PepsiCo, Inc.
Company of the Year
 

For PepsiCo, Inc. the recruiting, training, and retaining of a diverse workforce is key to pleasing the evolving palates of its customer base in the United States. To achieve greater diversity the company utilizes recruitment ads directed specifically to Latinas and attends events hosted by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA). PepsiCo, Inc. takes the retention of these Latinas seriously. Its corporate culture is that of inclusion—with the realization that employees need to feel valued and have equal opportunities to contribute to and succeed within the company. Latina employees can participate in various programs and support groups, including the Power Pairs Program designed to foster relationships between management and women of color. In 2000, the Latino/Hispanic Advisory Board was created to advise the company on a number of diversity issues including brand marketing and employee support.

As the vice president of PepsiCo Ethnic Sales Development, Marie Quintana drives the corporate strategy for the company’s multicultural markets. She develops strategies to increase customer loyalty, strengthen community partnerships with customers, and support grassroots initiatives. To ensure success, Quintana works closely with all multicultural and sales capabilities teams and operates a center of excellence that works to drive these practices. She is active in the company’s various diversity networks.

LATINA Style applauds PepsiCo, Inc.’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, as well as its continued recruitment, training, and retaining of Latinas in its workforce.

www.pepsico.com

American Express Company

Diversity and inclusion are concepts ingrained into the corporate culture of American Express Company. It has seen the value of adapting to the various style preferences of its different employees—the concepts of time and relationships—and incorporated them into its business. Company leaders are required to participate in a diversity curriculum explaining the benefits of diversity and inclusion. Latinas may take advantage of the initiatives offered by the company’s Hispanic group, AHORA (The Association of Hispanics Organized to Raise Awareness), which sponsors a variety of diversity awareness events, professional development seminars, and community building activities. AHORA also partners with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) to recruit Latinas for the company. The company offers a Professional Orientation & Development program that is designed to orientate employees at all levels of employment through trainings, career programs, networking and mentoring. American Express Company’s tuition reimbursement program offers a full paid Executive MBA Program in which eligible Latina employees can participate.

Rosa Sabater is the senior vice president of Customer Service Solutions for American Express Company. In this position, she leads a team working to enhance the customer service experience for American Express card members. Sabater also leads the New Accounts Servicing Center, which processes new cards.

www.americanexpress.com  

AT&T

In the quick-paced and ever evolving world of telecommunications, AT&T remains firm in its commitment to maintaining a workforce as diverse as its customer base. The inclusion of its over 15,000 Latina employees is also a priority for the company. Its Leadership Development Program (LDP) targets recent college graduates and focuses on identifying Latinas with leadership potential and giving them the training, mentoring, and networking opportunities they need to become strong leaders within the company. AT&T’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group, HACEMOS, works to foster inclusion and develop Latinas professionally at all levels of the company. It provides Latinas with opportunities to connect with AT&T’s senior leadership and to contribute to the company’s business goals. The company’s cell phone unit, AT&T Mobility, actively recruits bilingual sales representatives for its store locations with predominantly Spanish-speaking clientele.

Patricia Diaz Dennis is AT&T’s senior vice president and assistant general counsel. In this capacity she is responsible for the company’s corporate litigation, procurement, corporate real estate, and environmental and corporate compliance. Previously, Dennis worked with other telecommunications companies and has held three Senate-approved federal positions, including commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, member of the National Labor Relations Board, and assistant secretary of state for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.

www.att.com

Citigroup, Inc.

Citigroup, Inc. considers the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce an important responsibility and key to its success as a financial services company. It began bilingual recruitment in 2006 and actively recruits Latina graduates and professionals through partnerships with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) and the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE). Citigroup, Inc. also partners with INROADS and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity to provide summer internships for Latinas and other undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds. The Citi Women’s Initiative works to professionally develop and promote women throughout the company. In 2006, it brought together Citigroup, Inc.’s women’s councils from around the world for a 3-day session concerning the various organizations and to share best practices. Additionally, the over 10,000 Latina employees of Citigroup, Inc. can voice their opinion via the Voice of the Employee survey, an anonymous annual survey aimed at gaining candid feedback from employees.

