For more than two decades, LATINA Style has recognized companies that nurture, empower and retain Latinas with the 50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the United States list. We are proud to recognize companies that support programs encouraging training, mentorship, and promotion for Latinas through the LATINA Style 50 Report. Opportunities for advancement, leadership development, recruitment programs, employee resource groups, the task force for women’s issues, flex-time policies, and service members and veterans support are but a few of the practices that each company has to retain and nurture Latina talent.

LATINA Style selected the following companies for the Top 12 this year: Johnson & Johnson, Accenture, Bank of America, Marriott International, Inc., CVS Health, New York Life, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Nationwide, Wells Fargo & Company, USAA, Raytheon Technologies, and Stellantis.

We are honored to recognize Johnson & Johnson as our Company of the Year for 2021. Johnson & Johnson has not only proudly delivered solutions to address the world’s most urgent healthcare needs but has developed and supported Latina talent to their highest rank, including Ms. Jacqueline Maestri, VP, Global Services and Enterprise Transformations. Congratulations Johnson & Johnson for reaching the very top of our report.

COMPANY OF THE YEAR

1.  Johnson & Johnson

Jacqueline Maestri

Vice President, Global Services and Enterprise Transformations

Jacqueline (Jackie) Maestri leads the Global Services organization at Johnson & Johnson and is responsible for Enterprise transformations designed to simplify, standardize and digitize work that frees up valuable resources for investment in innovation. Global Services provides finance, human resources, procurement, and data and analytics services across the three Johnson & Johnson sectors’ approximately 250 operating companies and 135,000+ employees around the world. Today, there are more than 4,700 Global Services employees based primarily at five strategic hub locations and in offices across 70 countries. Their mission is to unlock limitless value through advanced game-changing solutions that power the people who are changing the trajectory of health for humanity.

Prior to this role, Maestri was Vice President, Engineering and Property Services, at Johnson & Johnson since 2016—the first woman to lead prior to this role, Maestri was Vice President, Engineering and Property Services, at Johnson & Johnson since 2016-the first woman to lead worldwide engineering for the Company responsible for providing strategic direction across its more than 1,000 properties worldwide engineering for the Company— responsible for providing strategic direction across its more than 1,000 properties worldwide, including global real estate strategy and administration, capital construction projects, engineering and design standards, crisis response orchestration, and facilities transformation and operations.

Maestri has more than 30 years of experience in the medical device and life science industry spanning roles in R&D, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Engineering, Project Management, Real Estate/ Facilities, Professional Shared Services, Quality, and Compliance. She has successfully implemented proactive continuous improvement and risk management systems managed numerous regulatory inspections and led through the resolution of compliance issues.

Maestri holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering specializing in Computer Engineering from the University of Miami and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in International Business from Florida International University. She is a Certified Quality Auditor and ISO Lead Assessor. She is also a graduate of the Johnson & Johnson Executive Quality Leadership Development and Accelerate Enterprise Leadership programs and participated in the Smith-Tuck Global Leaders Program for Women. She is passionate about talent development and currently serves as executive sponsor for various ERGs and initiatives, including the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA), Women’s Leadership and Inclusion (WLI), GROW Rotational Program, and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing & Design (WiSTEM2D) at Johnson & Johnson.

 2. Accenture

Nellie Borrero

Managing Director – Global Inclusion & Diversity Senior Strategic Advisor, Human Resources-Inclusion & Diversity

Impact driven, inclusion & diversity senior global lead at Accenture Nellie Borrero is a highly respected senior leader with global experience and expertise spanning three decades. Known for her unwavering passion for inclusion, diversity, and sharp focus on equality, Borrero works to raise awareness, re-shape cultures and increase understanding – at Accenture and to clients across the industries.

Joining Accenture in 1986, Borrero created the first role for diversity efforts. A deeply committed advocate for change, she believes strongly that Accenture’s rich diversity makes the company stronger and more innovative and focuses on increasing the representation across all diversity segments. In her current role as Senior Global Inclusion and Diversity Advisor, Borrero works with C-level executives to execute strategies designed to meet organizational goals. Under her direction, the company launched several successful training programs worldwide – including in Japan, India, South Africa, Brazil, the U.K., and the U.S., among many others – spanning multiple segments of diversity. In addition, her focus has included creating a global career development program for high-performing women, the global positioning of the company’s LGBTQ+ and Persons with Disability agendas, and the design and execution of ethnic diversity-focused programs. Most recently, she has created and is leading the Global Inclusion & Diversity Market Offering practice, serving multiple clients across industries.

