00:00
Hola. I'm Claudia Romo Edelman and I'm Cynthia Cleo Milner.
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And this is a podcast,
00:05
a La Latina, the playbook to succeed being your authentic self
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today. Quique Del Valle President for Mastercard Mexico,
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Central America and the Caribbean.
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And these are the three key takeaways.
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Number one, she gave us a framework for how to pick
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your next role based on the latest trends,
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what you're really passionate about and where you can make a big
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she shared how using her Latina values as her leadership superpowers have
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enabled her to attract the best talent and deliver better outcomes.
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And number three, how she has used her sense of curiosity
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as a catalyst for growth,
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all of that. And no,
00:42
here at a La Latina stick around.
00:52
We've been discussing how important it is for Latinas to generate wealth
00:56
particularly because we understand that only 33% of Latinas have retirement
01:01
income from savings or other assets.
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So how can your company help in this equation?
01:06
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01:10
The one for beginners,
01:11
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01:15
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01:18
it. You can select the risk level and even choose the
01:21
type of companies you can invest in.
01:23
That's amazing. So what is the minimum needed to open an
01:26
account? $1? You just need $1 no excuses.
01:31
The earlier you begin to invest,
01:33
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01:35
So how can people get started?
01:37
Simply download the Money Lion app and open a managed investment account
01:42
It's quick. It takes just a few minutes.
01:44
Perfect. Let's do it today.
01:46
An incredible guest. Kiki del Valle.
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Kiki is President for Mastercard Mexico,
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Central America and the Caribbean.
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She is a board member for Water Aid Americas and the Damas
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Foundation in Puerto Rico and she's on the advisory board of Women
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in payment. She was just granted the Alpha award for most
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powerful Latinas in the US and also the most influential woman in
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fintech from the American banker magazine.
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Kiki, welcome to a La Latina.
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Thank you for having me.
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I'm so excited to be here.
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It's exciting. Actually,
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you just got an award.
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You're probably feeling pretty good about yourself.
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Tell us a little bit more about your background.
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How did you grow up?
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What made you be who you are and what you do today
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I was born and raised in Puerto Rico.
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So I was there until I was 18 where I like many
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other kids. I mean we came to the us to go
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to college. I grew up with a very close knit family
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I had my dad was a lawyer.
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My mom was an artist,
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So I grew up with having to use both sides of my
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brain. And I think I inherited a lot from both of
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them. So my ability to negotiate deals from my dad.
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But then from my mom,
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the creativity side and,
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and, and a little bit of the indebted sense of entrepreneurship
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was also something that was very much ingrained in me.
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From, from an early day,
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it was a very stable,
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safe loving environment. I mean,
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so I had the quintessential loving life that anybody could actually wish
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for growing up. But it was also very demanding.
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My parents were ones that they,
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they wanted us to succeed.
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They demanded that we excelled in academics.
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They also demanded that we had a very balanced lifestyle.
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So the idea that we actually had to be part of sports
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the idea that we also had to give back to the
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community that was pretty much very ingrained in my development.
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So I'd like to say that I'm very conscientious about what it
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means to be part of the community,
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to give back to lead with purpose.
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That has been a little bit of the journey that I've been
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in and that it was actually passed on for to us,
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to my siblings and I from both my dad and my mom
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Ok. So starting now,
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this is not a podcast about corporate America.
03:49
This is about parenting because I need to know how to,
03:52
Because usually most of the guests that we have actually had to
03:56
overcome a lot, we've talked a lot about resilience and about
03:59
overcoming hardship. And it's great to see somebody who has a
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stable family, both parents working and loving,
04:07
but still we're able to instill the work ethic and the sense
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of ambition, sense of ambition.
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Exactly, because the next generation of Latinos hopefully will have a
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lot less to overcome.
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But the values of being Latino can still come through in a
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good environment, you don't have to go through.
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But I think the sense of consistency,
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the sense of safety,
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the sense of it doesn't come without resilience doesn't come without
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there being bigger ambitions or bigger targets that or bigger goals that
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you want in life for us.
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We saw it in a very different way.
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For example, PTO Rico actually suffer many different hurricanes throughout every
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single year. We have some of the biggest hurricanes that you
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can imagine. It is an unstable environment from that sense.
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Hurricane Maria being an example,
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2017, it was life changing for many families.
