00:00
I actually love facing fears.
00:02
I feel like when you face a fear that means you're at
00:04
the edge of something big.
00:06
And every time you're at the edge of something big,
00:08
you're breaking through to the next level and you're growing and you're
00:11
building courage. Hola,
00:13
I'm Claudia Romo Edelman and I'm Cynthia Kleinbaum Miller.
00:16
And this is a podcast,
00:17
a La Latina, the playbook to succeed being your authentic self
00:20
today, Gloria Alcantar,
00:22
incredible guest director of Multicultural Marketing at General Mills.
00:26
And here are the three key takeaways.
00:29
The first one is how she has used her dad's advice of
00:32
giving others, what you have at abundance as a foundation for
00:36
how she approaches her personal and professional lives.
00:39
Number two, how to change from self preservation into self confidence
00:45
how she has developed her superpower of remaining calm,
00:48
under stressful circumstances and she gives us the playbook on how to
00:52
get there ourselves. All of that and more here.
00:55
A La Latina stick around today.
01:05
Incredible guest, Gloria Alcantara.
01:07
Gloria is the Director of Multicultural Marketing at General Mills.
01:11
She's a former board member of a food co op and she
01:13
has over 15 years of experience doing marketing for some of the
01:17
largest consumer goods companies in America.
01:20
Welcome, glory Gracias.
01:23
We're so excited to have you.
01:25
I'm very blessed to be here and excited to be here.
01:27
So I'll share my story.
01:28
We want to know everything about you,
01:30
starting with your background.
01:31
What was your experience to have you be who you are and
01:33
what you're doing today?
01:35
All right. So let's start with where I'm coming from because
01:38
I think it sets the foundation for who I am.
01:40
I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic to an amazing
01:44
family. I have three brothers,
01:45
my mom and dad who just celebrate their 51 years of marriage
01:49
Amazing. that was the foundation of,
01:53
I was grounded on the values of hard work,
01:57
loyalty, honesty, courage.
02:00
And that really has shaped who I am today and every decision
02:03
that I have made has been based on those values.
02:07
And as obviously, as you continue to grow,
02:09
you evolve and you get,
02:10
you know, you achieve more.
02:12
But that I always remember like that's my foundation and it was
02:16
it was done at home.
02:18
thank my parents for that and you know,
02:20
all we have a very tight close knit family.
02:23
I came to the US at 17 did now know more than
02:27
like maybe three words of English.
02:28
If you can believe that.
02:30
So it was a hard adjustment.
02:31
I went from Santiago to Nina Wisconsin.
02:37
Your entire family moved?
02:38
Just me. I did this solo track in search of a
02:41
of a challenge and in,
02:43
in search of a better education and life.
02:46
I always had really,
02:47
really high goals for myself and I talked to my parents and
02:52
after high school we decided that that was probably so that was
02:59
Yes, I was valedictorian of my high school and came here
03:02
early. I finished early and started and it was a very
03:07
tough journey because not only did I know English,
03:10
I'm a Latina in a city where there's no other Latinos.
03:13
And then I started working at Kimberly Clark at the time,
03:15
an amazing company with great culture and I had no idea how
03:19
to even navigate anything.
03:22
Now, I've been really thankful and blessed that I've been,
03:24
you know, exposed to amazing mentors,
03:27
coaches and managers that have helped a lot,
03:30
but a lot of it I had to do on my own
03:33
a lot of the bruises,
03:34
you know, that have happened,
03:36
happened because of me trying to do it alone.
03:38
And at the end of the day,
03:39
you can't do it alone.
03:40
You have to lean in and the other other people that are
03:43
there around you that are really willing to help you and support
03:45
you. So your family stayed in the Dominican and back home
03:49
They're still there.
03:49
So you're still the only person from your family here.
03:52
Who did you ask advice from as you were in college?
03:54
Like, how did you even decide to go to Kimberly Clark
03:57
How did you get to college?
03:58
Without, with three words of English,
04:01
I had to do an intensive ESL program first for six months
04:04
And that got me enough to get started and just going
04:06
So for the first six months,
04:07
I couldn't go because I had to study English first.
04:11
like many Latinos. And I think,
04:12
you know, as Latinas so resourceful,
04:14
right? And that's something that I've always had within me.
04:16
It's like, what do I have at my disposal?
04:19
And how do I make the best of that?
04:21
So I knew I had great people around me that knew the
04:24
way. So like I had a host mom,
04:25
I lived with a host family for a few weeks,
04:27
a few months, three months,
04:29
she had connections. So I was like,
04:30
hey, she knew somebody at Kimberly Clark.
04:32
And I'm like, can I talk to your sister?
04:33
Who knows somebody at Kimberly Clark?
04:35
She connected me with somebody there.
04:36
I interview, I got the job.
04:37
Like it's just you have to figure out where am I sitting
04:41
or planted as I say?
04:43
And then how do I make the best of what I have
04:45
And how do I leverage my network.
04:47
You'd be surprised how many people want to help if you only
04:51
ask. And sometimes we don't ask enough,
04:53
we don't ask enough and we don't have the networks that are
04:56
strong enough for us to be able to do it.
04:58
We're going to talk about network.
04:59
I would love to talk to you about networks and how is
05:03
necessary, what have you encountered throughout your life.
05:05
But I want to go back to something you shared before about
05:09
your dad telling you a little bit about your philosophy in life
05:13
my dad always said to me,
05:16
you give to others what you have in abundance of and I
05:21
love that so much because it really starts to,
05:25
you know, you start to pay attention to like what am
05:27
I giving myself? How am I filling my internal cup?
