Crisis to Clarity: Fabiana Lacerca Allen on Intuitive Leadership
October 3, 2025
In this episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta speaks with Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, a veteran corporate compliance expert with over 30 years of experience advising Fortune 100 companies. Drawing from her extraordinary personal journey, including surviving kidnapping attempts in Argentina, Fabiana shares powerful lessons on crisis management, situational awareness, and intuitive leadership. She reveals how to train your sixth sense, remain calm under pressure, and turn uncertainty into opportunity. The conversation offers practical strategies for building resilience and leading authentically in challenging times.
In this episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta speaks with Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, a veteran corporate compliance expert with over 30 years of experience advising Fortune 100 companies. Drawing from her extraordinary personal journey, including surviving kidnapping attempts in Argentina, Fabiana shares powerful lessons on crisis management, situational awareness, and intuitive leadership. She reveals how to train your sixth sense, remain calm under pressure, and turn uncertainty into opportunity. The conversation offers practical strategies for building resilience and leading authentically in challenging times.
Fabiana Lacerca-Allen is the Chief Compliance Officer at Cipla USA and a seasoned C-level executive with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. She has led global teams in shaping compliance strategies, guiding Fortune 100 companies through FDA and OIG regulations, mergers, acquisitions, and corporate governance. Recognized as a Top Mind by Compliance Week and a Legal Industry Leader by Hispanic Executive Magazine, Fabiana is passionate about fostering ethical, inclusive cultures and driving compliance excellence worldwide.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
👉 Training Situational Awareness for Leaders: Fabiana explains that situational awareness can be systematically trained through daily observation exercises. By memorising details in new environments, leaders sharpen their pattern recognition and risk assessment skills. This practice helps them detect early warning signs, spot opportunities, and respond faster than competitors.
👉 Balancing Data with Intuition: Fabiana highlights that leaders cannot wait for perfect data in fast-moving markets. Combining analysis with intuition enables timely and flexible decision-making. By staying humble and ready to pivot, CMOs and entrepreneurs gain a competitive edge and avoid analysis paralysis in uncertain environments.
👉 Avoiding Critical Negotiation Mistakes: Fabiana identifies three major negotiation pitfalls: over-aggression, lack of transparency, and pursuing wins at all costs. Instead, she stresses preparation and authenticity, which build long-term partnerships. Leaders who shift focus from short-term victories to sustainable trust, foster credibility and more valuable business relationships.
👉 Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Fabiana reframes crises as chances for growth. With preparation, adaptability, and the right mindset, challenges become stepping stones to innovation. For marketing leaders, this approach ensures teams stay productive and resilient during disruptions, transforming potential setbacks into breakthroughs for brand and business growth.
Listen Now!
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Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/48t2yi5
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And connect with the host and guests here:
Darshan Mehta on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
iResearch website - https://iresearch.com
Fabiana Lacerca-Allen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/flacerca/
Cipla USA Website - https://usa.cipla.com/
Fabiana Lacerca-Allen is the Chief Compliance Officer at Cipla USA and a seasoned C-level executive with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. She has led global teams in shaping compliance strategies, guiding Fortune 100 companies through FDA and OIG regulations, mergers, acquisitions, and corporate governance. Recognized as a Top Mind by Compliance Week and a Legal Industry Leader by Hispanic Executive Magazine, Fabiana is passionate about fostering ethical, inclusive cultures and driving compliance excellence worldwide.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
👉 Training Situational Awareness for Leaders: Fabiana explains that situational awareness can be systematically trained through daily observation exercises. By memorising details in new environments, leaders sharpen their pattern recognition and risk assessment skills. This practice helps them detect early warning signs, spot opportunities, and respond faster than competitors.
👉 Balancing Data with Intuition: Fabiana highlights that leaders cannot wait for perfect data in fast-moving markets. Combining analysis with intuition enables timely and flexible decision-making. By staying humble and ready to pivot, CMOs and entrepreneurs gain a competitive edge and avoid analysis paralysis in uncertain environments.
👉 Avoiding Critical Negotiation Mistakes: Fabiana identifies three major negotiation pitfalls: over-aggression, lack of transparency, and pursuing wins at all costs. Instead, she stresses preparation and authenticity, which build long-term partnerships. Leaders who shift focus from short-term victories to sustainable trust, foster credibility and more valuable business relationships.
👉 Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Fabiana reframes crises as chances for growth. With preparation, adaptability, and the right mindset, challenges become stepping stones to innovation. For marketing leaders, this approach ensures teams stay productive and resilient during disruptions, transforming potential setbacks into breakthroughs for brand and business growth.
Listen Now!
Fame Host - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/48t2yi5
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS - https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6
And connect with the host and guests here:
Darshan Mehta on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
iResearch website - https://iresearch.com
Fabiana Lacerca-Allen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/flacerca/
Cipla USA Website - https://usa.cipla.com/
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Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.
Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes:
- Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
- Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
- [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
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