A new generation of leaders is building advanced technology, and Mariana Maldonado, from Mexico, is one of them. As CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of BlueFunnel AI & Co, she leads both the firm’s marketing and technology divisions at once. BlueFunnel was founded on a different premise. It was started by entrepreneurs who had already built and scaled businesses of their own.
That experience shows up in high-profile projects. BlueFunnel led the strategy and advertising behind the collaboration between legendary Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez and jewelry brand Cherry Coll, a campaign that reached audiences across Mexico and the United States. It brought together sports, branding, and culture, and it demanded an understanding of both the numbers and what actually moves an audience. This is where Maldonado’s signature comes through most clearly, data-driven rigor and brand sensitivity working side by side in the same strategy.
IRIS AI: The Technological Core
One of the firm’s most compelling projects has a name of its own: IRIS AI, BlueFunnel’s proprietary artificial intelligence system. Maldonado was involved in building it. Her role on the project comes straight from her dual profile, the technical mind guiding the technology and the strategist who understands why a brand inspires desire.
IRIS was trained using PRISMA, BlueFunnel’s proprietary methodology, tested through millions of dollars invested in digital advertising for companies across 10 different countries. That foundation integrates principles of neuromarketing, conversion data analysis, and consumer behavior signals drawn from real-world advertising operations.
The result is a system that processes thousands of data points in real time, detects patterns that may go unnoticed by the human eye, and identifies where a brand’s true growth opportunity may lie. Generic tools flood this market. Building proprietary artificial intelligence and training it with real-world data is what positions the firm within the AI-First category and defines its way of working: measurable, profitable advertising designed to help businesses scale.
IRIS Analyzes. We Decide
Maldonado, however, is precise when defining the role of technology.
Artificial intelligence can detect signals at a speed that’s difficult for any individual to match, but the final decision, the one that requires understanding the business rather than simply reading the data, stays in the hands of the expert team. That combination, advanced technology guided by real entrepreneurial experience, defines the firm’s signature approach.
Maldonado’s profile resists easy categorization. She moves just as comfortably between a performance dashboard and a creative strategy session, between the language of advertising performance and the language of brand desire.
“The numbers always tell us something,” she says. “We just need to know how to read them”
That dual interpretation, of both data and brand, guides the way she works. As CMO, she connects communication, perception, and growth. As CTO, she takes part in developing the systems that make it possible to analyze more information and turn it into deeper, more informed decisions.
With that same spirit, Maldonado proudly champions Mexican talent. She’s part of a generation of extraordinary young people changing the world through new ideas, innovative businesses, and meaningful impact within their communities.
