Example Use Case

The Problem

An international digital payments company (“the company”) with a strong market share in Europe and North America, wanted to expand their operations into central and south America, specifically Mexico. However they were concerned about the high crime rate in the country, although they weren’t sure how this would impact them or how to mitigate against this risk. As a result they were suffering delays to their project as they disagreed internally about how to manage the risk.

The Approach

Victoria Intelligence (“VI”) identified the key individuals from the company to speak with; the business development manager overseeing the expansion; the head of security; the head of facilities; the chief operating officer; the regional sales manager for the Americas.

Following these discussion, the following challenges were identified:

• Business development and the regional sales manager saw Mexico as a strategically important market for expansion, but the COO was wary of operating there given their perception of the crime rate and was delaying approval of key project milestones.

• Whilst Mexico was front of mind for these teams, further down the line they were eyeing expansion in Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.

• The head of security was frustrated that employees were travelling to the country without him knowing, and he was under pressure to develop a security management plan for the country without fully understanding what the business was trying to achieve.

• The head of facilities was trying to find locations for an office in Mexico City but was getting alarmed by reports of violent crime around a number of the proposed locations.

• There was a lack of expertise in the company about security, political and cultural dynamics in Mexico.

Success for the business looked like:

• Understanding how to successfully navigate cultural, political and regulatory challenges in the country to gain market share.

• Opening an office in Mexico City, in an area that would be safe for locals and foreign visitors.

• Establishing a robust travel management plan for foreign visitors to enable them to travel around the country safely.

The Solution

• VI proposed the creation of a role for a South America intelligence analyst who would report into the head of security and advise them on security dynamics in Mexico, but who would also be able to support expansion into other South American countries. VI created the job description, including the key skills the analyst would need, and worked with the company’s HR and security team to shortlist and interview candidates. VI also consulted with the head of security to build out a clear plan for how the analyst’s work would enable security to achieve their objectives, and produced standard operating procedures for the threat and risk process in South America.

• In tandem, VI produced threat assessments for the current locations being considered for an office, to help the facilities team contextualise isolated incidents of violence within the wider threat environment. VI shared these threat assessments template and methodology with the South America intelligence analyst so they could provide additional ones in future when needed.

• VI organised a Mexico deep dive day for the key senior leaders in the company, where experts on Mexican politics, security and regulation were brought together to discuss the challenges and opportunities of operating in the country. This allowed these senior leaders to better understand how to operate successfully in Mexico. VI produced an accompanying report for the customer with the relevant information and key takeaways from the deep dive.

The Impact

• As a result, senior leadership were confident in continuing the expansion into the country and no longer delayed key approvals.

• Business development and sales were able to progress more rapidly with their project plans, opening up a market they knew would be significant for the company.

• The security team felt better supported and that with an analyst dedicated to  monitoring the dynamic threat environment in the country, they were able to make decisions around travel and journey management more confidently.

• Facilities were able to identify an appropriate office location and start the process of standing this up.