MEET THE TEAM

Carlos Santiago

President, SSG

Carlos is a nationally-recognized business strategist and brain trust of complex algorithms used for defining business strategies.. He is known for his innovative branding, segmentation and ROI analytics. Carlos founded Santiago Solutions Group in 2000, developing proprietary advanced analytics methodologies. Over the last 20 years, he has guided strategic growth, corporate planning, product branding, consumer engagement, and social marketing strategies for organizations such as AARP, Campbell’s, Chivas Regal, GMAC Mortgage, HerbaLife, Health Net, HP, Humana, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, New York State AIDS Institute, Principal Financial, Sheetrock-USG, Target, Wells Fargo, and WalMart.

Before branching out on his own, Carlos led Bell Atlantic-Verizon’s diversity marketing for 8 years, a business unit with $3 Billion in annual revenue. He oversaw P&L, brand strategy, retail channels, Direct Response promotions, and ROI with a $70M budget. Carlos is a sought-after speaker on topics related to Hispanic consumer trends and preferences, in-culture marketing and communications, and growth in diversity markets. Carlos holds an MBA with concentration in Business Strategy & Marketing from Washington University. From Puerto Rico, Carlos is bilingual and bicultural.

Derene Allen

Executive Adviser and Research Strategy Consultant

Derene is an experienced Growth Strategy and Social Enterprise specialist, working with Corporate Marketing, Brand Teams, Human Resources and CSR Departments, nonprofits and social entrepreneurs. High energy change agent, specializing in identifying high growth opportunity areas and defining strategic direction to create competitive advantage with resource and efficiency optimization. A proven strategic thinker with diverse industry experience, Derene is accustomed to building Brand solutions from Market Research and applying advanced analytics to transform brands from the outside-in.
Derene’s background includes Financial and Internet services experience, as well as Database Management, Loyalty Programs and Social Impact program management and innovation. SSG clients have included J&J, Nestlé, P&G, Dannon, Target, Walmart, Cigna, Catholic Charities and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma.
Derene is also certified in Change Management and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco, an innovation and entrepreneurship instructor at UC Berkeley Extension, a mentor at the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University, and a board member of A New America, a nonprofit whose program offers tools for new American entrepreneurs including microbusiness incubation, asset building, and social responsibility. Originally from Aruba, she is trilingual in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Lucía Rodriguez

Vice President of Cultural Insights

Lucia is a recognized subject matter expert in Multicultural marketing and cross-cultural communications, enabling her to effectively translate general market strategy into segment and in-culture marketing approaches in both local and global markets. She is adept at effectively integrating all marketing, communication, and sales efforts, creating a synergy for maximum results.

A multi-faceted leader with 20+ years of experience, she has a successful track record of driving sales and market share growth and increasing customer satisfaction for industry leaders such as Comcast NBCUniversal, Starz Encore, MediaOne/AT&T, and National Car Rental. At SSG, she is lending her expertise to guide clients like Feeding America, St. Jude/ALSAC, USAA, among others.

For over 10 years, Lucia has served as a judge for the NAMIC Vision, Promax Latin America, the EMMAs, and ANA’s Multicultural Marketing Awards. She is the recipient of several awards, including the EMMAs, Communicator, and ANA’s Excellence in Multicultural and serves as a mentor and champion of Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Originally from Venezuela, Lucia is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Sofía Ortiz

Cultural Marketing Manager, SSG

Sofia is an experienced Cultural Marketing Manager with extensive knowledge in cultural insights research in advertising & messaging. Sofia has account managed and participated in major research projects and brand tracker studies for Sierra Club, SAGE, Southern New Hampshire University, Blue Shield of California, St. Jude’s/ALSAC, and Feeding America.
As a client lead for large-scale CIIM™ (Cultural Insights Impact Measure™) projects for clients such as P&G, Kellogg’s, and Verizon, Sofia has conducted cultural analysis on testing outputs and qualitative findings to create actionable insights and recommendations for improving cultural relevance in marketing & advertising.
She holds a Bachelors’ degree in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of San Diego. Mexican American in heritage, Sofia speaks Spanish fluently.

Tatiana Bonilla

Director of Business Operations

Tatiana brings over a decade of experience in Data Research and Analytics Operations for both Quantitative/Qualitative and business management including accounting, financial budgeting, and resources management. In her current role as Director of Business Operations for SSG, she oversees client project operations and works directly with all team players and external partners to ensure SSG delivers a best-in-class service to its clients. Her multifaceted program management experience allows her to lead, monitor, and track project strategies, planning, design, tests/pilots, schedules, and budget for successful project execution
Tatiana has led projects for Sierra Club, Blue Cross, Ulta, Kimberly-Clark, AARP, Health Net, Quaker, SNHU, American Family, CIIM, among others. Tatiana holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Human Resources from CalPoly Pomona. Originally from Ecuador, Tatiana is multilingual in English/Spanish and conversational Italian.

Manuel Santiago

Data Analyst

Manuel is an expert in data extraction from multiple market research and geo-demographic databases. Highly skilled with analytical and consumer insights tools, including STATA, SPSS, R, American Community Survey, Data Ferrett, and BLS. He has an extensive knowledge in analytical and forecasting models of business performance trends to guide clients to improve their marketing performance.
Manuel has participated in breakthrough projects for California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP), Sparkling Ice, AIMM, Blue Cross Blue Shield TX, Health Net, etc.
He Holds a BS in Mathematics from the University of Texas and a BS in Biology with a Minor in Economics from Baylor University and with family from Puerto Rico, Manuel is bilingual and bicultural.

Alyssa Villavicencio

Marketing Specialist

Alyssa is a Marketing Specialist with experience in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space, and is knowledgeable in Multicultural & Inclusive marketing.  Alyssa has participated in major qualitative and quantitative research projects for Sierra Club and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition to her analytical and qualitative skills, Alyssa is highly talented in cultural content creation, graphic design, social media management, and data visualization. 
Alyssa has also worked extensively on CIIM(TM)  (Cultural Insights Impact Measure), by conducting qualitative open-end analysis for clients such as Constellation Brands and Disney. She holds a Bachelors’ dual degree in Business Administration in Marketing and Graphic Design from Northeastern University. She speaks beginner-intermediate Spanish.