Partnerships & Growth Executive · LATAM

I find the way, even when there isn't one yet.

I've spent 18 years where technology meets brands. I started at Grupo Clarín, Argentina's largest media group, founded my own agency, and then spent 14 years at Meta, where I helped grow the Latin American business from a ten-person office.

I launched Instagram with agencies, led global marketing strategies and connected brands with the region's biggest cultural moments. Today I'm focused on how AI is reshaping advertising and partnerships.

I lead by building what's new, strengthening what's there, and bringing leadership, partners and teams along.

See the work LinkedIn
Portrait of María Cecilia Viyella
Buenos Aires, Argentina
18 yrs
in digital media and advertising: media group, agency and platform
3
roles I built from zero at Meta
1st
Agency Partner at Meta in LATAM, and one of the first worldwide
Lion
Bronze, Cannes Lions 2022, for Ads for Equality
2027
Executive Education, Harvard Business School: Business of Entertainment, Media & Sports

My story

Built from a blank page

I've seen the industry from three sides: selling digital media at Grupo Clarín, running my own agency, and building the business at Meta for 14 years. When I joined Meta in 2012, the Argentina office had ten people. Soon after, I became one of its first Agency Partners worldwide; years later, I created the Head of Partners Ecosystem LATAM role and defined it myself.

New roles rarely come with resources, so I learned to make the most of what there was: a seed budget, a partner who believed in the idea, a moment the whole region cared about.

And I've always led through influence: aligning Country Directors, VPs and global teams around an idea, and bringing sales teams and partners along.

In my last review, my manager called it gravitas: getting senior people to move with you, with no reporting line in either direction.

That, plus resilience and creativity, is how I work.

Career

From media, to agency, to platform

  1. 2008

    Grupo Clarín

    Digital sales for e-commerce in Argentina's leading media group.

  2. 2011

    Founder, ThinkAD

    My own boutique digital agency. Clients included Boca Juniors.

  3. 2013

    Agency Partner, Meta

    One of Meta's first Agency Partners globally. Built the agency model for the South Cone and covered Colombia.

  4. 2018

    Program Manager Global Agencies LATAM

    Right hand to the LATAM Agency Director, running programs across every market. Power of Partnerships Award.

  5. 2021

    Global Marketing Lead, Sustainability

    A year leading Meta's global marketing positioning on sustainability, with teams worldwide.

  6. 2022

    Head of Partners Ecosystem LATAM

    I created the role and wrote its strategy. Power of Partnerships Award.

New ground: roles built from zero or a first global scope

Selected work

What I built in each role

Head of Partners Ecosystem LATAM

Meta · 2022 – 2026

PartnersCreatorsWorld CupOlympicsPower of Partnerships

The challenge

Meta couldn't reach every client and agency in the region directly, and competitors outspent us around the World Cup and the Olympics.

What I did

Built a partner ecosystem with Winclap, Adsmurai and LOI, and created content packages tied to advertiser investment, which sales teams sold across the region. Started the World Cup a year early under one identity, "Meta is the GOAT", and for the Olympics tied Reels and WhatsApp to partner production deals, with The Players' Tribune for athlete content.

What it changed

60+ advertisers across the region, including PepsiCo, Unilever, Coca-Cola, L'Oréal and Mercado Libre. The packages sold out, the budget tripled that year and the program is still running. Major regional investment for the World Cup, Olympics campaigns with Netshoes, Smart Fit and Powerade, and a Power of Partnerships Award.

Program Manager Global Agencies LATAM

Meta · 2018 – 2022

Ads for EqualityCannes LionsPower of Partnerships

The challenge

Advertising leaned on stereotypes, and few women led agencies in the region.

What I did

Co-founded Ads for Equality to test whether more representative ads perform better, and designed its go-to-market with agencies.

What it changed

Tested in 16+ brand campaigns. A Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions 2022, a Power of Partnerships Award, and similar programs across Meta.

Agency Partner South Cone → Agency Manager Argentina

Meta · 2013 – 2018

AgenciesBig 6Instagram launch

The challenge

In LATAM, agencies move most of the investment, and Meta had no model to work with them.

What I did

Wrote the plan: which agencies to support, incentives, and a strategy for each audience, from planners to CEOs. For the Instagram launch, ran in-person roadshows at the leading media agencies in Argentina and Colombia.

What it changed

1,000+ agency professionals reached and agency investment in Instagram up 50x. I became Meta's face for agencies in Argentina, working with the Big 6 and top performance agencies.

Confidential revenue figures are left out. Happy to talk through the details.

What people say

In other people's words

In dynamic environments she doesn't just adapt: she creates structure where there was none. She built the Head of Partners Ecosystem role from scratch, defining the scope, the processes and the partner relationships that didn't exist before. Someone I'd want to work with at any company!

Pepe López de Ayala · Head of LATAM, Global Clients & Agency Partners, Meta · her direct manager

She's the partner every studio hopes to have on the platform side. As the market changed, she kept finding new ways for brands to show up in sport, always in a way that worked for everyone involved. I'd recommend Ceci to any team building partnerships in sports, media or tech.

Eduardo Paulsen · Co-founder, athlōn powerhouse · worked together at The Players' Tribune and athlōn

She builds real partnerships, finds common ground between different stakeholders, and has a talent for influencing without forcing. She is deeply committed to pushing ideas forward and doesn't stop until they become reality.

Ana Clara Prilutzky · Communications Director, Spanish Speaking LATAM, Meta

Recognition & learning

Beyond the job description

Bronze Lion, Cannes 2022

Creative B2B, for Ads for Equality.

2x Power of Partnerships

Meta's regional internal award for exceptional partnerships that drive business growth.

Founder, Women@LATAM

Founded Meta's regional women's network and led the Argentina chapter. Media-trained spokesperson on gender and diversity.

Harvard Business School

Executive Education, The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports. Admitted, June 2027.

UADE

Bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Communications.

Languages

Spanish and English, native. Portuguese, full professional.

Let's find the way together.

Open to partnerships and growth roles in media, entertainment, sports and platforms, and to conversations about building something new.

Email
ceci.viyella@gmail.com
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/mariaceciliaviyella
Based in
Buenos Aires, Argentina