 3. Bank of America

Sofia Santos

Managing Director; Head of Consumer & Small Business Strategy and Business Intelligence

Sofia Santos is Head of Consumer & Small Business Strategy and Business Intelligence for Bank of America. In her role, Santos is responsible for leading strategic initiatives within the Consumer and Small Business groups, partnering with different Consumer executives to further differentiate Bank of America from its competitors and drive growth. She works horizontally across the multiple products and sales channels to coordinate the strategy for Bank of America client segments, tracking results and performance and adjusting the go-to-market approach as needed. She is also responsible for capturing competitive intelligence on peer banks, fintech, and financial services players. She scans the market and trends to assess opportunities and sources of competitive advantage to support the development of the bank’s strategic agenda. Sofia and her team are also responsible for consumer banking strategic planning and executive presentations.

Santos also leads the Business Intelligence group. She drives client segmentation strategies and insights across the retail, preferred, and small business segments and partners with marketing, client care, products, and solutions executives to develop a holistic and personalized go-to-market strategy for each client. Her business intelligence team leverages AI technology and data to drive client-centric targeting and campaigns across all of the bank’s channels.

 4. Marriott International 

Brenda Durham 

Senior Vice President and Regional General Counsel

5. CVS Health

Nitza M. Rivera

Vice President Human Resources

Nitza M. Rivera is the Vice President of Human Resources at CVS Health. She is accountable for the enterprise Talent Review and the management process and tools used to enable it. Since joining Aetna in January 2014, Rivera has partnered with leadership to develop and implement a sustainable talent strategy focused on succession planning, high potential talent identification, performance management, talent development, and the deployment of early and mid-career pipeline programs.

Prior to joining Aetna, a CVS Health company, she served as a Human Resources Business Partner at the Hartford Insurance Company, supporting the company’s Law, Compliance, Government Affairs Marketing, and Communications organizations. Rivera’s career includes 12 years at United Technologies, holding roles of increasing responsibility in Engineering, Sales & Marketing, Diversity & Inclusion, and Human Resources.

Rivera holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico. She has served on the board of directors of Hands On Hartford, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing food security and nutrition, improving health, and providing housing while engaging volunteers and connecting communities.

Rivera enjoys running, practicing yoga, and paddleboarding in Southern Maine, while spending time with her family.

6. New York Life

Jomil Guerrero
Managing Director,
Global Marketing Operations
New York Life Investments

Jomil Guerrero is Managing Director, Global Marketing Operations, for New York Life Investments. In her current role, she is responsible for improving the effectiveness of marketing technology platforms, creating end-to-end strategies for event management, and developing new value-add programs for clients. Her team also supports the design and development of marketing activities. Prior to her role in Investments Marketing, Guerrero served as Director of Project Management & Communications for New York Life Investments where she managed a variety of projects including change management initiatives, execution of new business strategies, and merger and acquisition integrations. She was also responsible for both the internal and external communication strategies across the business. She also served as Chief of Staff to the CFO of Insurance and Agency, Chris Ashe, where she was instrumental in helping the finance senior leadership team set strategic direction as the organization evolved to become a more dynamic business partner. She joined New York Life in 2011 as Director of Finance performing financial planning and analysis for both NYLIM and NYL Investors.

Prior to New York Life, Guerrero was U.S. Controller for the Riverside Company and Controller at Muirfield Capital Management, both investment firms. She received her BS from the University of Central Florida and is a Certified Public Accountant.

7.  Horizon BCBSNJ

Michelle Machemer

VP & Chief Information Officer Information Technology

Michelle Machemer was named Vice President & Chief Information Officer, on February 1, 2021. She is responsible for leading the Information Technology organization in planning and implementing enterprise information platforms to support Horizon’s strategy. Machemer joined Horizon BCBSNJ in 2000 as a Manager in Enterprise Data Management. She spent several years as a Divisional Information Leader, working to improve data quality across the Enterprise. Michelle also held the position of Program Director to Robert Marino, the former Chairman, CEO, and President of Horizon BCBSNJ, when he was the Company’s, Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to her current role, she was responsible for all Applications Development across the organization, leading a team of 700-plus individuals, with a budget in excess of $100 million. She has directed Applications Development for several major system transformations since 2013, including preparing Horizon BCBSNJ’s application landscape for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the strategic movement toward value-based arrangements with providers, and migrating several core systems to modern platforms.

As a member of the NASCO Steering Committee, she helps to direct NASCO’s prioritization of technology capabilities for all NASCO-affiliated plans.

8. Nationwide

Mariel Devesa

Sr. AVP | Head of Growth, Expansion, and Development – Nationwide Pet

Mariel Devesa is the Senior Associate Vice President leading Growth, Expansion, and Development at Nationwide Pet Insurance in Brea, California. In this capacity, she is responsible for building partnerships, creating new distribution channels, and developing new offerings. Previously, Devesa held multiple senior roles within the insurance industry and the start-up space. She developed multiple industry firsts: the first national insurance product for rideshare drivers and the first mobile phone telematics offering to include phone distraction in how it is priced. She thrives when developing products from conception to launch and expanding into new markets that generate multiple hundred-million-dollar programs.

Originally from Rosario, Argentina (mother’s side of the family, while her father was from Spain), Devesa graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles, where she received her bachelor’s degree in business economics and she later earned her CPA.