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For many people, you have to get comfortable with the idea
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of rebuilding. But with that having that sense of community actually
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brings you a different sense of accomplishment,
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a different sense of being able to,
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to work together towards a common goal.
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So the the resilience came from external factors in my family that
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were not necessarily where my family was the binding knot that kept
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everybody together in my household.
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So I, I would say like without,
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without that, I would not be comfortable with change.
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And I do consider myself to be a change agent.
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It is a little bit of the way that my peers described
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me, that my managers have actually described me.
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So getting comfortable. Yeah,
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that I'm a change agent.
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Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is important.
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I do want to emphasize this piece and I it is so
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brilliant. Look at the end of the day,
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we will have if we manage to continue in the trajectory where
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we are and if we manage to break the stereotypes that are
05:53
stopping us and so on,
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we will have more stable,
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wealthy Latino families where Latinas are gonna be able to succeed,
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not only being your authentic excels,
06:03
but also having balanced lives.
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And that includes knowing how to be a good mother and
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knowing how to install this sense of responsibility and ambition in your
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kids. So I do think that it is important to make
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sure that we understand.
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We're never going to lose our values.
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We're never going to lose the hard work,
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but we should actually say aim higher and give back and do
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better. So for all the Latinas listening.
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It is great to see how you are committed to giving back
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You are making it and that,
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you know, like we all should be taking career notes and
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parenting notes at the same time.
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How did you decide what you were gonna study?
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You left Puerto Rico,
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right? What was that decision making process?
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Who guided you? I think growing up in Puerto Rico,
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you always had one step in the US and one step in
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Latin America. You were always comparing and trying to figure out
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what was the best of both in terms of culture,
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in terms of education,
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So the decision to go to the US was very much instilled
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on me and really just allowed and promoted or if you want
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just push by my dad.
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I mean, so it was this belief that Puerto Rico is
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a small island. We were always looking outside of the island
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We always had to think about the global mindset.
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We always, we always travel and looked outside of Puerto Rico
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to try to figure out how do I change the world.
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So the idea that it could change the world was never,
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by my parents, by both of them,
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something that always came as part of our values.
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So coming to the US was almost like a natural step in
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that trajectory. It was definitely my parents pushing to aim for
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more. And I think that's where a little bit of this
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idea of change agent kind of came to be because for the
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first time, I didn't have my safety net.
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I did not have my family there backing me up.
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I was, I was on my own.
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So I had to almost practice what they had preached in a
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way that I would still allow me to be my best self
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So that change was definitely a big step for me and
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one that I did not anticipate that I would,
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that I would remain in the US from then because I have
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never been able, since that decision was made to actually come
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to college. I never went back.
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I never, I never went back to Puerto Rico.
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So how do I in the U SI studied in the US
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for college? So at 18,
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that was my first move,
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but I never went back to the island,
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so I still have my family in Puerto Rico.
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I still have my parents,
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my grandparents, aunts,
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uncles, whatever, but I never properly moved back to the
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island. So how do I make a change from where I'm
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at right now? That can still drive some influence that can
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still drive an impact in Puerto Rico?
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How I, I think it's taken a while.
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Look, I think I think I started my career
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I work for Home Depot.
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I've been at Mastercard for 16 years,
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I started in the US.
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And that first trajectory to mastercard really forced me to,
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to pick and be very conscientious and intentional about where I wanted
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to excel and what I wanted to do.
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So the first step for me was actually making a very conscious
09:10
decision to really focus on digital and become a subject matter expert
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in digital. It was at a time that it was at
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a time that, you know,
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it wasn't, there was this wasn't prevalent digital commerce wasn't a
09:23
thing. Amazon was still new Apple did not have the iphone
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So this was post itunes,
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but then pre iphone,
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this is when I joined and I joined specifically to manage the
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ecommerce tech giants that we know right now.
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But they were also going through this evolution.
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So just as I was going through an evolution from a personal
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level, I think the companies that I was actually working with
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from the Mastercard site to drive partnerships,
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they were also evolving.
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So it led to a lot of learning.
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So that was my first step.
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it was really around how do we make change?
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Working with some of these tech giants had the pleasure of actually
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you know, be part of the development team,
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be part of the launching team for solutions like Apple Pay
10:07
like Google Pay. Those were all amazing initiatives that today you
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actually see the scale and the impact that they're driving for millions
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of consumers around the globe.
