Chief Marketing Officer Extraordinaire
Based on an episode with Adriana Pirela 🇱🇨🇻🇪
Welcome to Latinx in Power, a podcast aiming to help to demystify tech, the way we do that is by interviewing Latinx leaders all over the world to hear their perspective and insights.
We talked with Adriana Pirela (she/her), she’s not your ordinary Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Adriana has conquered markets from the US to the Caribbean, showcasing her prowess in boosting revenue and mastering customer acquisition. She’s not just about numbers — Adriana’s a brand-building maestro, celebrated for her strategies that elevate retention and cut acquisition costs.
In this episode, we explored Adriana Pirela’s Latinx and Caribbean roots to her role as a CMO³, talking about her pivotal career moments, mentorship initiatives, and challenges faced by women in leadership. Uncover the global influences shaping her strategies, among other fascinating insights.
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What does it mean to be a Latina and Caribbean for you?
Wow, that’s a good question. You know what? Well, obviously, I was born in Venezuela, so I consider myself Caribbean. In general, the Caribbean and Latin American communities have a lot of similarities, right? We’re very warm people, we’re very welcoming people.
We’re also very passionate people, which also defines us as customers, right? In general, like, we’re very curious people. We want more of life. I think a lot of us, like, dream of immigrating somewhere else or, you know, like, following a path that is bigger than just the country that we’re in or that we were from, and I think that is what makes us really fascinating.
We want to learn about the world. We’re very open to what the world has to offer. I think that is something that we have in common. And we share Caribbean English speaking and Spanish speaking and Latin languages in general.
Can you take us back to the beginning of your career?
The beginning of my career. Wow, that’s interesting. It’s funny because when I read the questions that you sent me before, I was thinking about it, because it’s something that you don’t think about so often, right? You tend to forget what it took to be here.
My career started by being an immigrant, going to another country with, I would say, half the language, just the basics, with a career from a country that most people wouldn’t know about and asked me where it’s located.
I was trying to start again. Marked by being forced, because I would say as a Venezuelan, obviously being forced to leave my country and restart in a different place. As a Latin Caribbean girl, I always dreamt of moving abroad and having different experiences and to enrich culture in my own way and somehow have an impact broader than in my country.
One thing is to leave because you want to leave, and another thing is leaving because you have to. Those are two very different things. I would say my career started, as an immigrant that probably not many people believed in, from a country that, as I said, people didn’t know about, in a situation where there was no plan B and I wasn’t able to just go back home if I failed.
I just had to succeed. If that sounds like something that is or was probably easily achieved by me, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t. There was a lot of fear. There was also a lot of passion, there was also a lot of enthusiasm.
There’s always this warm energy that makes us who we are, that makes us stand out where we go, thank God, I haven’t lost. I try to always continue to be very authentic to my Latino and Caribbean roots. But, yeah, it wasn’t an easy start. Definitely one full of dreams that had to be achieved because going back home wasn’t an option. So that was the start.
What inspired you to pursue a path in marketing?
The reason behind marketing is I wanted to be a doctor. I decided that I was going to study something in between. My parents were always like, you know, the kind of parents who say, while you get into medical school or whatever, you have to do something else. In my country, the test for medical school is actually later in the year after you finish high school. For my parents, it was very important that I started studying something because they didn’t want to have anybody at home, me or my brother, just doing nothing. They were like, nope, you have to study something.
I remember my dad saying, hey, what about applying to the other career that has the highest score that in that moment didn’t include physics or chemistry? I was studying those for the other test, but it had language and math. He was like, if you apply to that and get in, you already know that part is covered, and you keep on studying the other things for the other tests. In the meantime, you end up going to university and learning things. I was like, wow, okay. Not necessarily my plan, but let’s do it.
By chance, I got into communications. That was a very high-demand career in my country at that moment, the second hardest test, anyway. I decided to go with the flow and follow his advice to keep my knowledge active. I started attending classes, and I felt like it was so easy for me. It was probably something very natural for me — to be able to communicate, be creative, understand the behavior of others, and fulfill projects from the communications or advertising perspective. I ended up staying.
I always think, what would have happened if I had become a doctor? I realize what really attracted me to being a doctor was the interaction with others and the direct impact on their lives. With my campaigns and the career I built, I still had the opportunity to do that. I still had the opportunity to impact other people’s lives, especially in emerging markets where people really needed the solutions we were creating. Through various campaigns and projects, we taught people how to maximize the resources they had at hand.