05:32
Because that's what's going to be coming out of you.
05:34
So if you have joy to give inside of you,
05:37
you're going to give joy.
05:38
If you have trust and loyalty,
05:39
you're going to give that,
05:41
you know. So I am so careful about not only the
05:44
stuff I consume, like the food,
05:47
the people that are around me,
05:49
the energy of the people around that I can totally see that
05:52
Yeah, but I also am very careful about how do
05:56
How do I talk to myself?
05:58
What are the messages that are going through my mind that are
06:01
going to influence how I feel about myself and then are going
06:04
to influence how I treat others and how I show up for
06:07
others. What are specific things that you do for self care
06:12
So I meditate every morning,
06:14
I work out every day right after meditation,
06:17
I eat very healthy balanced meals that are mostly are food.
06:29
a lot of eggs and a lot of other stuff.
06:31
But I take care of my body.
06:33
I take care of my mind.
06:34
I do a lot of podcast listening.
06:35
This is one of them that I'm religiously listening to and I
06:38
do a lot of self growth and personal growth consumption.
06:41
So I listen to podcasts about that and I'm constantly curious and
06:45
learning about my self because I feel like earlier in my career
06:49
for example, I was too focused on what was expected
06:52
of me and I tried to do that and it's like,
06:54
oh, that's what they're doing here.
06:56
This is how I need to show up and,
06:58
and it wasn't until I discovered how do I want to show
07:01
up because what is authentic to me?
07:04
That's when I started to step into my power.
07:06
I want to make sure that all our audiences understand this.
07:11
Learning from your dad,
07:12
which is you give what you have in abundance.
07:15
And because we need to move from the scarcity mentality to the
07:18
abundance mentality is so important for Latinas to fill your cup to
07:22
make sure that you're well with yourself because that's the way in
07:25
which we're all going to be ok.
07:27
I agree. And I think one more thing because you asked
07:28
me, what else do I do specifically?
07:30
I have started to say no,
07:31
a lot more. I was actually gonna go there because I
07:34
hear a lot from more junior Latinas that they don't know what
07:38
they're overwhelmed. And if you don't learn when you're young,
07:42
that you will never be able to do everything that's asked for
07:45
from you and that you have to learn how to spot.
07:48
These are the things that I must do.
07:50
And these are the things that I can de prioritize.
07:51
It's only gonna get worse because your list is gonna get longer
07:55
It's a, it's something to,
07:56
to learn early on and then the time that is for you
08:00
Yes, I have rituals that are mine.
08:02
Like my gym is my ritual.
08:04
I protect that. My morning meditation is my ritual.
08:06
Protect that I have a bedtime.
08:10
I go to bed unless something's happening,
08:13
that's fine. I'm flexible.
08:15
my routine because that's what sets me up for success.
08:18
The next day I do the exact same thing.
08:20
Wake up early. My kids,
08:22
I don't see my kids until 7 a.m. The only one that
08:25
gets me to stay out late is my coho you know,
08:30
we are like, like we're even dressing the same.
08:33
I don't know, you know,
08:33
becoming exactly big earrings doing the same,
08:37
just different colors. Like we're mimes here.
08:39
I love it. And I'm mixing this.
08:44
Exactly. Exactly. Ok.
08:45
So, besides your dad,
08:46
who were the people that inspired you,
08:49
that you, you learn from them and you try to follow
08:52
them. So, my family has always been a grounding,
08:55
a very strong, like force for me to ground myself on
08:58
So my dad and my mom,
08:59
amazing human beings. My dad is very,
09:01
you know, spiritual.
09:02
He's very much of a caring person.
09:03
My mom is very driven.
09:05
My brothers are all entrepreneurs back in the dr so I learn
09:07
a lot from them about taking risks.
09:09
They're all taking risks every day in a different way.
09:13
You know, they're building businesses,
09:14
they, they're, they're doing a lot of things that none
09:17
of our family members have ever done.
09:19
I'm doing the same thing here.
09:20
So we're all pioneers in a way and I am very proud
09:22
of that. So you are an entrepreneur.
09:25
Do you take risks within your company?
09:27
Are you allowed? Do they give you space?
09:29
And that's one of the things I respect so much about General
09:31
Mills. It's a company that whose values are really aligned with
09:35
it was really important whenever I work for a company.
09:38
If the values don't align,
09:40
I just don't even go there because I know I'm not gonna
09:43
thrive and succeed because if I'm not able to match up my
09:47
values to them, then I don't think it's,
09:49
it's just like a relationship.
09:50
It's the same when you're finding a partner to be with,
09:52
you can't do that on a foundation that is not aligned on
09:55
the values. Same thing with a job.
09:58
So I'm very blessed that the company that I'm,
10:00
that I've worked for the,
10:01
for the last 50 plus years has built a very solid foundation
10:04
based on really strong value systems that align with mine.
10:06
And that has allowed me to grow professionally and personally in ways
10:10
that I never imagined.
10:11
And you mentioned that you have an approach that you go to
10:14
career wise. And also so the way I approach life and
10:18
my career, everything I do in life I have developed this
10:20
little model that I like.
10:22
I like things in threes because they are easy to remember like
10:24
+123123, it's called a three G approach.
10:30
So it's grounded, grow and glow so grounded.
10:34
It's like, what are the fundamentals?
10:35
Am I taking care of the fundamentals?
10:37
And that's what I talked about self care.
10:38
Am I taking care of me?
