Jose Antonio Ramirez Marquez

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Marketing Intelligence in the Gaming Industry

My capstone for the Marketing Intelligence course at Fuqua. I’m proud to say it was a deep dive into product strategy, consumer segmentation, and predictive modeling in the gaming industry. I tackled a real-world scenario: choosing the most promising game for a developer to acquire in a competitive RPG market. To make the call, I combined both business and technical methods to create a data-driven recommendation.

· Built a linear regression model in Python to impute missing price sensitivity data and forecast optimal price points

· Used PCA and Factor Analysis to reduce survey dimensionality and uncover the core motivations behind gamer behavior

· Clustered player segments using k-means and interpreted their affinities using advanced cross-tab and regression analyses

· Targeted personas based on segment behavior and market potential to craft a high-ROI strategy

What I valued most was the challenge of transforming raw data into clear strategic guidance, the kind that drives confident investment decisions.

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This is #TeamFuqua

A Master’s in Business Analytics brings with it a variety of courses that, in my opinion, combine the best of both worlds. Classes in statistics, data science, machine learning, the much-coveted artificial intelligence, quantitative market research, and much more, all without losing sight of the practicality these skills bring to a business model. More than anything, it’s about understanding both worlds in order to turn analysis into a real story that supports decision-making.

Since arriving at Fuqua, I’ve had the opportunity to take classes with professors whose experience I never could have imagined, and it’s been a privilege to hear how they use their knowledge to tell us things like, "Your manager won’t care if your p-value is less than 0.05; your manager will want to know how your analysis brings value to the company," to paraphrase Professor Belloni. These kinds of tangible experiences really make you reflect on how what you're learning goes far beyond a test answer.

Even more importantly, it's realizing that analysis that can’t be communicated is useless, and that you carry business classes with you forever (I will always be a loyal follower of the Glova school of storytelling). This master’s program has meant being part of the entire data-driven decision-making process: collection, cleaning, analysis, visualization, and storytelling.

However, beyond all the knowledge or the amazing projects I was able to work on at Duke, the most valuable part of the experience was seeing how, in just one year, complete strangers can become part of a community you never want to leave. It's understanding how names you had never heard before become friends you don’t want to let go of. It's laughing, walking, talking, and soaking in the experiences of others to help grow your own just a little more.

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To be a Pantera in Mexico City

After being involved in my family business since my teenage years—and having to learn a bit of everything—I was genuinely curious to dive deeper into accounting, finance, marketing, and strategy. It may sound cliché, but this was one of those moments where I studied something because I was truly interested in it, beyond the social expectations around it, and I made the most of every class I took.

At Universidad Panamericana, I had incredible professors. I’ll especially never forget my program director, Lizbeth Nuñez, who gave me the push I needed to be myself—in the way I work, communicate, and show up as a human being.

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Marketing Intelligence: Driving Engagement Strategy for Duke Programs

The Fuqua Marketing Intelligence team, responsible for advising program leadership, was constrained by the limits of the platform. While survey data from EMBA students was rich, the team lacked the tools to:
• Analyze thousands of open-text responses beyond surface-level themes
• Build dynamic cross-tabs across cohorts without hours of manual work
• Run advanced statistical tests to identify why satisfaction was changing, not just what scores looked like

I designed and delivered an analytical layer by:
• Building a Python pipeline to clean, code, and model survey data, isolating the drivers of engagement.
• Developing an interactive, self-service dashboard that allowed leadership to cross-tabulate by cohort, topic, and metric in real time, using Python, Dash and Plotly, without expensive BI licenses.

Impact
• Strategic Insight: Identified the top drivers of dissatisfaction. Program leadership acted on these.
• Efficiency: Cut turnaround time for complex ad-hoc requests from days to minutes.
• Capability Building: Extended the life of the school’s investment by giving the team a maintainable Python-based solution they now use independently.

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Pricing & Operations Strategy: Driving Profitability for a Tire Distributor

Problem
Llantitec, a regional tire distributor, was facing declining margins and inefficient pricing decisions. With over 3,000 SKUs across multiple brands, leadership lacked visibility into competitive pricing trends and had no systematic way to align costs, inventory, and sales performance with pricing strategy.

Action
As a Business Analyst Intern, I introduced a structured approach to pricing and operations by:
• Conducting market intelligence through competitive web scraping and in-person distributor visits to benchmark SKU-level prices.
• Designing a dynamic R-based pricing model that integrated cost, inventory, competitor pricing, and historical sales, automating monthly updates.
• Partnering with operations leadership to standardize decision rules around margin thresholds and competitive positioning.

