Dublin · Stamp 4 · Immediately Available EMEA · LATAM · APAC

Rafael Baltazar

Senior Data Analyst · Decision Systems · Process Transformation

Rebuilding fragmented operational and data workflows into controlled decision systems.

15+ years improving governance, automation, operational visibility, and workflow scalability across regulated financial and insurance environments.

35K+

Securities governed daily

<1s

API automation execution

15+

Years experience

Global regions supported

Thinking Patterns

How I Think (FAQ)

The pattern across 15+ years is consistent. I enter environments where the operational picture is unclear, identify where the system is actually failing, and rebuild it so the failure cannot quietly recur.

Start with the failure, not the fix

Most process problems are symptoms of something structural one or two layers upstream. I map the current state first — where data enters, where decisions happen, where errors accumulate. The redesign only starts once the root cause is clear.

Translate between every layer

I move between operations teams, developers, governance functions, and senior stakeholders without losing precision in any direction. I adjust the layer of abstraction, not the accuracy of what I am communicating.

Build systems that hold under pressure

The goal is not a solution that works once. It is a process that scales, survives personnel changes, and produces the same quality of output whether the environment is calm or under load.

Thinking & Approach

Method How do you approach a broken or underperforming process?

I start with the failure, not the fix.

Most process problems are symptoms of something one or two layers upstream, a design gap, a missing ownership rule, or a visibility problem. I map the current state first, identify where the actual failure sits, then redesign. That order matters. Fixing the symptom produces solutions that fail again, differently.

Bridging How do you work across technical and business teams?

I speak both languages without needing a translator in either direction.

At ICE I translated between operations teams in Dublin and development teams in India and the US daily. At SulAmérica I mapped 847 hours of monthly work across 11 departments to make structural arguments to leadership. I adjust the layer of abstraction, not the accuracy of what I am saying.

Pressure How do you operate in high-pressure or ambiguous environments?

Ambiguity is where my approach is most useful.

At ICE I resolved live production failures across 36 global data sources while the system was still running, often without full dependency documentation. I delivered REST API automation under urgent timelines and managed competing stakeholder requests during a three-region rollout. Pressure removes the optional parts. My approach stays the same.

Technical Depth & Modern Practice

Technical How technical is your background in practice?

Technical enough to build practical solutions. Experienced enough to know when building is not the best answer.

Production Oracle SQL, REST API integrations built from scratch, VBA automation, Tableau and Power BI dashboards at institutional scale, end-to-end ETL. I also know when a well-structured governance document solves the problem faster than code. The judgement between the two is the senior part.

AI How do you use AI in your analytical and operational work?

As a structured thinking tool, not a shortcut.

I use it to structure requirements, pressure-test process logic, and sharpen stakeholder communications. What matters is the quality of what you give it: clear context, defined constraints, and a specific question. Without that, the output is noise. I treat the setup the same way I treat requirements gathering, it determines whether the result is useful.

Availability & Fit

Gap How have you spent the period since ICE Data Services?

Deliberately. Certifications, independent projects, and time used intentionally.

Power BI, APM Project Fundamentals, AgilePM Foundation, and Google AI Essentials completed. I designed and built this platform applying BA methodology end to end. I also spent meaningful time as a present father, while continuing to build the skills, clarity, and direction I now bring back into my professional work. I return with stronger credentials, clearer focus, and a more precise sense of where I add the most value.

Fit What environments do you work best in?

Regulated, complex environments where operational clarity has a direct impact on outcomes.

Financial services and insurance are where my evidence base is deepest. I work best where the problems are genuinely hard: fragmented systems, unclear ownership, broken governance, or processes that have outgrown their design. I do not need perfect conditions. I need a real problem and room to approach it properly.

Beyond CV What does the CV not fully show?

The CV shows outcomes. It does not show the judgement calls made to get there.

During the ServiceNow rollout, different teams requested conflicting changes. I had to decide what to include, what to defer, and how to manage expectations without losing adoption momentum. That kind of call happens constantly in senior operational work. It does not appear in bullet points.

Operational Fit

Where I Add Most Value

Regulated, data-intensive environments where operational clarity has a direct impact on business outcomes.

Process Transformation

Fragmented and manual workflows

Processes that create bottlenecks, depend on individuals, or break silently under volume. I redesign them into automated, scalable, auditable systems that run consistently regardless of who is in the room.

Data Governance

Conflicting data across systems

Multiple data sources producing different answers to the same question. I establish validation logic, ownership rules, and reconciliation controls that create a reliable, traceable single source of truth at scale.

Operational Visibility

Decisions made without reliable data

Teams and leaders operating without real-time insight into what is actually happening. I build the reporting and dashboard layers that connect operational activity to decision-makers with the right information at the right level of detail.

Cross-functional Delivery

Requirements lost between business and technical teams

Initiatives that stall because business and technical teams are not aligned on what is actually needed. I apply structured business analysis — gathering requirements, mapping current-state processes, and translating them into clear outcomes — so that what gets built solves the right problem.

Foundations

Operating Principles

The reasoning that underpins how I approach every operational environment I work in.

Clarity before complexity

Structure before scale

Decision quality depends on context quality

Automation should reduce friction, not hide risk

AI works best alongside structured human reasoning

Fix the system, not just the symptom

Selected Work

Case Studies

Four environments. Four different problems. The same structured approach each time.

REST API · Process Automation · Global Rollout

ServiceNow REST API Automation

Replaced a bottlenecked email-based ticketing system across APAC, LATAM, and EMEA with a REST API driven solution. Ticket processing reduced from approximately one minute to sub-second execution, with pre-submission validation and zero manual verification.

Result: <1s execution · 3 regions · self-taught integration

View detail →

Data Governance · Validation Framework · 36 Global Sources

Multi-Market Validation Framework

Designed governance and reconciliation controls across 36 global data sources supporting 35,000+ securities daily. Introduced structured error ownership, prioritisation logic, and stakeholder visibility across a complex multi-asset financial data environment.

Result: 35K+ securities daily · structured traceability · EMEA, LATAM, APAC

View detail →

Digital Transformation · Cost Reduction · Process Redesign

Digital Invoice Transformation · SulAmérica

Redesigned a fully manual postal invoice process into a digital distribution model, eliminating printing and postage overhead, reducing operational costs by approximately R$20,000 per month, maintaining compliance with Brazil's health insurance regulator throughout.

Result: ~R$20K/month reduction · regulatory compliance · accelerated billing cycles

View detail →

View All Case Studies

AI-Assisted Operational Workflows

How I work with AI in operational and analytical contexts

I use generative AI as a structured thinking tool within my analytical and operational work. Not to replace judgement, but to extend the quality and speed of structured reasoning at each stage of a workflow.

What determines the value of the output is the quality of the context and structure that goes in. I treat that setup with the same rigour I apply to requirements gathering.

In operational practice

Structuring ambiguous operational requirements into clear, testable statements before stakeholder sessions
Stress-testing process designs and identifying weak assumptions before committing to implementation
Improving the accuracy and precision of operational communications across stakeholder levels
Applying governance thinking to what the model receives, not only to what it produces

If this thinking matches what your team needs, let's talk.

Based in Dublin, available immediately, open to hybrid, remote, or on-site roles across financial services, insurance, and operations-intensive environments.

Contact Me View Case Studies View CV