10:40
It all starts here because if I'm not,
10:43
no one else around me is going to be,
10:45
well, at least it's not going to be taking care of
10:47
the way I want to take care of them.
10:48
And if you want to be a leader,
10:49
there's a bigger fruit that you have to make sure that you're
10:52
responsible. Absolutely. So like me,
10:54
the way I show up to my team,
10:56
the way I show up to my company to meetings,
10:57
the way I show up at work has a lot to do
10:59
with, am I taking care of the grounds?
11:01
Am I taking care of this,
11:03
So like ground it and it's like taking care of the soil
11:06
in order to grow a healthy fruit.
11:08
So that's how I think about it.
11:09
The other energy is grow.
11:11
So am I doing the right things in order to allow myself
11:14
to grow? Am I learning?
11:16
Am I remaining curious?
11:17
Am I asking questions?
11:18
Am I asking for help?
11:20
That's something that I had to learn the hard way after getting
11:23
burned out in, in past roles where I thought I had
11:27
And it's like I don't,
11:28
people are waiting just,
11:30
just ask. So that's the the second G and the third
11:33
G is glow, which is to me,
11:34
it's the most beautiful explanation of like when you're when your copies
11:38
filled you glow from the inside out and it also allows you
11:42
to just show up authentically and be more powerful and also motivate
11:46
others and help those that are around you that are watching?
11:48
Because there's you'll be surprised how many people are paying attention and
11:51
you just don't know who you're impacting.
11:53
So that glow that I talked about is like bringing that light
11:56
to others and being a support system for people that are,
11:59
that are looking for it.
12:02
I want to take your opinion about something that we experienced.
12:07
We launched a La Latina network and we had our first a
12:11
La Latina dinner where you were part of and I would love
12:16
to hear based on these three Gs,
12:19
how do you feel that what you experience with us and the
12:23
way in which other trailblazers grow can have an impact on others
12:28
And for our audience,
12:30
yes, we launched a La Latina net and we had our
12:33
first ever a La Latina dinner in New York where we had
12:37
the incredible trailblazers that we have had as guest of the podcast
12:41
sharing their stories with Hispanic star rising that want to
12:45
network, learn and with the trailblazers that want to network
12:49
and give back. And first of all,
12:51
that was amazing. I my cup was filled last night when
12:54
I got back to my hotel.
12:55
I was like, how do we do this again soon?
12:58
I think that the level of connection that was built there is
13:01
amazing. And we all need that,
13:03
especially Latinas because we're,
13:04
we're highly connected individuals.
13:05
But I feel like as we grow in our careers or even
13:08
in our own families,
13:10
we tend to, you know,
13:11
disconnect because it's just you get busier,
13:13
you have more responsibilities.
13:14
There's not as many people in the same situation as you to
13:18
connect with. So I love that you're facilitating that for us
13:21
So I appreciate that so much for both of you.
13:23
What I love about that too and it,
13:25
to me it is pipeline development.
13:27
I feel like one of the main things I'm personally passionate about
13:31
and it's one of the reasons why I started to do coaching
13:34
some of the younger generation of,
13:36
of marketers in my case,
13:38
because that's what I I'm really,
13:39
you know, my strength is,
13:40
is in marketing but also as a leader,
13:42
I I have a lot of passion about coaching the younger generation
13:45
of future leaders, especially Latina leaders because I feel like making
13:50
the pipeline strong is only gonna help us accelerate the rate at
13:54
which we get promoted and start leading because all these companies are
13:58
hungry for our leadership.
13:59
They, they want the leadership,
14:01
they want us to show up,
14:02
they want us to be elevating ourselves,
14:05
but we have to also do our part in,
14:07
in that. And then I feel like when we help each
14:10
other and we, I love your idea of the playbook,
14:13
having the playbook where we can,
14:14
you know, share that with the generations or the groups that
14:17
are behind us is how we're going to fill the pipeline with
14:19
healthy, strong, confident driven Latinas that are going to be
14:24
the future leaders. II,
14:25
I love that. And I think it goes back to my
14:29
feeling and the difference of where we are and where we were
14:34
and to celebrate that we're glowing and we're getting more into the
14:38
abundance so that people like you are not only willing to,
14:42
you know, continue growing,
14:43
but also give back and have that connection so that our pipeline
14:47
really can have, you know,
14:48
like a strong, a strong track and that you can be
14:52
a better leader. Exactly.
14:53
And not only do we want that for our own Latinas,
14:57
but the companies want that.
14:58
They have seen the value of celebrating and elevating.
15:01
I see it at my company all the time.
15:03
Like I have so much influence and power and I've been given
15:08
so much freedom to do what needs to be done.
15:11
Just you tell us what we need to do and we'll be
15:13
there for you like that level of support I feel and I
15:16
think you said it this morning on a video you uploaded by
15:18
the way, happy women.
15:22
I love that. We're doing this today.
15:24
And I love what you said we're living in the best time
15:29
you know, let's take that and like empower ourselves,
15:32
believe in ourselves and have the courage to walk through those doors
15:35
that are being opened for us when I looked at your resume
15:38
and your career even though you have 15 years in the same
15:41
company, you've had almost like many careers within the same company
15:45
And one of the reasons why Claudia and I wanted to
15:47
start the podcast in with corporate America was because we know how
15:52
good a career can be.
15:54
If you started in corporate America,
15:56
you can just like have many careers within a company and benefit
15:59
from, from all the goodness that come from being part
16:03
of a big company that's established and that can promote you and
16:06
enable you. So can you walk us through your career?
