Data Intelligence Group

Who we are

Two practitioners.
One quiet practice.

Data Intelligence Group was founded in 2018 in Panamá, at the moment when data science was beginning to reshape business practice across Latin America. The idea was simple: a consulting practice where two professionals — with deep backgrounds in retail analytics, strategic planning, and marketing — could take on work that larger firms either didn't have the bandwidth for or found too specialized to staff efficiently.

The original vision included publishing, seminars, and visibility. That changed quickly. Almost immediately, the demand came not from companies looking for consultants, but from consulting firms looking for subcontractors: partners who could do rigorous analytical work, stay entirely behind the scenes, and deliver results that could be presented under another firm's name.

"With a strict policy of never working directly with the customers of the consulting agencies who hire us, we became what some might call ghost consultants — and we've stayed that way by choice."

Today, Data Intelligence focuses on four areas: retail forecasting, forex modeling, retail marketing analysis, and long-form strategic planning. Our clients are typically mid-to-large consulting firms in Latin America, often overbooked or facing projects that require specialized quantitative depth. We give them the capacity they need without competing with them.

We are not a large firm. We are two people — careful, experienced, and available — who take on a select number of projects at a time and do them well.

The team

Angela Alejo

Founding Partner & Consultant

Angela brings deep operational experience from senior roles in retail and consumer goods, including positions as Retail Manager at Nike, Merchandising Director at Armi Pronto (Colombia), and Commercial Director at Nine West Colombia. Her work at Data Intelligence centers on marketing strategy, merchandising analysis, and retail channel planning.

  • B.S. Business Management — Universidad San Martín, Colombia
  • Executive Degree in Strategic Management — Colegio EAN, Colombia
  • M.A. Marketing — Universidad Camilo José Cela, Spain

Ariel Meilij

Founding Partner & Consultant

Ariel's work focuses on the quantitative side of the practice: forecasting models, machine learning applications for business analytics, and long-form strategic documents. His doctoral research explored machine learning methodologies for forex forecasting in the context of cost accounting for importers — work that continues to shape how Data Intelligence approaches currency risk for clients.

  • B.S. Marketing — ULACIT, Panamá
  • M.B.A. — ULACIT, Panamá
  • M.S. Data Science — Universidad de Nebrija, Spain
  • Ph.D. Business Management — Universidad Benito Juárez G., México