By: Natalie Johnson
For Daniela Leon Cornejo, pricing is not just mathematics. It is identity, intention, and strategy woven together. Her years across aviation, hospitality, and financial services have given her a broader lens that helps her see how the strongest fintechs use pricing as storytelling, a way to signal who they are and what they stand for. “It is about using pricing to express who you are, what you stand for, how you create value that lasts,” says Cornejo, recognized across Latin America as an influential pricing and revenue leader.
Today, she serves as Founder and CEO of Value of Insights, the first global consultancy dedicated exclusively to pricing and revenue strategy for financial institutions. “Every industry change taught me a new way people understand value, and that constantly reshaped how I approach pricing.”
The Shift from Technician to Strategist
Technical pricing alone could not influence meaningful outcomes. “It is part of the role, but what is more valuable is strategic leadership based on pricing initiatives,” she says. Leading pricing and analytics at Banco de Crédito del Perú cemented this belief. There, she drove enterprise-wide pricing frameworks that supported record profitability. The experience taught her that successful pricing teams must speak multiple languages, from product and data to marketing and risk, and that pricing leaders need to become connectors who translate insights into decisions that advance the organization’s broader goals.
Leon’s shift from aviation to hospitality also deepened her thinking. Moving from B2C to B2B pricing introduced her to negotiation-heavy processes and far more complex buying dynamics. “B2B pricing requires a deeper understanding of how clients decide and how to communicate,” she says. It was a transition that reinforced her belief that pricing is as much about human behavior as it is about numbers.
What Fintech Still Gets Wrong
Despite operating in innovation-driven environments, many fintechs misunderstand the role of structure in pricing. “People think pricing rules are rigid, but pricing discipline does not kill agility. It is about setting guardrails that enable responsible flexibility.” These guardrails protect value while still allowing teams to move quickly. They clarify trade-offs, such as when a discount is appropriate in exchange for volume or retention. Without them, she warns, fintechs risk diluting their value propositions or sending mixed signals to customers. “A great example of that is Mercado Libre, an organization that shifted from flat commission rates to differentiated fees based on value-based services such as shipping, insurance, and advertising, which improved both margins and vendor retention.”
Building the Future Pricing Team
Great pricing leaders in fintech must be what Leon calls “unicorns,” people who blend analytics, business judgment, and strong communication to guide organizations through decisions that create long-term value. And when powerful tools complement this visionary outlook, they help set the course for the future of pricing strategy. “Unicorns influence the organization toward paths that are not always comfortable, but they do it because it builds value,” she says. And with this kind of profile typically comes a natural affinity for embracing the latest technology. Take automation, which is becoming a force multiplier for pricing teams, sharpening segmentation, forecasting, and real-time experimentation so teams can respond faster to shifting customer preferences.
This technological lift expands what pricing teams can do, but it does not change what great leaders must be. Effective pricing still depends on guiding people through new incentives, new narratives, and sometimes new cultural norms. AI can optimize elasticities, but it cannot help a commercial team accept a tough shift or enable an executive team to see the business from what Leon calls “the balcony.”
A New Narrative for Revenue Leaders
For Leon, pricing is ultimately a storytelling exercise. “Pricing can be your storyteller, shaping how people perceive the value you promise and deliver.” As fintechs mature, those that design pricing systems aligned with their values will stand apart. It is not enough to optimize revenue. Companies must signal the kind of relationship they want with their customers.
For more insights from Daniela Leon Cornejo, follow her on social media on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, or visit her website.
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