I studied Economics at Universidad de Piura. During my studies, I worked as a research assistant for Martín Paredes (Ph.D. in Economics, NYU) and Miguel Ángel Martínez (Ph.D. in Business/Managerial Economics, Pompeu Fabra), focusing on industrial organization, game theory, organizational economics, and managerial economics at the university’s research center. I also collaborated with Martín Valdivia (Ph.D. in Applied Economics) on a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the impact of microfinance on women’s empowerment.

These experiences deeply motivated me to pursue a career in the public sector. I began at the Strategic Planning Office of the Ministry of Education in Peru, where I tracked and analyzed budget spending indicators for Lima—the capital and most populous city, with over 10 million residents. Since Lima represents more than 30% of Peru’s student population, improving the delivery of education services there has a significant impact on national learning outcomes. Afterward, I joined the National Budget Office at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where I specialized in subnational budgeting. In this role, I identified and implemented opportunities to automate routine tasks using tools such as Stata, Python, R, and VBA.

Working to improve these processes made me aware of the challenges involved in coordinating across institutions. Motivated to address structural bottlenecks, I led the design of a multisectoral budget program focused on early childhood development. This initiative required collaboration among more than 10 ministries, each with different perspectives. The resulting Result-Oriented Budget Programs (Programas Presupuestales Orientados a Resultados) were innovative and eventually formalized through legislation. Within this same focus area, we also conducted an in-house impact evaluation on anemia using administrative data—the first of its kind by our office.

I later served as the Data Analytics Leader at the Ministry of Economy, where I led Data Governance and Open Data initiatives that required alignment across the Ministry’s departments. The most fulfilling part of this role was managing a talented and diverse team of ten professionals from backgrounds such as engineering, statistics, computer science, economics, design, and marketing.

The complexity and lack of standardization in the data we worked with highlighted the need for centralized data management and advanced analytical capabilities. To address this, I promoted the creation of a new Information Management Office responsible for data governance, open data, business intelligence, system development, and fostering a data-driven culture. Once established, I became the leader of the Data Center and Talent Management team. In this role, I oversaw strategies related to data governance, open data, culture, and talent. I also supported the analytics, BI, and systems development teams to advance the Ministry’s data-driven transformation.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to Peru’s public sector. Nevertheless, our newly established Data Center quickly built the expertise needed to support an effective response. During the 2020–2021 crisis, I contributed to data-driven solutions aimed at reducing infections and deaths. Notably, I co-created SISCOVID—a system developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to track individuals from suspected infection through recovery. I also helped design a solution to monitor crowding using hundreds of millions of data points from telecom providers (at the national level) and security cameras (at the local level). In addition, I worked on systems to track the procurement and distribution of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 vaccines.

The pandemic clearly demonstrated the importance of data access for public policy decision-making. In alignment with the national digital transformation plan, I led the development of three key products: i) the Ministry’s open data portal, ii) the financial administration transparency portal, and iii) an internal information management tool. These initiatives involved cross-disciplinary coordination with experts in business, design, user experience, systems architecture, infrastructure, and web development.

I currently lead the Data Analytics team at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where I oversaw the creation and implementation of the Ministry’s data governance structure—including data architecture, business intelligence, advanced analytics, open data, and governance. From this role, I’ve driven the development of AI and data science solutions that significantly improved decision-making and operational efficiency. Highlights include automating document routing using machine learning, forecasting public spending in response to climate events, deploying AI-powered chatbots trained on regulatory documents, building a conversational system for public investment guidance, predicting system demand peaks, and detecting anomalies to prevent potential corruption.

One of the key lessons from my career is that evidence-based, data-driven solutions can transform both business and public policy. However, technical expertise alone is not enough—strong leadership and project management skills are essential to turn that potential into real, meaningful outcomes. I believe that my combination of technical depth and leadership experience positions me well to drive impactful improvements in public policy through data.