams in the Power Transmission business, lean experts, and the Advanced Research Center, Opazo contributes to preparing global operations for increased automation. The approach begins with strengthening lean foundations, then introducing new technologies, and finally scaling advanced robotics solutions.

Momentum in this direction accelerated following a series of supply chain workshops that brought together leadership, factory teams, and robotics specialists. These sessions helped identify practical opportunities to improve manufacturing processes.

By analyzing operations directly on-site — following the “genba” principle of observing work where it happens — the team identified multiple high-impact initiatives. The outcome was a portfolio of projects with strong business cases, ready for near-term execution.

Opazo emphasizes that collaboration is central to these achievements. Across different regions and teams, a shared commitment to transformation continues to drive progress.

Learning Beyond the Workplace

Living in Cambridge places Opazo at the center of a global innovation hub. The environment allows him to stay connected with peers from MIT and engage in advanced discussions — from supply chain modeling to the impact of global trade policies.

At the same time, he maintains a strong connection to his passion for climbing. Since moving to the U.S., he has explored routes across New Hampshire, New York, California, and Wyoming. For him, climbing is both a mental reset and a source of perspective.

A Long-Term Climb

Opazo views the global energy transition much like a challenging climb — requiring patience, persistence, and continuous effort. Just as progress in climbing comes step by step, transforming energy systems is a gradual process that demands resilience and long-term commitment.

Through his work, he contributes to expanding production of critical infrastructure while improving durability and sustainability. Automation and robotics, he believes, will play a key role — enabling higher output, faster delivery, and more consistent quality.

His journey reflects a broader goal: finding practical ways to balance the needs of modern society with environmental responsibility. And much like the climbs he returns to again and again, the process itself remains a central part of the achievement.

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