MX · Global Policy × Emerging Technology

Where public policy meets automated governance institutions.

I'm Mariana Carmona — A multidisciplinary strategist and applied researcher operating at the intersection of emerging technology, public policy, regulation, and business. I bring more than two decades across public institutions, private companies, NGOs, and international consulting; I understand technology deeply enough to help architect it, policy and regulation well enough build compliant applications, and business well enough to make it viable and competitive. I turn cutting-edge capabilities into coherent, executable, and trustworthy models that keep technology at the service of human priorities.

20+years across the full policy cycle
10+publications on blockchain, DeFi & policy
UNDP · IADB · GIZmultilateral & cooperation clients
4working languages: EN, FR, ES, IT
01 Why hire me

Most consultants know one world. I operate at the intersection of three.

Public sector, private industry and emerging technology each speak a different language. My value is translation and holistic visualization — turning blockchain and AI into regulatory frameworks, decision-ready analysis, and business use cases.

Policy fluency you can't shortcut

A decade in public affairs and lobbying for Blue chip companies, 5+ consultancy projects for international organizations, early-career in Mexico's federal government — I know how institutions actually decide.

Frontier-tech depth

Architect of on-chain governance institutions. Proven applied research and postgraduate studies in AI, ML and Blockchain.

Deliverables executives actually use

Feasibility studies, program evaluations, policy briefs, decks — produced for founders, ministries, multilateral organizations with precision and speed in fast-moving environments.

02 Services

Four ways to engage me.

Every engagement pairs institutional design with quantitative evidence — frameworks a minister can defend and numbers an engineer can implement.

Blockchain & Agentic AI Applications

Design and prototyping of smart applications that combine blockchain and AI to solve real problems for businesses and governments — from agentic AI workflows that automate analysis and decisions to on-chain systems for transparency, provenance and trust. I help you scope the use case, prototype it, and build the governance and policy framework around it so it's viable in production, not just in a demo. Where it fits, I also advise on token design and real-world-asset (RWA) tokenization.

Special Economic Zones & Digital Jurisdictions

Whether you want to design your zone or invest in I can orient your decision. Business plans, financial forecasts and regulatory architecture for SEZs, Free Cities, and e-jurisdictions — I designed a blockchain-based special economic zone, on-chain Companies Registry or automated trust funds.

Policy Strategy & Public Affairs

Legislative and regulatory assessment, political-actor mapping, scenario planning through electoral transitions, and strategic narratives for engagement with policymakers — built on a decade as Chief Economist and ongoing contributions, consultancies and publications.

Program Evaluation & Institutional Assessment

Evidence-based ESG evaluation. — from national microcredit programs to state-level care systems and international coooperation reviews. Diagnostic studies, impact evaluations, logical framework design.

03 Selected work

Engagements that moved from ideas to institutions.

2022 – 2026
Institute of Free Technology

Blockchain-based Special Economic Zone — from zero to business plan

As Emerging Projects Lead, reporting directly to the founder. — I translated blockchain governance concepts into policy frameworks and regulatory structures. Architecture and budgeting of an on-chain Companies Registry for the Channel Island of Sark.

SEZ designon-chain registriesgovernance frameworks
2023 – 2024
GIZ (Germany)

State-level care system: policy, market and public finance assessment

Led a multidisciplinary consulting team through human rights policy analysis, a market study and fiscal impact assessment using UN and OECD methodologies — delivering diagnostic studies and implementation roadmaps that survived a political transition.

public financeUN care methodologyteam leadership
2020
IADB · UNDP

Development banks' financing policy and SME competitiveness across Latin America

Comparative research on agricultural SME development across Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Ecuador for the Inter-American Development Bank, and benchmarking frameworks for women's financial inclusion and fintech policy for the UNDP.

financial inclusioncomparative policysurvey design
2025
ENI Energy (Italy)

Mid-term ESG evaluation of an international cooperation initiative

Program evaluation and institutional assessment based on OECD performance indicators, evidence-based restructuring recommendations and an implementation plan for managerial decision-making.

ESG evaluationOECD indicators
2013 – 2021
Crossing & Public Affairs

A decade of lobbying and public affairs as Chief Economist

Legislative, regulatory and economic assessments, political-actor mapping and strategic lobbying for blue chip international companies across pharma, energy, telecom, big tech and more — including scenario planning through electoral transitions.

lobbyingregulatory strategyscenario planning
04 Thought leadership

Published, cited, and invited to the stage.

Selected publications.

Social Institutions in the Era of Blockchain-Based Governance

Logos Press Engine, 2026 —

DeFi: the end of the financial inclusion gap in developing countries?

Book chapter, E-Elgar Publishing, 2024.

Blockchain & DeFi in the post-Covid EU: the circular economy case

Book chapter, IGI Global, 2022 — with a member of the European Blockchain Council.

Why the EU Needs Special Economic Zones to Unlock Its Digital Future

The Free Cities Foundation.

Co-chair, Thought Leadership Group — Blockchain for Europe

Contributing to EU regulatory discussions on privacy, tech sovereignty and the 28th regime.

Lecturer: ITAM & FintechU

Executive and master's-level programs on digital assets and blockchain technology.

05 Credentials

Trained for rigor. Retrained for the frontier.

AI & Machine LearningPostgraduate Certificate, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin — GPA 4.17, ranked 24th in a cohort of 100.
MSc Blockchain & Digital CurrenciesUniversity of Nicosia, Cyprus — Cum Laude, Proficiency Scholarship, Dean's List honorific mention.
Economics & Public PolicyBA in Economics and MSc studies in Public Policy, ITAM, Mexico. Honorific mention, National Public Finance Research Contest, Chamber of Deputies (2018).

Languages: English · French · Spanish (professional) — Italian (intermediate)  |  Tools: Python · SQL · Solidity · ML · Deep learning · Notion · Miro · Mermaid

06 Contact

Tell me what you're building — or what's blocking you.

Whether it's a special economic zone, a program evaluation or you are moving to web3 and AI automation, the first conversation is free. Messages from this form go straight to my inbox.

mobile / +52 55 2560 7024