16:10
You started in the development that you went to marketing,
16:12
then back to innovation.
16:13
How did you make those decisions?
16:16
And, and what advice would you give somebody in corporate
16:20
America making decisions on such a good question?
16:23
And one that I talk a lot about when I'm asked questions
16:27
the first thing is know that you can do it.
16:30
First of all, believe in yourself.
16:32
I have taken risks that like my very first job in the
16:35
U SI have to say it was in R and D research
16:39
and development for Kimberly Clark.
16:40
I was a business major.
16:42
Most of my peers were all engineers,
16:45
biochemical, all these things,
16:47
right? I had no idea what I was walking myself into
16:50
but I knew inside of me that I could figure it
16:52
out because I'm smart,
16:55
right? And I did it I did amazing.
16:57
But I realized this is not for me,
16:59
that's, and this is where knowing yourself comes into place.
17:01
Like you could, you could get offered an opportunity and
17:04
you could take it because it's gonna teach you skills that you
17:07
for your toolbox. But if it's not what you really want
17:11
to do, it's like as long as you know,
17:12
where you're going use this particular experience,
17:15
learn from it the most you can do the best job you
17:17
can and then go towards the next step that you need to
17:20
do in order to get where you want to go.
17:21
So I have said yes to many things that in like in
17:25
the moment felt scary.
17:28
Like am I gonna be able to do this?
17:30
And it's like, yeah,
17:30
I think I could try it.
17:32
I mean, what's the worst that can happen that I don't
17:34
like the job or that it's not a fit and then,
17:37
you know, then I move on to something else that is
17:39
at least I learned that this is not for me,
17:41
to me learning like everything you do is is done for you
17:45
not to you is done for your growth.
17:48
Everything you do every action you take is for your development and
17:51
for your growth, good or bad.
17:53
I want to pause there.
17:54
Who taught you or who gave it to you that you were
18:00
I can figure it out because it's counterintuitive.
18:03
This is what we want,
18:04
this is what we dream.
18:05
This is what we should aim for,
18:07
for every Latina to know its gonna be OK,
18:10
you're smart enough, you will figure it out.
18:12
But because the media narrative is so against it because we're told
18:17
and not being represented,
18:19
we're we, we don't think that we're smart.
18:21
How did you get that confidence and how do we pass it
18:24
on? So that all Latinas know we can do it.
18:27
We're enough. We're smart.
18:30
Yeah, I think the first and this,
18:32
I didn't even know it at the time.
18:34
But my parents allowed me to come here at 17 not knowing
18:37
English to a country that they didn't even know about because they
18:39
never really, they didn't bring me and be like here you
18:41
are like they just let me go.
18:44
the first indication for me that I,
18:47
I'm going to do something big and they trust me.
18:50
they know me better than I even know myself.
18:52
So to me that was the first,
18:54
the first indication that you can do hard things.
18:57
And I know this is a phrase that's been very,
18:59
I hope we can do hard things.
19:01
I love it. And it's like,
19:02
so that was the first one.
19:04
But the other one I would say is every time I have
19:06
said yes to something scary,
19:08
I always like it's fine.
19:11
I don't break in the process.
19:13
I don't burn, I don't die like I make it.
19:16
I, even if I'm crawling,
19:18
I make it. So that has given me the confidence that
19:21
no matter what is thrown my way.
19:23
I know I'm going to be ok because I have done it
19:26
multiple times. So it's everything that happens saying yes to those
19:29
hard things. I actually also love facing fears.
19:33
I feel like when you face a fear that means you're at
19:35
the edge of something big.
19:37
And every time you're at the edge of something big,
19:39
you're breaking through to the next level and you're growing and you're
19:42
building courage. So to me,
19:44
fear and courage are like this.
19:46
So that's how I've developed my ability to say I can do
19:48
anything because I know I can because I've done it in many
19:52
little ways. And I in big ways too,
19:54
I've taken risks that are big that I have been able to
19:56
do it. Moving here was the biggest risk I took and
19:59
I succeeded. So now I know I'm good.
20:02
We have, we have three marketers here and I want to
20:05
make sure that all our audience understands that we can do it
20:10
That because we've been so resilient,
20:13
so resourceful because we've been facing more challenges than anyone else.
20:17
That should be the translation,
20:19
the flipping the script is from,
20:21
I survived to I can do hard things.
20:24
I am smart so that we can change that around.
20:27
If we manage in our generation to have the next generation turn
20:30
that piece into. I'm smart as opposed to I survived.
20:34
I think that we made it.
20:35
But I feel like sometimes when we see people like you and
20:38
you speak with so much poise and with so much confidence and
20:42
we wonder if I was listening to this and I was 25
20:46
I actually don't feel that way all the time and I imagine
20:50
you didn't feel that way all the time.
20:52
I Exactly. So how did you handle the moments in which
20:55
you felt like I'm not that smart,
20:57
I'm not that powerful.
20:58
Like the moments of doubt.
21:00
That is such a good question.
21:04
there is many, many days or moments where I was like
21:07
I don't know that I can do this.
21:09
I doubted myself a lot because there's so much reinforcement of that
21:12
Yes. Like the stereotypes of Latinas are guiding you towards
21:16
that. But one thing I have done differentially has been asking
21:21
questions. So if I am given something that I'm scared or
21:25
doubting myself, it's because I probably don't know how to do
21:28
it, but somebody else probably knows,
21:30
right. So it's like,
21:30
why do I have to create something when other people have done
21:34
it? So I've always been really good at like,
21:37
and I'm one of my superpowers is remaining calm under stress or
21:40
remaining calm in the storm as I call it.
