With decades of experience in risk management and capital project execution, Raul Fuentes helps organizations strengthen their project assurance practices—not just by managing risk, but by aligning each initiative with the business’s broader purpose.
As part of Valency’s Facilitator Spotlight series, we showcase the insights of our Senior Consultants—industry leaders who combine deep technical expertise with practical facilitation skills to deliver long-term value. These are the professionals who guide teams through the complexities of capital project delivery with clarity, empathy, and purpose.
In this edition, we feature Raul Fuentes, a highly experienced project risk advisor and facilitator with extensive experience across Latin America. Raul’s approach blends strategic foresight with structured facilitation, helping project teams not only mitigate risk, but ask the hard questions early: Does this project make sense for the business? Are we aligned on why we’re doing this?
A Career Built on Experience—and Curiosity
Raul’s journey began in Chile, where he graduated as a metallurgical engineer and quickly advanced into senior roles within the mining industry. He complimented his engineering background with a master’s degree in marketing and commercial management, an uncommon pairing that later shaped his ability to think critically from both a technical and business lens.
With more than 40 years of experience, including senior roles at global engineering firms and Chile’s state-owned copper producer Codelco, Raul has led multi-stakeholder teams through complex, high-stakes projects, managing capital portfolios exceeding $1.3 billion annually.
But it wasn’t just the numbers that drove his success. It was his ability to interpret risk not as a checklist, but as a lens through which organizations make smarter, more aligned decisions.
He’s known for asking tough questions early in the project lifecycle—challenging assumptions, surface misalignments, and ensuring technical efforts are grounded in business strategy. Raul often facilitates Business Engineering Alignment Meetings (BEAMs) to support this kind of early alignment, especially during FEL-1 and FEL-2.
“A company doesn’t exist to develop projects. It exists to create business value. A good project must serve that purpose.”
Risk Isn’t Just About Safety—It’s About Strategy
In Raul’s experience, one of the most common misconceptions about project risk management is that it’s solely tied to health, safety, or environmental concerns. While those elements are critical, Raul emphasizes that true project assurance also means looking at business, operational, financial, and reputational risks—the kinds of risks that can quietly derail a project or compromise its long-term viability.
“I look at risk from a top-down perspective. It’s about how uncertainty affects the business objectives of a project. That’s where strategic risk lives.”
This approach is particularly valuable during front-end planning, when the cost of change is low and the opportunity to shape project success is highest. For Raul, tools like PDRI (Project Definition Rating Index) are not just about identifying gaps, they’re about surfacing unknowns that could affect everything from cost to stakeholder support.
Coupled with BEAMs, Raul ensures business and engineering teams don’t fall in love with a solution too early. His facilitation pushes teams to step back and ask, “Does this serve the business strategy?”
Facilitating Diverse Voices—and Managing Strong Ones
Having facilitated assessments across a range of cultures and industries, Raul understands how important it is to read the room and how facilitation is as much about listening as it is about guiding.
From setting up the right room layout to understanding who will be in attendance and creating space for quieter voices to contribute, Raul prepares meticulously to ensure each facilitation session is both productive and inclusive.
He also recognizes how dominant voices, especially senior leaders, can unintentionally silence others.
“You must create a space where everyone feels safe to speak, especially those who might be intimidated by hierarchy. That’s when the real insights emerge.”
This sensitivity is especially crucial during BEAM sessions, where cross-functional stakeholders need to align on both technical feasibility and strategic purpose. Raul’s role is to guide—not dictate—the conversation.
He sees the facilitator’s role as one of orchestration, ensuring that discussion stays aligned to the objective while also adapting to what the team needs in the moment. It’s a balance of structure and sensitivity that comes from experience.
Risk + Facilitation = Smart Capital Investment
Today, Raul continues to work with Valency clients across North and South America, facilitating assessments such as PDRI, Construction Readiness, and Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Assessments.
Using Carve, Valency’s cloud-based assurance platform, Raul integrates structured risk assessments with real-time benchmarking data, collaborative facilitation tools, and AI-powered insights to help teams drive confident decisions across the project lifecycle.
For him, facilitation and risk management are inseparable. Good facilitation uncovers hidden risks. Good risk management drives meaningful action.
“Whether it’s a $100 million project or a $2 billion one, every project deserves the same level of care, alignment, and strategic thinking.”
Final Thoughts
Raul Fuentes brings not just experience, but perspective. His ability to challenge assumptions, connect technical and business thinking, and foster alignment early makes him a valuable asset to any project team.
At Valency, we’re proud to work with facilitators like Raul who embody thoughtful leadership, grounded expertise, and a relentless commitment to project success