Interview with Brenda Ochoa - Head of Digital Strategy and Channels at Coppel

“The importance of women in top management of the financial system”

Brenda Ochoa is Head of Digital Strategy and Financial Services Channels at Grupo Coppel. He entered the financial world to take a different look at the way in which customers were being reached. She has a degree in Communication from the Ibero-American University of Mexico City, specializing in Marketing and Advertising and worked for almost a decade in Digital Marketing and E-Commerce in different organizations. He currently serves as Head of Digital Strategy and Financial Services Channels at Grupo Coppel, an omnichannel and personal and digital financial services company based in Mexico.

How did you get into the financial world?

I entered the financial world thanks to a woman who told me that the sector needed other eyes and vision, to be able to reach the customer, to put them in the middle of any initiative. Then they call me from Grupo Coppel, a retail, e-commerce and financial services company that is not regulated by the Bank of Mexico, but that also has financial products and services, BanCoppel, a regulated financial institution.

In the interviews they told me that they are interested in my vision in this institution to open up the area of digital strategy and see how we reach customers with innovative and digital products.

How long have you been with BanCoppel and what is your role?  

I've been here for almost four years. My role has changed. I joined as Deputy Director of Digital Strategy. We implement agile methodologies, something that is a great challenge in a financial institution. I started with the launch of the new app, initially with basic transactions. We started with around 800,000 digital customers and today we are working with 5 million who log in once a month. I am currently like Head of Digital Strategy and Alternative Channels.

What do you think is the main challenge in your work? 

Last year we implemented the digital services factory. This allowed us to have much more traction and to be able to release many more digital functionalities. The big challenge is to generate value to the business. I generate it by saving, migrating branch operations to other channels, preferable to our digital channels. I bring more business by ensuring that money does not move from our ecosystem, that customers use us as a means of payment. That is a big challenge.

How is the Mexican market and especially BanCoppel doing in generating content?  

You touched on a very important topic: financial education. We go to the base of the pyramid. This is our segment. In Mexico, this segment is not as banked. He doesn't even have access to savings accounts, much less to credit issues. So it's a matter of financial education and inclusion.

The challenge is how I attract this segment of clients, we improve their lives with financial services and we educate them so that they know how to use them.

That doesn't always translate into an immediate increase in customers.  

It's not that today I launch a campaign and tomorrow I'm effective, much less if it's a campaign for inclusion and financial education. It is not immediate, however, as a group we are looking for different channels, the generation of blogs. We also have home advisors who begin to help clients with how and what to pay so that it generates less interest. This new communication channel with the customer is a close link.

What percentage of women and men are there on your team?  

There are 70% women and 30% men.

Do you ever take on more women because you feel like they work the same way you do? 

I think that a team of women makes everything flow better, they influence, they convince. Women always find the way to do things. The “how” are super important to me. I think we put a very rational touch into it, focused on results.

How far do you feel that you really are from equity?  

A great deal is still lacking in society. We are one of the countries with the most femicides and that speaks to the perspective and education that we have in our country. There is an issue of gender equity even in family roles that are very stereotyped. It's still hard to understand how it is that the mother is the one who travels and the father is the one who takes care.

Do you feel judged for being a professional woman, who travels a lot for her work?  

I have two children aged 9 and 5 and I am divorced and I have met him a lot and it is regrettable. A long way to go. It doesn't look good at your children's school that you don't go for them, but at the office it doesn't look good when you go out and look for them.

Pulled on both sides continuously.  

I think I permeate it because the organization in which I work is very familiar. We are using hybrid work schemes. The mentality that I have found myself is totally different. First the family and that commits you as a person, as a collaborator with your immediate boss and with the organization. In my team, I have to permeate what the organization already does. This involves, for example, taking a day to relax and think well. Mental health, desire and commitment are always preferable to being bound to something.

On a technological level, how do you continue to learn and train and how do you feel about this rapidly changing world?

There are two things I do all the time: one is to watch the news first thing in the day to be able to nourish myself with what is happening today. If I see a very relevant topic but I don't understand it, I go and look for more ways to find out or understand. I'm very curious. The second thing in terms of digital banking, customer experience, I am looking not only in Mexico but also globally for other courses. With my colleagues we are always filled with articles, experiences. Much of what has led me to this position is to be curious, to question, to put myself on the client's side. That makes for very good things to come out as a team.

What would you say is your main strength? 

Some of my main strengths in the organization are resilience and emotional intelligence. They are what move me to move forward when I encounter detractors. I don't always keep quiet nor do I always talk. If I get on the same level and shout, I'm going to look worse than the detracting person.

 A book that you recommend?  

When it comes to books, I like to have a mix of some very spiritual ones. I love it Your soul's plan by Robert Schwartz. It says you chose to be where you are. When it comes to work, I read the one about Ted Talks, which has helped me a lot to be able to transmit my passion at work, to be able to influence where we are going at work.

A podcast?

You're going to die by Diego Dreyfus.