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So being part of that was definitely life changing.
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And I think once that had been accomplished,
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then the question became a little bit of the aha moment,
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a little bit of the,
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you know, this realization like,
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well, what can I do?
10:30
How do I use the skill sets?
10:32
How do I use the things that I know the innovations that
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you can play out for good?
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So if you can apply that to lead with purpose,
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then that became almost like the next natural step.
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And that's when I was able to come back to Latin America
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with mastercard. But now have a more direct impact and indirectly
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obviously also impact my island of Puerto Rico.
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So it's a full circle.
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like you said, a number of things that I want to
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unpack and I know that we saw in your in your
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background internships as a way of exploring because for someone that
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had very clear, like aim higher,
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but through what? And you were always somehow attracted to evolution
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change, transformation,
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innovation. It seems to me that you were like attracted like
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this is a a this is the place and that's the category
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through internships. Did you do that through internships?
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How did you explore doing that?
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I think part of it is,
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is, is, is in choosing,
11:33
is purposefully you choosing and deciding how are you going to make
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some of these steps,
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some of these moves,
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the way that I look at it is there's three things that
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you can control. One is what are the trends that are
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happening around you ideally?
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So I can look at what are the trends,
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the macro trends, what is happening around the globe and that
11:53
may actually have an impact you see here or hear things like
11:57
cybersecurity. You hear about A I,
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you don't necessarily have to be a data scientist to work in
12:03
You can be in cells and still actually work on the A
12:06
I field. So how do you become part of the growth
12:09
You can choose the next stage?
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but you can choose at what stage of the mega trend do
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You can choose, you know,
12:17
like actually getting in when there's still growth opportunity or you can
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choose when they're actually in decay,
12:23
right? So, but in my case,
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I was very purposeful about looking at the macros and then being
12:29
being part of the wave early on.
12:31
So I can ride the wave along with others that naturally allowed
12:35
me to have more opportunities that were opening up.
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It allowed me to have like,
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you know, different,
12:39
different profiles of people that I was working with.
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So, but beyond the macro,
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you need to think about what is it that you're good at
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Are you curious about these trends?
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So again, going back to A I,
12:49
if you're not curious about A I,
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then why would you actually go into an A I company or
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why would you go into that specific business unit within a company
12:57
So that question around,
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are you curious, are you passionate about that specific area is
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important? And then the last thing that I always ask myself
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is, can I have an impact?
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And to me impact is very much related to the change agent
13:09
mindset? Do I wanna go in into a role where I
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am going to keep it as bau because nothing is broken because
13:16
it's actually, you know,
13:17
it has reached its peak or do I wanna be part of
13:20
a role where I have an ability and permission to change it
13:25
Do I have permission to actually create a bigger impact?
13:27
Do I have ideas that can actually even early,
13:30
even from the interview process,
13:31
you can tell if you're gonna be able to change something or
13:35
if you're to just ride the wave as is.
13:38
So those three things I've always been very careful about looking at
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it that way. He is obsessed about how internships will rule
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his entire life will determine his life.
13:51
it's an experiment. But he's looking at how do I,
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he's looking at the,
13:55
looking at, how do I choose from everything that I have
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And I think that this framework of,
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look at the macro trend,
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look at your curiosity and to your prone pain and how
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like have an impact with it?
14:09
That's a perfect framework.
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And so that's what you did.
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I think throughout my career with every single decision,
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career decision that I have made.
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It's always in the back of my mind asking the question,
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what will I gain from moving into this role?
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And what will the company gain also from moving from me,
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moving into this role?
14:27
Because then you can then you will find the sponsors and then
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you will find the people that are betting on you and taking
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you know, taking the risk with you and helping
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So having that in the back of your mind is always,
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is always important. I mean,
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I I'm a little disappointed that I just met you because this
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framework would have saved me a lot of headaches.
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So I'm gonna repeat it because I think it's super important if
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you wanna take a job either internally or in a new employer
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the framework is number one,
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is this a trend that is growing?
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are you passionate about it?
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And then the third one,
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can you make an impact?
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So don't make my mistakes.
15:05
Listen to Kiki and be objective about the trends.
