To All Aspiring Hispanic Leaders and Managers

Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month 2021, via various leadership panels, established leaders and managers of Hispanic descent shared their road to success. However, each panel had a missing voice: Rising Hispanic Stars.

To fill that gap, several emerging Hispanic stars pooled their success stories and the following “Advice for Aspiring Hispanic Leaders and Managers From Rising Hispanic Stars in Business and Higher Education Institutions Today” article was created.

Enjoy, please share with your connections, and feel free to connect with the contributors below. If you believe we can add to this list, please connect with me on LinkedIn!

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Adam Jimenez - Financial Analyst at the University of Texas Health Science Center. San Antonio, TX.

Aspire to do great things every day and encourage those around you to do the same. Let your work speak for itself and leave no doubt.

Angelica E. Torija - Americas Senior Revenue Recognition Analyst at Oracle. San Antonio, TX.

"Attitude is extremely contagious, be positive and warm to showcase our Hispanic culture."

Gabriella Nolivos - Fusion Middleware at Oracle. Orlando, FL.

Don’t be timid and modest - instead speak freely about your successes and dream big, inspire others, take charge of your career development and hustle for opportunities to get to your goal, have a solid network, and surround yourself with mentors who want to see you succeed.

Jason Chetwood - Account Executive at Salesforce. San Antonio, TX.

"Build your BRAND!?Your brand starts on day one and I would also argue it starts during the recruitment process.?It’s also NEVER too late to start building your brand within the company.?Personal Brand can take you so far within the organization as you are climbing that ladder.?It also never leaves you!?You will be approached with amazing opportunities throughout your personal/professional career so long as your brand is strong!?As you think of your professional goals, make sure to think about what you want your brand to be.?Check-in on these throughout the year and make sure you are on target.?Write this down, have it visible, and hold yourself accountable.?This will help you grow your network.?Remember, everyone wants to be a valued member on a winning team on an inspiring mission.?When you hold a solid brand, you will always be asked to join these teams!"

Joanna Arredondo - Process Functional Manager at Alamo Colleges District. San Antonio, TX.

"Bring the passion! Exude confidence and candor, create an environment of openness and understanding, listen and learn new perspectives, and be the energy and warmth that keeps people coming back!"

Joe Segura - Deal Manager, Americas SSC Deal Management at Oracle. San Antonio, TX.

""Ganas" is essential! Ethnicity: Don’t be afraid to embrace your story (personal brand). Help people with pronunciation of your name(s), most people would rather say it correctly.?In business: Nothing good comes from bad relationships. Be confident and passionate about your topics of discussion."

Josue Mendez Armas - Account Manager, Oracle NetSuite. Santa Monica, CA.

"Look in front of you, to your sides, and turn to greet those around you, lead with curiosity and gratitude, remember to help others, and keep a keen interest in personal growth."

Keisha Fred Torres - Principal Business Intelligence Analyst, Marketing at Oracle. Santa Monica, CA.

"The best investment you can make for yourself is your education - whether it be another degree, another skill-set or becoming an avid reader; it’s always important to stay current, stay curious and stay inquisitive.

Second, plan out your career & your lifestyle in conjunction. When you do so, make sure to "Manage Up". What Everyone Should Know About Managing Up (hbr.org)

Third, an accent is a cognitive linguistic process based on your city, the places you’ve traveled, the experiences you learned, the age in which you acquired it. As such, everyone has one - the antithesis of an accent would be silence - don’t be silent.

Finally, while LatinX represented in tech is in single digits %, there are many trajectories. The pie isn’t limited, it’s multiplying every day so reach sideways, back and forward and encourage others to optimize their potential in this industry - there’s an abundance of opportunities here."

Maria Arizpe - Americas Revenue Recognition Analyst at Oracle. Austin, TX.

"My piece of advice for future Hispanic leaders or managers would be to EMBRACE who you are. We often forget how lucky we are by being part of a rich culture, which adds diversity to our nation and provides different perspectives and innovations to an ever-changing industry."

Myriam Santamaria - Deal Specialist, Latin America Division - Americas Deal Management Operations at Oracle. San Antonio, TX.

"Something very important that we must promote is learning the language of the country of origin. The ability to communicate correctly in another language, in addition to English, is a very valuable quality for leaders since communication is essential, especially if it is done in the same language as the interlocutor.

In times of globalization, the knowledge of one or more languages is a very important skill, since the current new professional scene includes different nationalities and different fields of action."

Nicholas J. Almanza - Manager, Revenue Recognition at Oracle. San Antonio, TX.

"I wholeheartedly believe in the quote, "Find your passion and you will never have to work a day in your life." If you are able to sync your passion with "ganas", you will be unstoppable. Stay hungry in pursuit of your goals, stay optimistic about the long term as you persevere through the short term, and be your best professional self every day regardless of your encounters. Last, remember to utilize professional connections as coaching opportunities as well, not solely as mentorships."

Pablo González - Quality Manager & Training Coordinator, Americas Deal Management Operations at Oracle. San Antonio, TX.

"In the corporate world, there is great value in learning about other cultures and how to communicate and interact with them, so always keep an open mind. Every culture you interact with has something great to offer, just make sure that in the process of absorbing other cultures you don’t suppress your own cultural identity. Always take pride in your traditions, your roots, and the language (s) that you speak."

Pablo Hanono - Senior Manager, Worldwide Alliances & Channels at Oracle. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"Believe that your Hispanic roots should be no factor of comparison with other professionals. Your value is all about your skills and desire, no matter whether your family was born in China, India or a country in Latin America. Being Hispanic should be part of who you are, amongst other areas. It is true that Latinos are often recognized because of the passion, creativity and drive which make us unique. Embrace your uniqueness from all angles! Also, build on your language skills, focus on the best English accent but also show you can speak Spanish, maybe a bit of Portuguese and any other you learnt. And the most important… always keep learning. Understand there is always an investment of 1) time and/or 2) money. Take that into account and bet accordingly if you want to grow in your career. Getting better at what you do, always will require you to spend money and/or to spend time, there are no secret recipes."

Vanessa Garza - Process Functional Manager, Enterprise IT at Alamo Colleges District. San Antonio, TX.

"Respect your time and the time of others. Be generous in your impact by working smart, refining your skills, and owning your craft. However, let your IMPACT create the ripples for others to benefit from, rather than attempting to be front and center for every solution or recommendation. Know when to pass the baton and build relationships of trust that allow you to do that comfortably with peers, mentors, and supervisors - and then let it go. You won’t always get to see this full puzzle completed but don’t let that deter you from taking pride in the piece(s) you contribute to as part of a larger team/goal."