COMPANY OF THE YEAR

1. Accenture 

Priscila de Pinho Hawthorne
Managing Director,
Senior Client Account Lead, Client Account Leadership

Priscila de Pinho Hawthorne joined Accenture nearly 18 years ago. She is a Managing Director with several roles—managing P&L for a multi-million-dollar portfolio and convening teams across the organization to curate the “best of Accenture” for our clients’ most complex needs. She serves as a member of the NYC Executive Committee representing the Resources Group; as Agrochemicals Global Lead, she works with her team to develop the latest industry trends; and as Northeast Resources Chemical and Natural Resources Portfolio Lead, she’s responsible for growth and success. 

In her 20-year career, she has helped clients develop innovative solutions that address performance gaps, improve profitability, and sustain savings through technology transformational change. She’s a leader who cultivates high-performance teams enabled with personal and professional development in a culture that fosters empowerment, teamwork, and excellence. She is passionate about people development, diversity and inclusion, women’s initiatives, and mentoring minority entrepreneurs and women both at Accenture and in her community. She is a continued sponsor of Accenture’s Hispanic American Employee Resource Group, an advocate for New York Metro analyst development programs, and provides CEO coaching for The Robin Hood Org of NYC. 

Outside of Accenture, she’s engaged with local New York talent development and coaching for young, underserved executives as a board member of The Knowledge House. She is also dedicated to providing support to women entrepreneurs starting their own businesses to improve the lives and prosperity of their families, globally. 

2. Johnson & Johnson

Maureen Sanchez-Paredes
Medical Devices Vice President CSS Supply Chain

Maureen Sanchez is the Vice President CSS Supply Chain, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices. She assumed this role in 2021 leading the End-to-End CSS Global Supply Chain team and ensuring strong integration between Supply Chain, R&D, and the Commercial teams to support Supply Chain’s growth agenda. She serves on both the J&J Medical Devices Supply Chain Leadership Team and the J&J CSS Leadership Team. 

Sanchez joined J&J from Merck & Co, Inc., where she held the position of Associate Vice President, Latin America Supply Chain Planning and Logistics and led Emerging Markets globally. In 2014, Sanchez assumed her first J&J role as the Vice President of Procurement for Global Surgery Medical Device and led a team that transformed the business of Medical Devices and increased J&J’s focus on innovation and growth. 

More recently, she led the End-to-End Supply Chain Operations for the Energy and Endo-mechanical platforms for Ethicon, Inc. Sanchez holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering from Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. 

She is a co-chair of J&J’s Hispanic/Latino Enterprise Resource Group, HOLA. 

3. Bank of America

Geena Mayback
Managing Director, Senior Market Executive, Private Bank 

Geena Mayback is a Managing Director and Senior Market Executive with Bank of America Private Bank. Mayback leads the Private Bank markets in New York City, providing comprehensive investment and wealth management solutions to ultra-high net worth clients. 

As Senior Market Executive, Mayback oversees a diverse and dynamic team of more than 350 professionals including client advisory, investment management, trust services, operations, and business-support functions. She is responsible for implementing the Markets’ strategic direction, creating a preeminent experience for the firm’s private and institutional clients. Working directly with senior leadership within the Private Bank and across Bank of America, Geena is also responsible for leading firm-wide initiatives across New York City, sustaining a culture of excellence and integrity. 

Mayback joined the firm in 2007 and has taken on successive leadership roles across Bank of America and within the Private Bank. Most recently, she was the Division Performance Executive for the Private Bank New York Tri-State region. Prior leadership roles included Market Executive for St. Louis and Kansas City, and Client Business Management Executive for the Central North region, both within the Private Bank, and Division Sales Executive for the West region. 

4. JPMorgan Chase

Marisol Rubecindo
Managing Director, Chief of Staff/General Counsel – LOB, The Office of The General Counsel 

Marisol Rubecindo serves as the Legal Chief of Staff at JPMorgan Chase. In this role, she is a strategic advisor to JPMorgan’s General Counsel and Legal Management team, which includes partnering and supporting the Legal Department’s strategic vision and priorities. In addition, Rubecindo leads JPMorgan’s Legal Department’s People Agenda, including as Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Learning for the department. 

Previously, she was the Deputy General Counsel for the Chase Card Services sub-line of business where she was responsible for all regulatory matters related to consumer and business cards and leading the Card Regulatory and Payments Legal team in providing strategic and legal guidance to senior executives in the Chase Card Services business and in the Payments arena across Consumer & Community Banking. 