21:43
So when I get a storm,
21:44
which is like something hard that I'm like,
21:46
oh, I don't know what to do and doubting myself.
21:48
I don't know if I can do this.
21:49
I remain calm and I say,
21:50
what do I have at my disposal right now?
21:52
Or what is the next best step I can take?
21:54
And I take that one little tiny step.
21:56
Maybe a step is calling somebody that I used to report to
22:00
in a private company that may know somebody who has done this
22:03
or maybe he himself or she himself has done it.
22:06
can you give me 10 minutes of your time?
22:08
I was given this assignment and I really don't know where to
22:11
start, right? And it's like leaning on others and asking
22:15
questions. We also have the power of information out.
22:18
Information is out there googling stuff,
22:21
you know, now a I is very powerful.
22:23
So like finding information to feed that and but just know inside
22:27
that like I always tell myself what is the worst that can
22:29
happen? Like the absolute worst.
22:32
And then you realize like,
22:34
oh it's not like not going to go to jail for this
22:37
I'm not going to die.
22:38
Like the worst that can happen is that I trip and fall
22:40
and then what happens?
22:41
I get up again like nothing happens,
22:47
Why don't you given your clarity about pipeline and how much we
22:54
need Latinas to feel strong,
22:55
given that you had that flip the script and that you have
22:59
clarity of your superpower being calm mostly because I think that Latinas
23:04
remain calm because we've been gone through so much.
23:07
So it's a superpower that most Latinas have.
23:09
Like we, we don't get shaken by anything like we're like
23:13
this is nothing amigo.
23:14
So why don't you start talking to companies and being a speaker
23:19
particularly in consumer goods and so on?
23:21
Have you thought about like doing being invited to companies to
23:25
Yeah, I would love that.
23:26
That is such a great,
23:28
great idea. And one that I've been thinking about as I
23:30
think about leaving my legacy because the work I do is very
23:33
fulfilling and I love,
23:35
I mean, I love what I do.
23:37
I really do and I love that I'm building a career in
23:39
a company that I really appreciate and value.
23:44
But I also think about what is my legacy and I see
23:47
the pipeline and I talked to a lot of young marketers in
23:50
other CPG companies who seek me out for advice.
23:53
And one of the things I've been thinking about is like,
23:56
this these learnings, this,
23:58
this package of, of things that I have accomplished,
24:01
but also the learnings that I have got me there and how
24:04
do I provide, you know,
24:05
a message to others that can help develop and help break down
24:08
barriers for. So I would love that if companies will be
24:11
interested in bringing me in,
24:13
talk to the Latina groups about this.
24:15
That's something that I'm actually very passionate about trying.
24:18
Maybe we could think of having a,
24:20
a La Latina speaker bureau and have you being the first one
24:25
you know, like I think that this is a way to
24:30
OK. So now since we have you and one of your
24:34
super powers is also knowing how to market to Latinos and any
24:38
company now not marketing to Latinos is just like missing big chunk
24:42
of the market. We would like to get the phd version
24:48
of how to market to Latinos in five minutes.
24:50
What are most and also what are most not like things that
24:54
you've seen companies doing that you're like,
24:55
oh my God, I can't believe they thought this was multicultural
24:57
marketing. Yeah. So I feel and this is something we
25:01
talk a lot about General Mills.
25:02
The foundation of everything is knowing your consumer.
25:05
So grounding your strategy on consumer insights and really interesting in
25:12
this, this this Hispanic consumer for us has been critical even
25:15
the Hispanic culture itself is very nuanced.
25:18
So even language nuances that are part of our culture and the
25:23
value that food has in our culture and how food is seen
25:26
but also how it's eaten like different parts of,
25:29
you know, Latin America eat different things.
25:31
So like how do you show up authentically respectfully in a way
25:36
that builds connections? So to me,
25:37
it all starts with the grounding it on a strong consumer insight
25:41
after that. One of the things that you know,
25:43
we do a lot of General Mills too is,
25:44
is data is important.
25:45
You have to know if you're doing is moving the needle if
25:49
it's, if it's actually achieving the KPIS,
25:51
the key performance indicators that you want.
25:53
So data and analytics is very key.
25:56
And I think education is the other one is like,
25:57
how do what now bring the outside too?
25:59
Because you also want to make sure that those that are inside
26:02
the company that are building these brands are empowered and have the
26:05
empathy in order to really connect with the consumers that are out
26:07
there that not be who they are right personally,
26:10
but they should be able to connect to them.
26:11
So that's like a framework that we have.
26:14
and then that and enables you to have strategies messages,
26:17
executions that are really connected to the to the consumer in a
26:21
way that's that's meaningful.
26:22
How does the work happen?
26:24
A general means like you have a brand manager for a product
26:27
and then multicultural marketing is that gets brought in to Chin
26:32
or you have your own campaigns.
26:33
Like how, how do you work?
26:34
No, we work directly with the brands So we support the
26:38
brands in ensuring that we are collaborating with them and we're,
26:41
I call them, we're growth partners.
26:42
So like we're hand in hand with them,
26:44
developing a plan together,
26:45
they own the brands,
26:46
they own the business,
26:47
they own the strategies,
26:48
but we are a partner in that process with them to
26:51
ensure that we're bringing those rich insights,
26:53
we're collaborating with them on those things and enabling those campaigns
26:56
to be elevated to be more meaningful if it's not confidential
27:00
Can you share some of the interesting insights about Latinas?