In the end, I think it worked out pretty well. Maybe my doctor would say, “We have nothing in common,” or maybe they would say, “Totally, that’s exactly what it is. We wanted to create an impact.” Who knows? I haven’t even shared my story with any doctor yet. That’s how marketing started for me. It just felt so natural, like home, so I decided to stay and pursue a career in communications. And that’s the beginning of everything.
This applies to regular day-to-day activities and is part of what I teach in my mentorships. I always try to challenge folks to think, what is it that you can transfer? What have you done? Sometimes I meet amazing people who work in very simple jobs, like in a restaurant, and they feel like they don’t have anything transferable to a marketing career. I always tell them, what are you talking about? Hell no. You’re there with the customer.
All those insights, everything that you learn, is invaluable for our campaigns. All the experience in field marketing that you have, it’s retail because you’re based there, right? Interacting with the customer every day, selling something. I always try to challenge them to see that because marketing is about people, communications are about people, and we’re all people interacting with each other every day.
The difference is that marketers have to listen because they’re trying to get their message across. Sometimes we’re going through life in an automatic pilot mode and might not be listening, but a lot of what people do is very much transferable to any marketing activity or initiative.
If you feel like something flows naturally, like it did for me, and it might not be your original career but there’s a role you feel you can fill, or there’s an opportunity to get involved in a different area that flows for you, do it. Try it. Everything you learn out there, trust me, somehow impacts what we do as marketers. Ultimately, we’re all customers, right?
As a Chief Marketing Officer, you’ve excelled in financial services, SaaS, and telecommunications. What common thread do you find in successfully driving marketing strategies across such different sectors?
It’s very interesting because all these sectors are so hot today, right? When I started working in telecom 18 or 19 years ago, it wasn’t as hot as it is today. All these things that have emerged from the telecommunications industry, like financial services, have transformed our lives.
Everything we do now on mobile originated from our ability as users to do more from our phones, to operate more remotely. The same goes for SaaS. For me, it’s been a very exciting and rich journey because I’ve been touching on all these industries that have so much in common. Ultimately, it’s about leveraging the opportunities we have to impact the customer directly in a more one-on-one space.
If you think about mobile money services like Revolut, Apple Pay, or even your bank’s app, what makes you stick to these apps? What makes you use them? Aside from the fact that you can send money, which you could do through other methods, it is the convenience, simplicity, and the fact that it is always in your hands. There’s nothing more intrusive than the little device in your pocket. Although it can be addictive and disruptive, it’s also a very useful tool that has changed the world and the way we do things.
From a telecommunications perspective, having the ability to send a text, notify customers about something relevant, or alert them about a balance issue is crucial. For example, in mobile wallets or mobile money services, notifying a user about potential fraud, a successful transaction, or the need to refill their balance can happen immediately. If you’re in a store trying to buy something with your wallet, you might receive a notification about credit opportunities right there. These are direct, one-on-one communications that are relevant because they are about you.
In these industries — telecommunications, SaaS, and mobile money — the usage of data is much more aggressive and immediate compared to others. This commonality allows for direct communication, the ability to operate remotely, and the need to stay relevant amidst numerous competing apps and services.
We need to understand our customers deeply to provide relevant and timely interactions. This means always being ready to compete with other apps, calls, and online programs vying for attention. Knowing the customer and leveraging data effectively is key to maintaining relevance in this fast-paced, data-driven world.
Can you share more about this concept of CMO three times and what it means for you?
It’s very interesting because mentorship and giving back to the community are things that truly excite me. When I have the opportunity to mentor someone or impact a mentee’s life, it makes me feel like I’m in my happy place, just like I felt 20 years ago. It’s very natural and it just flows. A few years ago, I started exploring mentorship and finding ways to give back to the community.
When I was stationed in the Caribbean, specifically in St. Lucia, I had the opportunity to interact with many people who needed advice for their small businesses, careers, and job opportunities. In that environment, people preferred advice from someone they trusted and who understood their local context.
It started happening naturally. Friends would ask me to advise someone, like my Pilates instructor who wanted to maximize her business or open a studio. Soon, I was advising more people on their various business ventures. Even colleagues at the office sought my advice. This made me realize that mentorship was something I could easily give back to people and enjoy. It became a significant part of my life where I felt truly happy.
Motherhood is another key area I encourage people on. As a woman and a parent, I understand the challenges of balancing a career with family life. My husband was a stay-at-home dad for five years to support my career, so I know these challenges firsthand. Many women, and even men, feel they must choose between a successful career and having a family or partner. There’s a stereotype that to be successful, women must suppress their feminine side and adopt a more masculine demeanor, abandoning their roles as mothers or partners.