Rubecindo began her JPMorgan Chase career in the Government Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement group within Litigation. She also served as the General Counsel to the Commercial Card business, where she led a team of attorneys and legal professional to provide legal and strategic advice to business leaders and control partners in Commercial Card. 

5. Raytheon Technologies

Barbara Borgonovi
Corporate Strategy & Development 

Barbara Borgonovi leads Corporate Strategy & Development for Raytheon Technologies. She is responsible for the company’s profitability and performance initiatives, and for assessing merger and acquisition opportunities to drive overall enterprise growth. 

Borgonovi, who joined the company in 2001, has held positions in program management, supply chain, operations management, and quality engineering. Most recently, she was president of Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Systems for Raytheon Intelligence & Space. She also directed Raytheon Vision Systems, a leader in focal plane array technology. 

Prior to that role, she was vice president of Integrated Communication Systems in the company’s Space and Airborne Systems unit, where she had previously served as vice president of Operations and as director of Program Operations for the Electronic Warfare Systems mission area. 

Borgonovi was recognized with the 2017 Gold Stevie Award for Most Innovative Woman of the Year in Manufacturing. She earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. 

6. Wells Fargo

Patty Juarez
EVP & Head of Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking Group
Diverse Segments, Representation & Inclusion

Patty Juarez has over 27 years of financial services experience. She is Head of Diverse Segments for Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo Bank and part of the executive management committee.

Most recently, she developed the Commercial Bank’s diverse segments practice. She recruited a diverse group of segment leaders, strategy specialists and analytics experts to establish this group. The team oversees and assists with over 5,000 diverse clients and over 10,000 prospects with billions in committed capital, which represent nearly 15 percent of the revenue of the Commercial Bank in of the fastest growing areas in the country. Prior to this role, she established and ran a top producing commercial banking office and served as Credit Administrator. 

Juarez is the President of the Latino employee resource group representing nearly 40,000 Latinos at Wells Fargo. She was Chairwoman and now Board Development Chair of the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of Orange County’s 30,000 Hispanic-owned businesses. She is Chairwoman of the Board of CASA of Orange County. CASA trains community volunteers to serve as powerful mentors and advocates for abused, abandoned, and neglected children in foster care. 

7. Nationwide

Lauren Ugulini
Vice President of the Property Actuarial and Risk 

Lauren Ugulini is the Vice President of the Property Actuarial and Risk practice area at Nationwide, with responsibility for catastrophe risk management for a broad portfolio of property products. In this capacity, she has been leading a transformation of Nationwide’s property risk capacity framework to promote sustained profitable growth, as well as designing the company’s Catastrophe Modernization initiative to increase the delivery cadence of customized model output through investment in people, processes, and technology. As a member of the cabinet of the Office of the Chief Actuary, Ugulini also contributes to property pricing strategy and predictive analytics excellence. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics (CSPA). 

Ugulini has a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, a strength in operational strategy, and an intellectual curiosity that promotes change readiness. She aspires to lead in a way that inspires others and to serve in roles that deliver breakthrough results. In her previous role at Allstate Insurance, Ugulini led the design and delivery of pricing rating plans for Allstate’s new property products and customer experiences. 

Ugulini also serves as a member of the National Advisory Council for Drake University’s School of Actuarial Science and Risk Management, and she is an active member of the Network of Actuarial Women and Allies (NAWA)

8. Marriott International, Inc.

Brenda Durham
Senior Vice President & Regional General Counsel 

Brenda Durham, Senior Vice President & Regional General Counsel for Marriott International, Inc., serves as primary legal counsel for Marriott’s hotels and resorts located throughout the Caribbean & Latin America. In this capacity she provides oversight guidance to Marriott’s law department group supporting the region. Her team is comprised of attorneys, paralegals and support staff located in offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Plantation, Florida and together, they support development, operations, asset management, compliance and casino oversight. 

Durham has been with Marriott for 24 years and is Marriott’s senior-ranking Latina. She has a comprehensive practice that includes negotiating financial, equity, and management agreement transactions, hotel owner relationship development and dispute resolution, and global safety and security. During 2012 to 2014, Durham took on additional responsibilities in Madrid, Spain supporting Marriott’s JV partner/founder of the AC Hotel brand in the integration of the AC by Marriott brand. In January 2016, she was selected as the Caribbean & Latin America business lead for the three-year integration process of Starwood-branded hotels in the region. Durham is the region’s account executive for a large portfolio owner of mixed-brand hotels. 