27:03
Sure, I'll tell you about an execution that we did on
27:07
one of our, our products and then the inside that
27:10
drove that. So Mats,
27:12
for example, just launched recently with Eva Longoria,
27:15
a beautiful program called it's,
27:17
it's like a book program.
27:18
So you buy a box of Mats and you get a free
27:20
book inside and it's a Spanish or English or bilingual book and
27:23
beautiful stories illustrated and written by Hispanic authors and illustrators that
27:29
was done because we knew that there was an insight that was
27:32
Latina. Moms are so pressed for time,
27:34
right? There's so much happening in their lives.
27:36
You just talked about earlier about all the things you have to
27:38
do today, taking your your daughter to swimming lessons and doing
27:40
all these things we are pressed for time.
27:42
We have pressures at work at home in society with our families
27:46
everywhere. So we knew that having a moment to read to
27:49
your child is a precious moment that,
27:51
that, that mom or dad wanted to preserve and have.
27:54
So we're facilitating that by having this execution,
27:57
this, this book that we're giving to them.
27:59
And it's also allowing them to educate their kids on,
28:01
on, you know topics.
28:03
We hear a lot about parents who may not be speaking Spanish
28:06
to their kids at home.
28:07
So they're finding ways to incorporate more of that language.
28:10
Even non Hispanic parents are loving this idea.
28:13
So this is when you have an insight that is driven by
28:16
a Hispanic consumer actually connects with a broader audience.
28:20
And we think by focusing on a Hispanic insight,
28:23
we're gonna exclude others and it's all the opposite.
28:26
We all, we want the best for our kids.
28:28
We all want more time.
28:29
We all want more education.
28:30
We all want our kids to learn other languages and other cultures
28:34
So why do we have to limit it to one group
28:36
like we all want that?
28:37
So then what we do is we,
28:39
we use an insight that is meaningful for one audience that is
28:42
our, our core and then that insight translates into more audiences
28:46
Love that and I hope that we can do a Hispanic
28:49
Star Children series together with because I think that the heroes
28:53
that we have Latinos are here of the entire country.
28:57
Roberto Clemente is not a Latino baseball player Latino Roberto Clemente is
29:01
a baseball champion of America.
29:04
OK. I wanna share with you both something that I did
29:07
a couple of days ago which is go to the streets with
29:09
a microphone and ask people what are the attributes that they associate
29:15
And I put a number of them,
29:17
some of them, the physical attributes that were like beautiful
29:24
but also some other attributes that are stereotypes,
29:27
like fire loud, scary and then the competence attributes
29:34
like hard workers or job creators or entrepreneurs,
29:39
small businesses. So we went to the streets.
29:41
I interviewed 20 people on the street and they,
29:44
to my face told me 99% of them,
29:47
they said Latinas, I associate them with number one,
29:50
beautiful, number two,
29:51
sexy and number three,
29:52
either scary or loud and that was to my face.
29:56
So I thought those were understood as positive attributes.
30:00
People were saying, wow,
30:02
you are beautiful without knowing that that caught us dramatically in our
30:08
professional career development without knowing that because we are associated with beautiful
30:14
or sexy then probably the stereotype is well be the receptionist,
30:18
right? Like, so everybody can see you and and that's
30:20
what you're good for.
30:20
So what do you make of this and how do we turn
30:23
it around? Because people need to understand that while that is
30:26
not negative is also not positive to our career.
30:29
So how do you turn it around?
30:32
first of all, that's,
30:34
it's sad that we're still,
30:35
I mean, people when they tell you that to your face
30:37
it's like they think it's a good thing.
30:40
and we show what beautiful,
30:42
we're beautiful. Right?
30:42
Nothing wrong at the top.
30:45
Not the first thing that people say about us or beautiful and
30:48
competent. I asked them.
30:50
So did I, what about if I tell you that we
30:53
create jobs number one in the country that Latinas generate six
30:57
times faster than any other group in America,
30:59
small businesses. And they were like,
31:01
oh OK, so I will say beautiful and job creators.
31:04
But so what do you make of these marketers?
31:07
Oh, let me perspective on that actually,
31:09
I mean, I think that a any brand has,
31:13
it has many attributes and one or two of them are the
31:17
ones that people know them for and it's very hard to change
31:20
the perception. Like I,
31:21
I don't actually think that even the brand manager can change the
31:25
perception. I think the perception comes from how others perceive you
31:28
and it's slow and I think we're against a difficult thing to
31:32
change that if, if we don't all are trying to do
31:35
it, if we Latinas are OK with being just considered pretty
31:39
and don't prioritize being considered smart,
31:42
considered resilient, being considered job creators,
31:45
then that's gonna always be the secondary attribute.
31:47
And as marketers, you can pick one to be the top
31:51
and many secondary. So we have to decide which one do
31:53
we want to be the top.
31:54
And we're, I think we,
31:56
we have to all say let's just talk about more than just
31:59
being pretty. Let's,
32:00
yeah, I think two things come to mind and,
32:02
and I love that perspective.
32:03
One is, I think Hollywood has,
32:05
has made that even more,
32:07
more common and more present,
32:08
right? So like how we portray Latina women in,
32:11
in big screen is driving some of those stereotypes.
32:13
And I think what you said is right?
32:15
It's up to us to decide how do I want to show
32:17
up? And I think that's where intentionality and knowing yourself comes
32:20
in if you know your superpower because yeah,
32:22
you could be beautiful but also like that is not what you
32:25
want to be known for.
