Visa’s Paula Guarín, Head of Consumer Insights & Marketing Analytics for Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC), joins Karen Lynch to unpack how a 13-person team blends primary research with transactional data to drive brand and business results. Paula shares her career path from agency intern to regional leader, explains why embedding insights leaders in-country matters, and breaks down six priority areas—from agile testing to say-do correlation and ROI on insights.

She also spotlights region-specific dynamics (Brazil/Argentina vs. Mexico/DR), double-digit e-commerce growth, and how agentic AI may reshape purchase behavior. Plus: building revenue by selling research to clients, Visa University’s role in upskilling, “five trends in five minutes,” and fresh learnings on ultra-affluent travelers and category liquidity. A masterclass in impact, communication, and human-centered research at scale.

Key Discussion Points:

• Team design: In-country insight leads + regional standards for speed and comparability.
• Data fusion: Precise surveys + transactional “do” data to measure real impact.
• Core priorities: Thought leadership, agile testing, tracking/MMM, descriptives, say-do, and client-funded studies.
• Regional nuance: Different disruption levels (Brazil/Argentina vs. Mexico/DR) and why local vendors matter.
• Trends: Double-digit e-commerce growth and early signals of AI agents influencing purchases.

Resources & Links:

• Visa
• IIEX LATAM
• Walmart Luminate

You can reach out to Paula Guarin on LinkedIn.

Many thanks to Paula Guarin for being our guest. Thanks also to our production team and our editor at Big Bad Audio.