A member of Citi’s Management Committee, Marisa Lago joined the company in 2001 to create and head the company’s Global Workforce Development. Currently, as the global head of compliance for Citi Markets & Banking, she oversees all compliance matters for Citi’s sales and trading, investment and corporate banking, and transaction service businesses, which operate in over 90 countries around the world.

www.citigroup.com

Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants is a company that values the contributions that more than 11,000 Latina employees make at every level of employment, regardless of whether they are an executive running the operations of one of its casual dining chains or an hourly employee. The company provides mentoring and supports its Latina employees through programs such as the Women’s Foodservice Forum, the Darden Women’s Network, and Embracing Leadership Excellence. It also partners with national organizations such as the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH) and the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) in the recruitment of Latinas to the company. Darden Restaurants is unique in that it has a Latina on its board of directors.

Valerie Insignares is the executive vice president of operations for the Olive Garden, a brand of Darden Restaurants. In this capacity she is in charge of operations for 584 restaurants and oversees 70,000 employees. Insignares is responsible for ensuring the alignment of the Olive Garden’s variety of culinary, beverage, service, training and quality assurance initiatives in the restaurants. She also leads six division senior vice presidents of operations to assist her in this endeavor.

www.darden.com

IBM

IBM’s commitment to equal opportunity for all of its employees is long standing, as is the priority it places upon having a diverse workforce. The company wants its Latina employees to achieve their highest potential and to develop leaders at all levels. They have the opportunity to participate in UCLA’s Latino and Women’s Leadership Institute and LEADing@IBM, a training program for leaders and potential leaders in the company. IBM’s Latinas can also choose from a variety of mentoring programs, including the Hispanic Technical Leadership Forum, the Hispanic Executive Mentoring Program, and the Dial a Mentor Program of the Hispanic women’s group La Red Familiar. Latina employees are able to take advantage of company childcare centers and subsidies, a highly competitive maternity and adoption leave, and a variety of flexible work schedules.

As general manager, ITD Productivity Initiatives, Integrated Operations, Patt Cronin is responsible for driving the internal transformation of Internal Technology Delivery (ITD) and reinventing the way IBM performs. Cronin has held many technical and management positions throughout her 20 years with the company. Prior to this position, she was general manager of the IBM Global Account, where she managed a budget of $3.4 billion.

www.ibm.com

Marriott International, Inc.

Marriott International, Inc. strives to promote and build diversity by directly recruiting Latinas through partnerships with universities and organizations such as the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA). Its board of directors’ “Committee of Excellence” sets diversity goals and monitors progress being made at every level of the corporation. One vehicle being used to reach these goals is the J.W. Marriott, Jr. Diversity Excellence Award, which recognizes units or departments that stand out in the promotion of diversity and the building of an inclusive work environment. Marriott International, Inc. takes the inclusion of its 18,000 Latina employees seriously. In 2006, it initiated the Sed de SaberTM Program which allows Latina employees learning English as a second language to improve their English language skills. The company publishes both English and Spanish language versions of its employee newsletter, the “Marriott World Express”.

Barbara Prince Wilcox began her career at Marriott International, Inc. over 23 years ago as an hourly associate in Human Resources. During this time she has held positions in various divisions and completed all of her undergraduate and graduate education. Currently, as regional vice president of Human Resources International Lodging, she oversees human resources activities for the company’s hotels in the Caribbean and Latin America region.

www.marriott.com

McDonald’s Corporation

When it comes to diversity in the workplace McDonald’s Corporation is a stellar example. The over 22,000 Latinas working for the company are present at all levels of employment, including the boardroom and executive offices. Women are recruited through targeted ads that run in both English and Spanish at the local and national level. McDonald’s Corporation also has a college internship program which recruits potential operations leaders. Moreover, the company has created a variety of programs designed to provide mentoring and leadership training to its Latina employees, including its Hispanic Mentoring Program, Hispanic Leadership Council, and the Women’s Career Development Class. Additionally, the company’s Accelerated Operations Program seeks to identify a diverse group of high-performing employees to serve as future leaders for McDonald’s restaurant operations. Latinas employed at the company can take advantage of competitive health benefits and the continuous education reimbursements that the company provides to its employees. Their children can take advantage of the HACER scholarship, which is geared toward Hispanics.