32:26
Like what is it that I want to be known for?
32:28
What is the legacy I want to leave when I leave this
32:32
it's intentionality and how you want to be perceived and like,
32:36
really create that personal brand intentionally.
32:41
So if you know that you wanna be perceived as somebody strategic
32:45
what are the things that you're gonna do in order to
32:47
show strategically? First of all,
32:49
ask your organization, what is a strategic leader look like?
32:52
Or, or sound like or you know,
32:54
talk like then or watch others that you believe are highly strategic
32:59
and model some of those behaviors because I think,
33:01
you know, we also need,
33:01
we're surrounded by amazing people everywhere,
33:04
not just Latinas, but everyone around us.
33:07
I mean, we are surrounded by amazing humans,
33:09
talented people. So observe also and and try to influence yourself
33:15
on those things that you're trying to build on your personal brand
33:17
So I would say the first question I would ask myself
33:20
would be how do I want to show up as a brand
33:23
And that's a foundation of marketing,
33:24
right? Like what are the values?
33:25
But what is the key message I'm putting out there?
33:28
If the key message is beauty?
33:29
Like, ok, but like is that it like that's not
33:32
going to take you far?
33:32
But if it's about strategic or leading a great team,
33:35
like how do you shop as a great leader?
33:37
What are the things that you're doing that make you a good
33:39
leader? So what is your,
33:40
what's your brand? My brand?
33:42
Well, I said already my superpower is remaining calm for me
33:46
It's it's really about providing a foundation and a space
33:53
for my team to really thrive.
33:55
I love letting people be who they are to empower her.
33:59
Yeah. Yeah. And you said Salma Hayek said something that
34:03
strokes. Yes, I love the other day,
34:04
I saw a video somebody posted where she was going into some
34:09
show or work show or something she was wearing obviously a beautiful
34:12
dress, probably really expensive Right.
34:13
So they asked her what is the most expensive thing you're wearing
34:16
tonight? And she pointed to her brains.
34:20
I love that because she is doing what we just said.
34:23
She's flipping that she's saying it's not anything that I'm wearing.
34:27
It's what's inside here is the beauty of my brains.
34:31
That is the most expensive and the most valuable thing that I
34:34
have. What I would say is that let's show up beautiful
34:40
and let's talk smart.
34:42
All right. So we wanna talk about identity about being Latina
34:49
ask these questions to our guests and the the answers are
34:54
very inspiring for our audience and,
34:56
and they, they really like shine that your company,
35:00
how, how much your company accepts you and how much you
35:04
have grown. So tell us in your entire career,
35:08
have you ever had to dial down your Latini that I have
35:11
done it earlier? Not because I was asked,
35:14
I was never thankfully have never been coached on like you're too
35:17
loud, you move too much your hand so you talk too
35:22
we try to not coach people in style because that's what you
35:26
Your super personal thing.
35:27
But I did remember when I first started in my career,
35:31
I was trying to try to be like the white marketers that
35:36
I saw that I saw were like the stereotype,
35:40
like the model of what I needed to look like.
35:42
So instead of being myself,
35:44
I would be like them more like even try to dress like
35:48
them and like where are they buying?
35:49
They're buying AJ Crew.
35:50
I got to buy my clothes at J Crew too,
35:52
like that kind of stuff.
35:53
So that's how I thought I was toning down my Latinidad by
35:56
trying to be more like somebody that I wasn't and it wasn't
36:00
until I started working more on connecting to myself and realizing what
36:04
my style is that I started saying no,
36:06
This is me, this is me.
36:08
I love color. I'm passionate,
36:12
but I'm also driven and passionate for me is like,
36:16
oh, you're too passionate as Latinas,
36:19
But have you noticed that passionate people also can get anything done
36:22
because they set their minds to something and they figure it out
36:27
Passion is commitment. Yes.
36:29
But so I have had those moments and I will say that
36:33
you just have to figure out like,
36:35
That's true to you and do that.
36:37
I also have been very intentional of how I'm showing up too
36:39
because there are times where I might want to say something that
36:42
is not the right audience.
36:43
So you also have to be aware of that.
36:45
Sometimes we want to be ourselves and that's ok.
36:48
But there are moments where you have to also watch it be
36:51
myself, my, they say what I wanna show up right
36:53
now helping me and my brand and what I wanna do.
36:56
So like you also have to be very aware of your surroundings
36:59
Your audience adjust a little bit to that because that's part
37:02
of also being a business woman.
37:05
If you were a white woman,
37:06
you would still be making the same call.
37:08
Exactly. And what about leaning in your Latinidad?
37:10
Are there any characteristics that you can say this?
37:13
This? I I do this or I am like this?
37:15
Because I am Latina and it has enabled me to succeed.
37:19
Yes, I think that the courage that I have like
37:24
Latino women were very courageous.
37:26
Like we, we we go for it,
37:28
right? We know we can do things,
37:29
we can do hard things.
37:30
I think for me the ability to ask for things and ask
37:33
for permission and that because we're very community focused and very personable
37:37
we develop relationships easily,
37:38
right? People trust us because we create those environments where we
37:45
So for me, the way I use my Latinidad,
37:47
there is from that community building that trust building and foundation is
37:53
bring people along the way that are gonna be my network to
37:58
help me succeed. But also in the same vein,
38:01
how do I create a community that is safe for those that
38:05
are behind me that I want to help succeed too.