In my mentorships, I emphasize becoming your own “chief mama officer.” You are in control. It’s possible to have it all, though it may not be perfect all the time. You don’t have to lose your identity or stop being yourself. When you embrace what was once seen as a barrier and turn it into an asset, you break the glass ceiling.
I always encourage people, especially women, to see the value in having both a career and a family. Employers should recognize the transferable skills gained from managing family life, like multitasking and commitment. Having a family drives you to succeed in your career to make them proud.
As a CMO, I enjoy my professional role and strive to continually learn and grow. Balancing this with my role as a parent, I aim to be a better parent every day and show others that you can manage both. My passion for mentorship and impacting the community led to the concept of CMO3 — Chief Mama Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Mentorship Officer. This is where I found my purpose, and I believe others can too.
Working in various industries and markets, I’ve learned to adapt while staying true to my identity as a Latin Caribbean woman. I don’t want to blend in; I want to be myself and bring my unique perspective. It’s important to be consistent in your behavior, whether interacting with a security guard or a global CEO. Authenticity and kindness are often misunderstood but ultimately appreciated.
Despite criticisms for being too thankful or kind, I believe these traits are strengths. They reflect our upbringing in the Latin Caribbean culture, and they have taken me far. They ensure that people remember me as someone positive and solution-oriented. Growing up in a challenging environment, I learned to be resourceful and always have a plan B. This resilience is an asset in any company. Embracing our unique qualities makes us valuable team members, ready to face any challenge.
How crucial is the balance between data driven marketing and creating a compelling brand narrative?
These days, data is everything. As marketers, what we’re ultimately trying to do is modify behavior, guide people to behave in a certain way, get them to understand products, and generate demand from them. All of that is ultimately related to data. Every day, we are becoming more professional and efficient in this area, especially in the industries that I’m in. We have access to a lot of data on customer behavior through phones, apps, and the web. We use this data to understand your behavior and develop better products that fit your lifestyle, meet your needs, and fill gaps in the solutions you’re using.
Aside from that, there’s obviously research and analytics data that come from the market to understand what customers want. It’s not only the data from the platforms you interact with but also understanding the market and learning from it, which is very relevant. We use that data to craft messages, design products, understand challenges, come up with solutions for barriers to usage, and address churn.
It’s also about becoming more relevant in the day-to-day life of the consumer. We’re competing with multiple messages and brands that are all trying to communicate with them. These days, in-app push notifications are becoming more efficient and relevant in communications. SMS, email, and other forms of communication have always been there, and their effectiveness varies by industry, but they’re integral. Everything we do, which can be seen as intrusive, has to be very relevant and triggered by an action. This way, you as a customer consider that we are predicting what you need as brands.
Understanding and playing this game is crucial, especially for industries that are less proficient in data management and usage compared to telco, SaaS, and mobile money. These sectors are pioneers in using data to communicate with customers directly. It’s the moment for those other industries to start learning and stepping into that game. We all need to keep learning because new solutions and customer demands for relevant messages emerge every day. There are also more brands and messages we are competing with daily.
The magic of working in mostly mobile environments, although we also work on web environments, lies in the fact that you have your phone with you all the time. The opportunities to interact with you as a customer are infinite. We just have to be very careful about what message we put out there, ensuring it is relevant and responds to customer needs. These days, data highly impacts the narrative of our brands and the storytelling around them. We are listening to customers a lot more through data that we either capture or they share with us.
What are common misconceptions that women face in leadership roles and how can they be addressed?
That’s a big one. That’s a big one. I think the challenges that we face, and when I say we face, it’s because I face them too. Please don’t take me wrong. One thing is to get to the top, and another thing is to try to maintain yourself there. Fighting for it takes everyday effort, definitely in a world that is still dominated by men. Depending on the industry, but the industries that I work for and on are mostly dominated by men still.
It’s hard to be taken seriously sometimes, and it’s not about the knowledge, it’s about the behavior. They sometimes expect us to behave like men, and when we don’t, then we’re not taken very seriously. Either you’re too emotional, you’re hormonal, or you just like to fight because you’re a woman and we just fight over everything. When you’re trying to expose a point, when you’re trying to come across not necessarily aggressive, but assertive, that is the perception a lot of times, and we’re not probably measured with the same rule as everybody else.
Sometimes in leadership, even the fact that we’re kind leaders, even what makes us, for example, a lot of the motherhood learnings that you get from your life, trying to multitask, trying to maybe sometimes embrace the growth of employees and dedicate time to that, or allowing that a more personal goal to somehow grow their personnel might also be perceived as a problem. Like, somebody that is distracted, like somebody that is not completely focused just on the business and cold enough to let go and just rehire. All of those are definitely mistakes. The biggest asset of a company is its people.