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A lot of people ask,
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well, how do you know if a trend is actually irrelevant
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Not because the the trends,
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you can hear a lot about it on the news and whatever
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But what I tell people is the management team,
15:21
like talking about it are the investments of the organization going into
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that area, is the company backing it up.
15:28
So again, putting yourself in a position of growth around you
15:33
that's why you landed,
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not only landed, but you basically arrived to innovative processes that
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now have been global and taken like Apple Pay.
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I'm sorry, what an honor to have like a pioneer Latina
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that was early on in,
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you know, like amplifying something like the connection between
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Mastercard and Apple Pay.
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So I wanna give you kudos,
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I would like to understand a little bit more about that and
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also get a get more into your career at Mastercard.
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But before doing that,
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I have to make a pause to make sure that everybody understands
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I'm not dressed as a pinata just for the sake of
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can't see my trousers,
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but I'm absolutely mad.
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Branded today for the conversation.
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So tell us more about that and,
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and kudos. Congrats.
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I think that back then and this is,
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this is actually a great example because back then I had been
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an account, the account manager for mastercard managing the Apple relationship
16:35
for about 33 to 4 years before we began discussions with Apple
16:41
about ideally what was a global trend,
16:44
which was how does Apple become a digital wallet.
16:47
So, of course many other organizations which is crazy to say
16:51
about it. But these were the early discussions,
16:54
this were the early discussions we want to totally correct.
16:59
They were not, they were intentional and they were about even
17:03
talking to Apple about the world of payments,
17:05
which is a world that they didn't necessarily understand.
17:08
I mean, besides being a retailer,
17:10
besides being acceptor of payments,
17:13
you know, there's so many business models that we could have
17:15
actually that Apple could have come up with that we could have
17:18
actually partner on. But the idea that you could actually have
17:21
a user interface provided by Apple,
17:24
whereby you have a tokenized card on the Apple with Mastercard credentials
17:29
on that device with,
17:31
you know, credentials that are safe in the secure element of
17:35
the phone where privacy is at its foundation with core values,
17:39
you know, that Apple was looking to bring between like security
17:42
and safety and privacy.
17:44
Those were core values that we at mastercard also had.
17:46
So what brought us together was the values how you start building
17:50
from? There was a process that literally took us over two
17:53
years to really define so and behind the scenes,
17:57
my parents, for example,
17:58
had no idea what I was doing with Apple because we were
18:01
subject to confidentiality agreements,
18:03
personal confidentiality agreements. So we had a we had teams massive
18:07
teams at mastercard, close to 500 people that were working on
18:10
what is now Apple pay and people now.
18:12
But the platform that is really standing up the tokenization,
18:16
all these solutions with API S Apple could directly connected into Mastercard
18:20
all of that we had to build.
18:21
So it was a period of transformation for us at mastercard and
18:25
to have that front seat to be able to actually work with
18:28
Apple, sit with them through the,
18:31
you know, the development of the ideas of the principles teaching
18:34
them a little bit about.
18:35
Well, what are the rules,
18:36
regulations that we need to adapt without crossing the line that they
18:39
didn't want to take?
18:40
These were fundamental people obviously now don't,
18:44
don't see it. I mean,
18:45
what you see is today,
18:46
what is Apple Pay or Google Pay which are amazing and Samsung
18:49
pay amazing solutions to the consumers.
18:51
But behind the scenes,
18:53
a lot of work actually had to had to happen,
18:55
had to take place and you know exactly what I'm gonna say
18:57
which is it had to be a Latina and it had
18:59
to be Latinidad values which install trust,
19:04
innovation bringing. So like the entire team with you because we
19:07
lead like mothers. So you bring everybody with you.
19:10
So you have to evangelize this side,
19:12
convince the other side.
19:14
And it's so there was a lot of internal and external negotiations
19:17
taking place throughout the entire process.
19:19
Yes, but it was for me for example,
19:21
it was also a decision,
19:22
a conscious decision to remain in the role that I was in
19:25
A lot of people would have said,
19:27
well, you've already been in the role for three years,
19:28
go look for something else.
19:30
I saw that this could actually be career changing.
19:33
I saw that it could be life changing,
19:35
like this was gonna have an impact on consumers.