38:08
So it's kind of a container of community building and trust building
38:12
that is not only helping me,
38:13
but it's also helping those that are behind.
38:15
And what about we've talked through the podcast about this technique of
38:19
flipping the script of those values that are associated with negative and
38:25
they could flip the script and put them in a positive corporate
38:28
like, what are those that you think that you're,
38:31
you know, like you would like to flip?
38:33
it's about passionate. So I'm,
38:35
I consider myself a very passionate person and I think as Latinas
38:38
we are known for that,
38:40
but sometimes people can see it as a negative like,
38:42
oh too passionate, it's like too energetic or she talks too
38:46
into it or maybe emotionally to a point.
38:49
And the flip of that in the way,
38:51
I think that has helped my career accelerate too is that I
38:55
turned that passion into decisiveness and driven,
38:58
right? And being driven.
38:59
So if I'm given a task or a job or a role
39:04
or a project, that passion and I don't know how to
39:08
do it, let's say that passion that I have turns into
39:11
I am going to figure this out.
39:14
I'm going to find out who I can call that can help
39:17
I'm going to go read a book on this.
39:20
I'm going to go listen to a podcast on this.
39:22
I will figure it out and then that,
39:24
that grit and that curiosity and the energy to make something happen
39:30
that creates trust in the organization to know she can figure this
39:33
out. We don't have to hold her hand every step she
39:35
will find and pave the way.
39:37
So that passion turns into getting stuff done from passion to do
39:44
And I wanted to ask maybe,
39:47
what is your playbook if you would share the glory
39:49
playbook on how to climb the ladder and succeed being your authentic
39:55
and it's almost a recap of a little bit of what we
39:57
talked about. The first thing is spend time with yourself
40:00
Go inside, go inside,
40:02
get to know who you are,
40:04
what motivates you and why,
40:06
Then second is find out and surround yourself with people that are
40:10
gonna help you get there,
40:13
you know, other people that,
40:14
you know, if they know somebody in the industry that can
40:17
help you find ways to,
40:18
to really get out of your own little shell because sometimes we
40:22
get, we get so enamored with our little bubble that but
40:26
we're not like that.
40:27
We're part of a big bubble.
40:29
And there's so many people who are willing and wanting to help
40:34
but they don't know that you're wanting the help.
40:35
So they don't offer it.
40:37
So you have to take the steps to do that.
40:39
So create a network,
40:40
a support network that is going to allow you to then start
40:43
making those steps that you need to make I'd say the third
40:47
thing is work on your courage and say yes to things that
40:51
are scary. So for me,
40:52
that has been the story of my life.
40:54
I've said yes to things that I'm like,
40:56
I don't know, I'm doing it,
40:57
but I'm going to do it because I'm smart.
40:58
Yes and because I can and because I trust myself.
41:02
So say yes to hard things,
41:04
say yes to assignments that maybe you feel like are not aligned
41:06
with your passions, but sometimes is in those assignments and in
41:11
those life situations that you learn the most about who you are
41:15
and you learn tools that you didn't have.
41:17
You know, as I think about always like I want to
41:19
be a well rounded leader.
41:20
Well, a well rounded leader is not just a good marketer
41:22
You know, there's so many other pieces that go into
41:25
being a well rounded leader that you need and it comes through
41:28
differential experiences. I love this.
41:30
OK, let's go to our last two questions.
41:33
The first one is what advice would give your 30 year old
41:36
self? I will say earlier in my days,
41:39
I remember I used to keep quiet a lot because I didn't
41:41
know if my idea or my question was to,
41:43
you know, was going to be relevant.
41:46
I always think about how is what I'm going to say,
41:48
going to advance the conversation,
41:50
how is it going to add value?
41:51
And I at first when I was younger in my career.
41:54
that's not a comment that I should make.
41:56
It's probably not a smart comment.
41:57
And that's when I self doubt came in,
41:59
what I would tell myself is,
42:00
say what you have in your mind because you know what happened
42:03
to me, like 98% of the times I had a thought
42:06
I had a question and I never said it and another person
42:08
said it and it would be like that.
42:10
That's a great question.
42:11
I'm glad you asked it because now we have something else to
42:14
that was my question.
42:16
It happened every day and I'm like,
42:18
wait a minute, I'm smart.
42:20
Like I'm, I'm thinking of those questions and those questions are
42:23
helping advance this conversation and getting us to like a solution.
42:26
Why didn't I ask it?
42:28
I had that in my head since we started this conversation.
42:30
So I would tell myself if you have a thought,
42:35
put it out there to share,
42:37
great there to share.
42:41
And the last one is,
42:42
who else should we have in this podcast?
42:43
Do you know any other Latina that could be?
42:46
Yes. I have a lot of amazing Latinas that are,
42:49
that are part of my network.
42:50
But I think one that I recommend is Maria Jaramillo is an
42:53
amazing human, very great human and also an amazing leader.
42:57
She used to work at General Mills for a long time and
43:00
now she just transitioned to a different company.
43:01
She's at ecolab now.
43:02
She might be an interesting person.
43:04
She's got a beautiful story and it's just a really well rounded
43:07
human being that you might benefit from talking to.
43:09
Yeah, we haven't heard from her so well.
43:12
I have to say this was incredible thing.
43:15
So many pieces of advice and so many actionable tips that our
43:19
audience will take from today.
43:20
Thank you for your generosity.
43:21
I love that. It has been a pleasure being here today
43:24
I've learned a lot as well and I hope my message reaches
43:27
people and impacts others lives as well and help us lead and
Series