Trust me, I’m very assertive when I have to fire people, but I will always try to make things work. As a leader, as a manager, my job is not to manage, fire, and hire. My job is to make people grow. Part of my job is to make them work, and when they don’t, that reflects on me. But in a world where men have been, I would say, raised in a different way, that they feel like they have to be in control, that there shouldn’t be any distractions, that they come and deliver, that they don’t feel like multitasking because, once again, that means being distracted. We cannot blame them for thinking that way when they become senior leaders, right?
Ultimately, what I try to do is focus on those challenges and try to see how they would become an advantage for me. I’m very strategic, and I think women have to be very strategic because we wear many hats. Sometimes, guys, I’m sorry, guys, I love you all, they’re not very strategic, and they know that you give them one task and one task only, and that’s all they can do. So, in my case, while they’re commenting about me being hormonal or me being too kind, or me being too thankful, just ridiculous, I pretty much strategize in my head how to use that to my advantage, how to say I’m a better leader than you are, and eventually maybe become your boss. Surprises have happened so, or firing you have happened too.
That doesn’t only apply to men. This is the sad reality. There are a lot of women that feel that way too, because they’ve gotten into that trap of thinking that they have to become a man, that we don’t have to care about each other, that we don’t come to work to establish any kind of relationship, that people are here to do the job that we request, and that’s it.
And this is nine to five, and it’s not the place that you spend lots of your time in during the day where you’re supposed to be doing something that either you love or you’re learning from, or both. That is an even sadder reality. That is something that I find constantly in my different roles. Not only men that sometimes will have a misconception of us but also women.
Even the fact that you have a personal life is something that you’re judged about, especially by women. That’s why I feel like my mission is to change that perception for the women of the future, to collaborate, mentor the new generations, and tell them that they can have it all so they don’t go through life not only not having it themselves but also judging others for having it.
There are guys also that are amazing leaders and they just tell you openly, you know what? You can do this better than we do it. You are going to do it. You’re like, finally, somebody really. I’ve also had fantastic male leaders. Actually, I’m working with one that I really, really like because he’s also young and I feel like I can add a lot to his plate, even though sometimes I feel like I’m a lot to handle, but it’s a pleasure to work with him. I guess because of the newer generation, he’s hungry for what women have to offer in senior positions as well. That keeps me very excited. But, yeah, there’s always somebody, and it’s even sadder when it’s another woman.
Which resource helped you in your journey that you wanted to share with us today?
It’s very interesting because everything revolves around people. The world is just made up of people, and everything we do depends on others. My biggest resource is my network of support. People often ask me if I need a mentor or advisor, and the answer is yes — I have multiple mentors, not just one. I couldn’t live without them.
This includes a special group of moms who welcomed me when I moved to a new place last April. We’re a family that moves around a lot, so we have to rebuild our lives wherever we go. This group of moms adopted me and became part of my mentor group. They mentor me on how to be a better mom and support me by helping with my kids and being proud of my achievements. This group of moms is a perfect example of how women empower and support each other. They want me to succeed because I’m one of them.
In addition to these personal mentors, I have professional mentors who have known me for years and advise me on various topics. My employees are also crucial to my support network. One of my ex-employees, who was a direct reporter, nominated me for this podcast, which means the world to me. It shows that the connections we build are real and valuable.
I believe mentorship happens every day, often without us even noticing. It’s happening right now between us. I prefer one-on-one mentorship, where I take my time with each individual. My multiple resources — mentors, employees, and others — also take their time with me, working one-on-one to help me grow as a professional, leader, and marketer. No book, theory, or course can replace the knowledge gained from these personal interactions.
That said, I still value formal education and continually take courses to stay updated with new developments. As a leader, it’s my responsibility to bring in new knowledge and share it with my team. While non-traditional learning methods like those offered by Mindvalley are valuable, I also believe in the importance of academic learning. My work aligns with what I studied, and I enjoy it. Learning academically keeps us up to speed with new trends and customer behaviors, which are constantly evolving and becoming more complex.
Ultimately, people are my biggest resource. I am immensely thankful for everything I learn from them and for the opportunities to interact and share advice. People sharing their experiences with me saves me time on my own journey, for which I am very grateful.
I hope you enjoyed the podcast. We will have more interviews with amazing Latinx and Caribbean leaders the first Tuesday of every month. Check out our website Latinx In Power to hear more. Don’t forget to share comments and feedback, always with kindness. See you soon.
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Additional Reading Mentioned in the Interview
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adripirela/
https://www.forbes.com.mx/ad-adriana-pirela-la-cmo%C2%B3-de-la-nueva-era/
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