Santiago Solutions Group

TEAM BIOs

Carlos Santiago
President & CEO Video Interview

Carlos Santiago, Founder and President of Santiago Solutions Group, is a nationally recognized expert in branding and multicultural marketing strategy whose numerous clients with SSG have included J&J, AARP, Humana, AT&T Wireless, Telscape, and Pernod Ricard. CNBC, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, NPR and numerous others have highlighted his leadership in multicultural target marketing and quantitative prediction of purchasing and other behaviors. Carlos’ white papers include “Right-Spend Studies I, II, and III - Setting Appropriate Allocation to Optimize Hispanics Purchase Behavior” written for the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, “The 360º Perspective on Maximizing Hispanic Market ROI”; and “The Impact of Customer Service On Hispanic Consumers’ Brand Image, Choice, and Loyalty.” In addition, he has authored breakthrough papers such as “An Integrated Strategy for Hispanic Markets,” published in Isabel Valdés’ book Marketing to American Latinos.

Carlos began his management career at Anheuser-Busch implementing Hispanic and Asian objectives before moving to Pacific Bell as Director of Ethnic Markets, leading it through a period of record growth. Later, Carlos was NYNEX Vice President of Ethnic & Premium Marketing Sales & Customer Care and then Vice President of Consumer Segmentation at Bell Atlantic. Carlos is a frequently requested lecturer and serves on the boards of the Hispanic Federation and the National Latino Children’s Institute. Among other recognitions, he is the recipient of Bell Atlantic’s Chairman Baldridge Award. Carlos received an MBA from Washington University.

Derene Allen
Senior Advisor Video Interview

Since 2001 Derene Allen has been a Managing Partner with the Santiago Solutions Group. With SSG, Allen has retooled multicultural strategies for clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Herbalife, Nestlé, McNeil, Pernod Ricard, IDT Telecom, Campbell’s, Principal Financial Group, American Express, USG and Cerveceria Cuauhtenoc Moctezuma. Derene brings both Latin American and Caribbean as well as US Multicultural expertise, having held numerous marketing positions in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. She has served as an adjunct professor in various Latin American universities, and while in Mexico and Peru, she served as a consultant for CCM-FEMSA (a leading beer-soda conglomerate), UNICEF and AeroMexico. Previously, Derene co-founded The Innova Group, an international marketing firm where her clients included Cigna, Philips, Kodak, Dannon, and P&G. She started her career in the financial services/travel industry with American Express, ultimately responsible for Market Research, Strategic Planning, Marketing & Communications for 45 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, for all Card, Travelers Cheque and Insurance products. She is the recipient of many U.S. and International Direct Marketing Awards and her insights have been published in several Hispanic marketing and public relations books. She is a recent past Board Member of San Diego MANA, a non-profit Latina leadership organization, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco and a volunteer instructor on Entrepreneurship in the Spanish Language Program, Alas. Derene received her graduate degree in International Business from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management.

Jaime Ramírez
Managing Partner / Santiago ROI

Jaime joined SSG in 2007 and has managed operations in the top Hispanic markets across the US as well as in major Latin American Countries, and has led multicultural teams for numerous Fortune 100 companies. He has been Regional Advertising Director for J Walter Thompson, Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey, and La Agencia de Orci & Asociados. Jaime started his career on the client side of business building, creating go-to-market strategies for P&G’s top brands. Other clients have included J&J, Verizon, Kodak, Coca-Cola, Kraft, AT&T, Time Warner, Washington Mutual, Allstate, IBM, MasterCard, Blue Cross, Schering–Plough, and Warner Lambert. He is currently an advisor for the UCLA Marketing Students Association and a regular guest lecturer for courses at UCLA Extension.

Jane Campa (J.C.) Alvarez
Director, Field Strategy

Jane has been with SSG since 2000 and has worked during that time on various projects including those for Humana and USG. Her extensive career encompasses almost 30 years in both the public and private sectors. She has worked in organizational development and client services with major universities and served as a management analyst and public liaison on congressional, legislative and regulatory assignments in Washington D.C. Additionally, Jane was Director of Corporate Relations at Anheuser-Busch, and has been a marketing consultant with the British Consulate in Chicago and London, developed consumer outreach campaigns for non-profit organizations, created and conducted recruitment programs for the Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking, and most recently consulted in production, screenwriting and project development within the film industry. Jane has a Bachelor of Sociology from Princeton University, a Masters in Personnel Administration from Columbia University, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University. She also holds a Certificate of Filmmaking.

Jennifer Miller
Director Strategic Planning

Jennifer has been with SSG since 2006, during which time her clients have included Campbell’s, Dollar Financial Group, Humana, Jackson Hewitt, J&J, McNeil Consumer and Nutritionals, and USG. Jennifer has over 14 years experience in strategic planning and brand marketing for large global companies, including Chiquita, Clif Bar and Tyson Foods. Jennifer holds a BBA from the University of Cincinnati, and an MBA from Xavier University.

Arwen Zemborain
Director, Analytics

Since starting at SSG in 2007 Arwen has worked with clients such as Principal Financial, Hallmark, USG, J&J, and McNeil Pharmaceuticals. Having worked in both the US and Argentina, previous clients and employers include KPMG, Mass Mutual, Wilshire Hotels, Qualcomm, Techint, World Travel Reports, and Catapult Consulting. Arwen holds a Masters degree in International Management from Thunderbird as well as a BA from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

Mariana M. Cooper
Manager, African American Market Planning

Mariana has consulted with SSG since 2000 during which time she has worked on projects for AARP and St. Joseph’s Aspirin. She has created multicultural marketing strategies for Hispanic, African American, Caribbean and other international markets as well as for the general market. She was formerly the International Advertising Manager for AT&T, handling Hispanic direct response programs, sponsorships, and events, including the 1996 Olympic Games, and was also Vice President of the New York City-based promotion agency, Don Jagoda Associates. Mariana has consulted for a variety of large and small companies including Bell Atlantic.

Jim Nellis
Manager, GLBT Market Planning

Jim Nellis has worked with SSG since 2005 and is the founder of CP Promotions, a nationally recognized leader in the design and implementation of experiential marketing campaigns targeting the urban consumer with a particular emphasis on the gay and lesbian segment. Jim has consulted on the development of promotional campaigns for American Express, Brown & Williamson Tobacco, Pepsi, and Loews Theaters, and has advised The New York Times and Crain’s Business on this emerging field. Prior to founding CP Promotions, Jim was a Vice President at Clorox International and also spent seven years at PepsiCo in various sales and marketing positions. Jim earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and an undergraduate degree from Penn State University.

Dr. Pedro J. Santiago
Director, Econometrics

Pedro is well recognized in the area of economic and market evaluation, as well as health services administration, and has authored more than fifty economic studies in different industries. He has been an advisor for SSG since 2004 and has worked on client projects for AARP and Humana. Recently, he helped establish and direct the San Juan Bautista Medical Center, a privatized hospital in Puerto Rico and was commissioned by The Puerto Rico Department of Health to stabilize the institution's daily operations before returning some hospitals to private hands. Pedro completed his BA in Economics at the University of Puerto Rico and his M.S. in Economics at Illinois State University. He also received a postgraduate degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Southern California.

Isabel Kovalik-Santiago
Sr. Analyst

Isabel has been an independent research analyst with SSG since 2001. She has contributed to numerous SSG projects and previously worked in various positions for Banco Central in Puerto Rico, Anheuser-Busch, GTE, Allstate Insurance Company, and the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Isabel received her BBA from the University of Puerto Rico and obtained an MBA from the University of Michigan.