Impact

• Profitability: Boosted gross profit by 7% within six months by correcting underpriced SKUs and capitalizing on high-demand categories.
• Efficiency: Reduced manual pricing analysis by 10+ hours per week, enabling the team to focus on negotiation and customer service.
• Scalability: Created a repeatable framework that became the distributor’s standard approach to monthly pricing reviews.

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Customer Experience and Analytics

After finishing my undergrad, I knew I wanted to gain experience at a company that used data analysis not just to drive business value, but also to improve the customer experience. Andrés de la Peña gave me the opportunity to join Soho Squared, which had just launched a special team in Mexico City to collaborate directly with InMoment (a leading SaaS company in Customer Experience) in developing CX programs and supporting special projects alongside Josh Skinner.

During this experience, I worked with multiple teams to implement programs, migrate SQL databases to the InMoment Cloud, develop surveys and dashboards for analysis, and gain valuable exposure to a range of industries through their CX functions.

Although my core team was based in Mexico City, I had the privilege of working with colleagues from Canada, the U.S., India, and the UK; an invaluable opportunity to grow my ability to work in multicultural, cross-functional teams.

I was also fortunate to sharpen my problem-solving skills on live client accounts under pressure, thanks to the guidance of Fenerose. She constantly encouraged me to think creatively, innovate solutions, and stay calm in high-stakes situations. Many of the lessons I learned from her will stay with me for life.

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Colgate

My first work experience was with one of the largest and most recognized companies in the world, Colgate. I will never forget how exciting it was to see the offices of a company whose products I saw every day at the supermarket and personally used.

Understanding all the departments and being part of the new products team was an absolute delight. I had the opportunity to see the innovations Colgate was preparing a year before the public could learn about them. I also had the chance to work hand in hand with staff from all the product teams: from Ajax, Colgate 360, and Colgate, to Tom's and Fabuloso.

What’s more, I was responsible for tracking requirements and reporting the launch status to Colgate and the company’s largest clients. Analyzing so many products and learning all the requirements involved in launching a personal care product was like opening my eyes to a hidden world.

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Volunteering with UP and Cuenta Mundos

Throughout my life, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with various groups in volunteer activities: collecting Tetra Pak containers to build houses, supporting children in foster homes, and gathering supplies for those affected by the 2017 earthquake in Mexico City. However, my two greatest passions have always been related to education.

While studying at Universidad Panamericana, I had the chance to tutor middle school students in mathematics, algebra, and geometry, students who were struggling with these subjects. I’ve always disagreed with the notion that math is only for those who are “naturally talented” at it, and the students I worked with are proof that this isn't true. Many of them, who were at risk of failing, were able to catch up and even improve their relationship with the subject.

When I was a bit younger, I had the opportunity to lead Cuenta Mundos, a youth-led organization in Oaxaca dedicated to increasing literacy rates in the state by fostering a love of reading among children through playful, engaging activities. The work I carried out alongside my friends, with the support of Professor Enriqueta Pérez, earned us the National Youth Award, the highest honor granted by the Mexican government to young people for their social contributions.

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My life as content creator

For six years, alongside my academic education, I was part of a YouTube channel called QuePario! a project that began as a way for friends to pass the time by making comedy sketches, parodies, and musicals, but which soon grew into a channel with over 3 million subscribers. In this team, I had the chance to collaborate with incredibly talented people, such as Ron Hernández (director), Renata Vaca (renowned actress), and Alex Soto (singer and songwriter), all of whom inspired me to become a little more creative every day.

Being part of QP! meant living a more public life than I had ever imagined—traveling across Mexico to attend events, perform shows, and take part in meet-and-greets.

I’ll never deny how much I loved being part of that team, and how all the members feel like family to me. But at some point, I had to step away from a project that demanded 120% of me in order to pursue my own dreams.

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Music all the way...

I've always had a passion for music, and even today, I love spending my free time singing or playing the guitar. That’s how Caminos Cruzados was born, a project where I could explore my musical and production skills, and over the years, build a community of 50,000 people interested in the project. It also gave me the chance to compose my own songs and upload some of my recordings to Spotify.

Although I haven’t been able to record or share as much content lately as I’d like, I would never say this project is over. It’s one of those creative outlets you always return to... with fresh ideas.