Karen J. Mercado Leyva Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States

Advise financial services clients on new product and service offering launches, e.g.:• Conducted comprehensive competitive analysis (in Spanish) in the global payments industry, providing actionable insights for a top-10 global bank division, including developing a targeted strategy to capture the U.S. Latinx market and first-cut investment projections.• Refined seed-round investor presentations for a startup fintech, improving market testing and product development approaches.

Arlington, Va

In Corp. Finance & Operations, Initiated and managed quantitative analysis for E*TRADE’s Commercial Real Estate and Procurement teams. • Created Excel models to compare the expected financial value (ROI) of corporate move scenarios and forecast real estate footprint demand. • Defined new data structure enabling strategic procurement and analyzed enterprise-wise spending, resulting in a 20%-40% reduction in vendor population.In Business Risk Management & Controls, led a new ~15-member team, matrixed across 11 Business Units, tasked with implementing the operational risk management capability throughout E*TRADE. • Guided organizational development of an internal, matrixed team of Business Unit Risk Leads, leading team meetings and conferences, and developing standards and frameworks for reporting to E*TRADE’s senior leadership (C-level).• Supervised and coached a team of senior operational consultants researching best practice risk frameworks, metrics, tools, and dashboards for presentation to senior leadership (C-level).• Wrote and presented a draft policy for the identification, measurement, and assessment of enterprise-wide material risks, and the creation and charter for a material risks committee. • Liaised across Technology, Finance, Project Management Office, and Business Units to advocate for modifications to applications and processes within the yearly corporate strategic planning process.

Arlington, Va

Headed a 17-member team identifying and documenting operational risks and controls throughout E*TRADE.• Led a team of consultants and contingent staff supporting Risk Leads across 11 Business Units, ensuring client service, deliverable quality, and methodological rigor in the implementation of operational risk processes.• Built capacity planning models in Excel to estimate staff demand and supply to determine yearly costs of E*TRADE’s compliance with regulatory guidelines.

Tysons Corner, Va

Guided clients with strategic analyses and go-to-market strategies for telecom and higher education clients: identified value propositions, target market segments, business requirements and gaps, potential products and services; evaluated software platforms; designed GTM roadmaps.

Bethesda, Md

Launched commercial operations for an innovative payments startup focused on increasing access and delivering greater value for Latin American immigrants. • Led the design, testing, and launch of a new English and Spanish language financial remittances website and a network of Verifone terminals at retail outlets.• Managed product, operations, and technology integration with retail partners, including the leading savings and loan in Colombia, the largest supermarket chain in the Dominican Republic, and a credit union in El Salvador.• Supervised three Country Managers; created and trained teams in Customer Service, Operations, and IT.

Bethesda, Md

• Researched market intelligence, identified strategic partners, performed due diligence, planned integrations, and trained a team to research overseas markets and competitive landscape.• Reorganized and expanded the business plan, adding financial model and statements, and operations plans.• Wrote presentations and business cases for first rounds of investor financing.

Mclean, Va

Conducted strategic, financial, and organizational analyses for international satellite network operators undergoing transformations. • Key contributor to preparation of an international non-governmental satellite operator for privatization: built models to forecast valuation and performance, led the capabilities gap and stakeholder analyses.• Analyzed competitive landscape, key customer segments, required organizational capabilities; supported development of a new matrixed organizational structure across the geographic regions of Latin America.

Arlington, Virginia, United States

Coordinated production of fixed asset valuation reports (in English and Spanish) for the Colombian and Honduran telecommunications companies.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Turned around two failed automation projects:• Led the design, installation, and training for a custom billing system to electronically report accounting results to central university systems, reducing reporting cycle. • Implemented a job tracking and costing system, after persuading unionized workers, and resulting in reduction of printing errors and improving reporting efficiencies in Production and Accounting.

Miami, Fl

Designed a new data center, converted mission-critical systems to state-of-the-art computer systems, and installed new telecommunications infrastructure as part of a move of company headquarters.

Mba, Strategy And Finance

A.B., Social Studies