Karina Alcaraz

About Karina Alcaraz

Talent Acquisition and HR Director with 15+ years of experience driving hiring strategy and organizational transformation across the Americas. Unique blend of recruitment agency experience at HAYS, including executive recruitment, and in-house talent acquisition leadership at Mastercard, partnering with C-suite leaders to shape hiring strategies and build high-performing teams across tech, fintech, and financial services. Proven track record building Talent Acquisition functions from scratch, supporting M&A integrations, and leading data-driven hiring strategies across 2,500+ employees in complex, matrixed environments. Fluent in English and Spanish.Areas of Expertise: Global Talent Acquisition | Executive Search | Workforce & Headcount Planning | Campus Recruiting | Recruiting Strategy | HR Strategy | Organizational Design & Optimization | Stakeholder Management (C-suite)| Talent Acquisition & People Leadership | AI-Enabled Talent Acquisition | ATS (Workday)| DEI | GenAI

Experience

1. People Business Partner Director HR Latin America & Caribbean

   Mastercard

   Dec 2022 — Present · Miami, FL, US

   Directed people strategy, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness for 2,500 employees across the U.S. and Latin America & Caribbean, enabling business growth.• Strategic business partner to executive leadership across Product, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, Commercial & New Payment Flows, Advisors & Consulting Services, and corporate functions (Finance, Legal, Technology).• Led change management initiatives that improved organizational effectiveness and strengthened employee engagement across regional teams.• Advised and coached executives and managers on employee relations, workforce planning, succession planning, talent and performance calibrations, leveraging AI to enable people leaders to deliver performance feedback.• Partner with Centers of Excellence (Talent Acquisition and Talent Management) to design and implement programs that attract, retain, and develop talent across diverse markets.• Managed the transition of 305 employees into a new open-space headquarters, ensuring minimal disruption and attrition, while implementing the Return-to-Office (RTO) global policy.

Education

• Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

  Exchange Program, Business Administration and Management, General

  2008 — 2008

• Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México

  Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

  2005 — 2010

• EGADE Business School del Tecnológico de Monterrey

  Executive MBA

  2021 — 2023

Skills

• Team Leadership
• Financial Analysis
• Human Resources
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Negotiation
• Process Improvement
• Marketing
• Team Management
• Business Development
• New Business Development
• Goal Oriented
• Crm
• Consulting
• Business Strategy
• Marketing Strategy
• Talent Acquisition
• Recruiting
• Business Process Improvement
• Management
• Screening Resumes
• Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• Hands-on Problem Solver
• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Finance