Devesa is a longtime supporter of the Richstone Family Center in Hawthorne, CA, a progressive center preventing child abuse, family violence, and providing vital family support services. She is a seven-time National Windsurfing Champion and started the first all-women clinics designed to empower women to excel within the sport.

 9. Wells Fargo & Company

Patty Juarez

EVP & Head of Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking Group

10. USAA

Mayra Rivera

SVP, Chief Marketing Officer

Mayra Rivera is the Chief Marketing Officer at USAA, leading the marketing strategy and execution for USAA’s P&C company, Bank and Life company. Under Rivera’s direction, the Marketing team is responsible for positioning USAA as a champion of the military community to prospective members and USAA’s more than 13 million members.

In her 20 years with USAA, she has led creative/campaign development, client management, media, sponsorships, and agency management. Most recently, she served as Senior Marketing Officer for USAA’s P&C company, where her team developed and executed go-to-market plans, including marketing strategy, creative/messaging and advertising plans geared to drive quotes, products, and new members. Rivera also helped to establish USAA’s national advertising and sponsorships programs. Throughout her career, she has had a focus on building marketing strategies grounded in consumer insights and performance while never sacrificing a test and learn mindset.

Rivera started her career at the San Antonio Express-News and graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She is involved with the Alliance of Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and was one of the co-founders of USAA’s diversity business group dedicated to supporting Hispanic employees.

11. Raytheon Technologies

Lexi Hernandez

Senior Director, Talent Development, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Human Resources

Lexi Hernandez (Ph.D.) is the senior director of Talent Development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) within Human Resources at Raytheon Missiles & Defense (RMD). RMD, with 2020 sales of $15.3B and 31,000 employees, is a global business that brings customers the industry’s most advanced end-to-end solutions delivering the advantage of one innovative partner to detect, track and defeat threats. RMD is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.

Hernandez is responsible for providing integrated talent and DE&I strategies that empower the workforce to achieve their individual career aspirations while meeting the evolving demands of the business – internally, externally, and globally. Hernandez joined Raytheon in 2008 and has held a variety of learning, talent development and organizational effectiveness roles. Previously, she conducted organizational assessments, design, and strategy alignment as well as promoted the discipline of change management and team effectiveness best practices. She also led the Learning and Development team and was responsible for the leadership development strategy, strategic development initiatives, new employee orientation, career development, and learning governance.

Prior to joining Raytheon Missiles & Defense, she worked at PetSmart Inc., where she created a career development program for retail store employees and managers across the United States.

12. Stellantis

Erika Santos

Director, Aftersales Maserati Americas

Erika Santos, Director of Aftersales for Maserati Americas, is responsible for various functions including parts sales and logistics, customer care, vehicle technical support, dealer programs, and dealer training.

Her objective is to grow Maserati’s parts and service business while exceeding customer expectations and increasing retention in the brand. Santos started her career in consulting and has held a number of positions on increasing responsibilities across industries. Her auto experience includes marketing, product, pricing, finance, field sales and aftersales. Her early consulting days and brand management experience enable her to bring analytical rigor to her work, while her sales and field experience help her develop strategies that can be executed well. At work, Santos is focused on aligning effort to impact and is passionate about developing people and culture.

She is intentional about mentoring rising men and women in the auto industry and about giving back. Santos was the founding president of the Nashville chapter of ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America).

Santos holds an MBA from Dartmouth College, where she was a Consortium Scholar and a bachelor’s degree with honors in Economics and Journalism from New York University.

LS50 Report Behind the Scenes

The LATINA Style 50 Survey and Report has been the standard corporate America uses to measure its diversity accomplishments in the Latina community. This year’s survey directs special attention to Latina retention, promotion & recruitment, increase in the number of Latina employees at the company, also veteran and military personnel programs.

Overall, the report recognizes companies that continue to find diversity and inclusion essential to their success. The LATINA Style 50 Report begins with surveys submitted by companies in corporate America. Surveys are evaluated on various metrics such as retention, recruitment, training, employee benefits, advancement opportunities for women, and additional factors such as leadership programs and Latina representation in senior executive positions. Companies are evaluated using a scoring system designed by LATINA Style to evaluate the most important factors in the workplace. Each company survey is thoroughly examined and carefully reviewed by the selection committee to ensure more opportunities for Latinas are taken into consideration.

This is followed by an interpretation of the written responses provided in the survey and an extensive public research effort that contributes to the final evaluation. The process can take from weeks to months, depending on the company structure. LATINA Style Inc. would like to thank all the companies that participated in the 2021 LATINA Style 50 Report. By participating in the survey, companies have an opportunity to monitor their progress from year to year and benchmark themselves against other leading companies in their industry.

To companies that have made the top of the list previously, we congratulate you for your vision and the outstanding career advancement opportunities your company has provided throughout the years. Thank you again for participating and entrusting us with your information. Congratulations to all the 2021 Top 50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the U.S.!