Gloria Santona is executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of McDonald’s Corporation. Serving as general counsel since 2001, Santona oversees all legal functions and aspects of legal compliance and policy for the company. She is also the secretary to the board of directors, where she provides advice and counsel regarding matters of corporate governance.

www.macdonalds.com

New York Life Insurance Company

New York Life Insurance Company is a business that proactively seeks to expand and better its diversity practices. In 2006, the company appointed a chief diversity officer and created a Diversity Office and an Executive Diversity Council to identify, internalize, and implement ways to better recruit and train a diverse workforce. An outcome is the Hispanic Employee Network Group (ENG), which holds skill-building seminars and works to increase company-wide business relationships and partnerships among Latina employees. New York Life is a long time participant in the Minority Interchange, a group geared toward the professional advancement of minorities in the insurance industry. The company’s Hispanic Marketing Unit works to recruit Latinas. Latina employees may also take advantage of the various leadership seminars offered by New York Life that provides them with skills to be effective leaders and managers. The company also provides generous time off for maternity and adoption leave.

As the international vice president and deputy general council for New York Life International, LLC Lisa Baltazar advises the company’s management on transactions and agreements, corporate governance and regulatory matters. She also assists the general counsel in providing oversight support to New York Life International’s subsidiaries and affiliates in Asia and Latin America. Baltazar also serves on the leadership team of the Hispanic ENG.

www.newyorklife.com

Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial seeks to take a competitive advantage in the financial world through employing a diverse workforce. It recruits many of its Latina employees through traditional venues such as universities and career fairs, through partnerships with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), and the Association of Professional Hispanic Accountants among others. The company’s Hispanic Heritage Network (HHN) is influential in the professional development of Latina employees and increasing business integration. Recently, HHN held a networking event that provided Latina employees the opportunity to network with senior leaders in the company. Latinas at Prudential Financial can take advantage of generous continuous education reimbursements at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Grace Torres is vice president of Mutual Fund Investments for Prudential Investments, a position she has held since 1994. Her responsibilities include the direction and management of mutual fund administration for all mutual funds managed and/or administered by the company. Torres is also the treasurer of the Prudential Mutual Funds Unit.

www.prudential.com

The Procter & Gamble Company

As the producer of many of America’s most used and trusted brands, The Procter & Gamble Company has long realized that having a workforce that reflects the diversity of its markets and customer base is a key component of its continued success. The company has several Hispanic employee groups including the Hispanic Leadership Team (HLT) that works to recruit, retain, and advance Latinas, as well as strengthen The Procter & Gamble Company’s Hispanic community. In 2006, HLT sponsored Latinnovation. The event included workshops on a number of business topics and gave Latina employees the opportunity to learn from top P&G executives, including CEO AG Lafley. Additionally, each Latina employee has the opportunity to receive specific web-based leadership or management training through an individualized Personal Development Plan that The Procter & Gamble Company provides to all employees.

Melanie P. Healy joined The Procter & Gamble Company in 1990 as the brand manager for Phebo Soap in her native country, Brazil. Since then, she has held a number of positions throughout the company, including her current post as group president, Global Feminine & Health Care GBU.

www.pg.com

Verizon Communications, Inc.

For the telecommunications giant Verizon Communications, Inc., diversity is part of corporate culture enforced from the top down. The company holds management executives accountable for promoting diversity and has created an incentive system to ensure success. Latinas are directly recruited through partnerships with universities and professional organizations such as the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) and the National Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Once an employee, Latinas can take advantage of various programs created to provide support and further their success in the company. These include: the Hispanic Support Organization, the Hispanic Professional Development Workshop and Women’s Association of Verizon Employees. The company offers various benefits such as scholarships for children of employees, on-site childcare centers, and generous leave for childbirth and adoption.

www.verizon.com

Rosie Saez
Senior Vice President & Director, Leadership Practices Group