9. Colgate-Palmolive Company

Maria Elisa Carvajal
Chief Professional Engagement & Public Health Officer 

Maria Elisa Carvajal is the Chief Professional Engagement & Public Health Officer at Colgate-Palmolive. In this role she is responsible for setting the strategy and providing thought leadership to transform Colgate’s Oral Care professional engagement model and Public Health initiatives. She also engages with the Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Skin Health professional teams to ensure that strategies and learnings are scaled across the three businesses. 

Carvajal joined Colgate in 1990 in Colombia and has worked in the Latin America, North America and Greater Asia Divisions. 

Colgate is a caring, innovative growth company that’s reimagining a healthier future for all. One critical way the Company fulfills its purpose – and supports its growth – is by elevating professional engagement. Previously, Carvajal was Colgate’s Vice President, Global Oral Care. 

Carvajal has more than 30 years of marketing experience leading innovation teams to create incremental growth across Colgate’s Oral Care, Personal Care and Home Care categories. She has also built the capabilities of Shopper Marketing in Colgate’s Greater Asia Division and Digital Marketing in Colgate’s Latin America Division. In North America, she led Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, a division responsible for Colgate’s Dental Professional business. 

10. Stellantis

Maria Zehnder
Vice President Head of MOPAR Finance North America 

Maria Zehnder is a finance executive at Stellantis, responsible for MOPAR Finance in North America. In this role, she is responsible for all financial matters related to MOPAR operations. This encompasses a broad span of responsibilities including strategic leadership and business partnership in areas such as World Class Logistics, Service and Part Sales Operations, Technical Services, Circular Economy, Customer Care Support and Custom Shop Businesses aimed to maximize profitability driven by the sale of service parts, accessories and retail service contracts. 

Since joining the Company in 2007, Zehnder has worked in both the Auburn Hills, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario Headquarters. She has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility within Stellantis, including Chief Financial Officer for Stellantis Canada, Platform Controller for Large SUV & Wrangler, Manager of Sales and Marketing Finance, and Manager of SEC Financial Reporting. She previously held a position on the Stellantis Canada Board of Directors. 

As a first-generation American, Zehnder was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to the United States at the age of six when her father was transferred for his job, also in Automotive. Zehnder holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oakland University and is a Certified Public Accountant with the State of Michigan. 

11. Merck & Co.

Carmen Villar
Vice President of Social Business Innovation, Corporate Responsibility 

Carmen Villar is the Vice President of Social Business Innovation at Merck & Co. In this role, Villar works across the company to elevate the intersection of social and business impact, while striving to create sustainable health systems to support improved health and well-being globally. 

Prior to coming to Merck in 2017, Villar was the Chief of Staff at the CDC and led the agency through both the West African Ebola and the Zika emergency responses. Her leadership was critical in providing coordination across the agency and with other US government counterparts and earned her the honor of the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award. She has worked in both Nigeria and Zambia, providing leadership and oversight to CDC’s programs as part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). As a key health advisor to the US Ambassadors in Nigeria and Zambia, she also provided expert advice in critical public health areas. 

Villar started in government as a Presidential Management Fellow focusing on policy and program planning for HIV, STD, and TB prevention. Villar has also overseen multi-site domestic and international HIV research projects in the areas of drug use, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and vaccines. Prior to joining the CDC, she was the Policy Affairs Coordinator at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and had also served as a Legislative Aide in the California Assembly. 

State Street

12. Yvonne Garcia
Chief of Staff to Chairman & CEO, Global Head of Communications and CEO Experience Program 

Yvonne Garcia, Chief of Staff to Chairman and CEO & Global Head of Internal Communications for State Street Garcia serves as Chief of Staff to State Street’s Chairman and CEO, Ron O’Hanley, as Global Head of Internal Communications, and as Global Head of the CEO Experience Program. 

In these roles, Garcia is responsible for the setting and execution of the Chairman and CEO’s firmwide strategic priorities, the internal communications strategy for State Street, including for over 40,000 employees and executive leadership platforms, and the engagement of our most strategic clients representing over $6B in revenue as part of a program intended to gain insights into how State Street can help clients achieve better investment outcomes for those they serve. 

Garcia is a fully certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and applies that discipline, rigor, and process to every project on which she deploys. As an active leader of local and national communities, Garcia served as the Chairwoman of ALPFA. Garcia is also the co-founding Chair of Milagros para Niños, a board at Children’s Hospital in Boston, which has raised more than $14 million in funds for Hispanic children who can’t afford medical care. In addition, Garcia was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to serve on the state’s Latino Advisory Commission Board and was also appointed as the Chairwoman for the Greater Boston Women’s Advisory Board.