Hey, I’m Douglas, Editor-in-Chief of the Brazilian Tax Reform Portal 🇧🇷.

In this edition, I bring you an article by Lionel Nobre, Vice President, Latin America Tax at Dell Technologies.

As automation transforms the tax profession, the defining traits of modern in-house tax leaders are no longer technical precision or regulatory memorization—but human capabilities. This article explores why judgment, ethics, and influence are the strategic cornerstones of tomorrow’s tax leadership, and how organizations can nurture them through simulations, ethical frameworks, and business-savvy storytelling. It also references key change-managem.

Welcome to the golden age of tax automation, where bots do not sleep, spreadsheets self- populate, and AI writes memos faster than your caffeine kicks in. It is dazzling. It is efficient. It is… just the beginning.

Because behind every AI-generated tax filing, audit defense or AI-suggested tax position, there is still one thing that no machine can replicate: the trusted human at the helm. The in- house tax professional who not only deciphers the law, but also navigates uncertainty, speaks CFO, and—on a good day—keeps both the CEO and the tax authority happy

Tools powered by AI, machine learning, and blockchain are doing more of the heavy lifting every day—from Pillar Two calculations to e-invoicing in São Paulo, Mexico City, Milan and Madrid. But the more routine tasks we automate, the more valuable human judgment becomes. Real leadership now begins after the system says, 'Done.'

According to the Thomson Reuters 2025 Corporate Tax Technology Report, nearly 90% of global tax departments are implementing AI-based tools for data processing and compliance workflows.

Judgment is what happens when experience, ethics, and instinct all meet in a coffee-fueled strategy session. Some teams are even gamifying it: as part of the International Tax Management Program – ITMP and the Tax Executives Institute Tax Leadership Program - TLA, 'Tax War Games' simulate real-time in-house tax controversies and internal dilemmas. Spoiler: You win by leading through ambiguity, not reciting tax regulations.

Ethical gray zones don’t disappear—they multiply. Imagine an AI tool suggesting an aggressive tax position. It is technically legal but risks reputational fallout. That is where ethical leadership matters.

Leading organizations are mapping AI-enabled processes to principles in the IESBA Code of Ethics. They are also implementing internal red-flag escalation systems and responsible-AI policies modeled after governance guides from PwC and the OECD.

Influence is the art of getting others to care about tax. It is helping product managers understand VAT, persuading Boards that Pillar Two matters, and turning tax into a strategic business tool.

Change leadership frameworks such as Kotter’s 8 Steps, Prosci’s ADKAR, Kubler-Ross Change Curve and Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset are increasingly being taught to tax leaders, especially in programs such as the ITMP and the TLA that aim to reshape tax professionals into “trusted business advisors”.

Yes, the bots are coming for the spreadsheets, tax forms, and filings. Yes, your software may soon draft your tax memos and IDR responses. But no algorithm can sit across from a skeptical CEO and say, 'Here’s what we should do—and here’s why it matters.'

In a world of automation, it is not your knowledge of the tax rules that makes you indispensable. It is your ability to lead with judgment. To act with integrity. To influence without ego. That is what sets real tax leaders apart.

Lionel Nobre is Vice President of Latin America Tax at Dell Technologies. Since 2006, he has led a team of over 60 professionals across 14 jurisdictions, managing all facets of tax, from planning to litigation. He is President of the Tax Executives Institute Latin America Chapter and serves on TEI International’s Executive Committee. Lionel is also an Adjunct Professor at Texas A&M University School of Law and coordinates the International Tax Management Program (ITMP).

This article contains the independent views and opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect, nor are they endorsed by, the official policies or positions of my employer or any organizations where I hold a director, officer or member role.

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