19:38
So as a pro from a professional standpoint,
19:40
I decided to stay put and we,
19:42
I stayed put where I led the Apple relationship for close to
19:45
seven years for mastercard because I wanted to see the the deployment
19:50
of Apple pay because I wanted to see it roll out.
19:52
So once Apple Pay rolled out and Google pay,
19:56
we actually had rolled it out also to not just in the
20:00
US but in the UK in Australia.
20:02
So this took me also into much more of a global role
20:04
once it was rolled out and I reached almost like the peak
20:08
OK, my change or my impact has been,
20:12
has been realized, that's when I decided to make a move
20:15
So don't, don't pick too early.
20:17
I think a lot of people think like,
20:18
well, roles are time base.
20:20
You need to, you know,
20:21
you need to move every two years,
20:22
especially the younger generation,
20:24
they think like, oh,
20:24
within I'm gonna change roles every year and a half or every
20:27
two years. If you're not reaching that peak,
20:30
if that impact peak and there's still opportunity then stay put,
20:34
you're better off staying put and then making the change once you
20:37
actually climb that hill.
20:38
Yeah, we haven't heard this,
20:39
we've heard before. Lateral moves.
20:42
But I really like this idea of,
20:44
obviously, I'm a big fan of the,
20:46
don't try to get a promotion every two years.
20:48
That's like an artificial way of growing.
20:51
And at some point after I guess when we finish season three
20:54
I'm gonna do a data analysis of all the guests and
20:58
how many promotions they got earlier in their career.
21:00
And I can almost assure you that it wasn't a lot like
21:04
it was a good progression.
21:07
the women that have been in this podcast and that are at
21:09
the top of the most important companies in the US did not
21:13
rush the promotions at the beginning.
21:14
Like you guys had a long term view of your career and
21:18
somehow this is not what the younger generation is going for.
21:22
It's like somebody has told them that the sooner you get to
21:25
VP the better and you have people with five years of experience
21:28
that have a VP title.
21:29
Like what does the title do?
21:30
Like you're gonna be VP for the rest of your life then
21:34
wait, before we go into,
21:36
before we move out of that.
21:37
I do wanna make sure that we do send a message to
21:40
both the corporations and the Latinas about what does it mean to
21:45
have a Latina in charge?
21:47
Because because of our Latinidad because we're hard working because we bring
21:53
someone with us because it's that social that leads people as a
21:57
family that you build trust because you're able to,
22:01
you know, like in a way,
22:02
build those relationships because we don't give up because we're resilient because
22:07
we're resourceful because of that.
22:09
You can make those gigantic steps like creating a vaccine for COVID
22:15
or like launching apple pay to the world because of who we
22:20
I don't have a sense that companies have got the memo like
22:25
that's the soft skill that of the Latinos that I have that
22:28
is gonna be able to bring to the table massive change.
22:32
And I don't think that Latinas ourselves,
22:34
we know consciously we haven't had a boom moment,
22:37
an Aztec moment about like,
22:39
wow, I'm not exploiting,
22:41
you know, my absolute Latinidad assets to bring that massive change
22:47
So I think that we know,
22:49
I think there's, there's incredible things to be said about a
22:53
Latinidad, you know,
22:55
to the point of a Latinidad where Latinas are very highly ambitious
23:00
Latinas are extremely hard workers and to your point,
23:04
they're very resilient in my role.
23:07
What helped me also propel and really position myself very differently than
23:12
many others was the fact that I was able to carry and
23:15
get and build a lot of trust internal and external because that
23:20
was my role. I had to as an account manager be
23:24
the connector. And that's another point building the connections between the
23:29
customer and internally within mastercard to make sure that we were responding
23:34
with agility that we were addressing the pain points that the customer
23:37
had, that they understood the role that we played.
23:40
Because again, companies on the tech side,
23:43
amazing at building UIs,
23:45
they are not payment companies.
23:47
So we had to teach them.
23:48
There was also an element of humility that they actually have to
23:52
accept that if they didn't know they had to ask the question
23:56
But for that to actually happen in a natural way,
23:58
there had to be a level of trust that we were bringing
24:00
to the table. And we are amazing at that building the
24:03
connections. I had so many people from the customer side that
24:07
would come to me and would call me and would say like
24:10
I'm in the advertising side of the business.
24:13
Have you heard of anybody being interested in small business within,
24:16
you know, within my company,
24:18
within their own company?
24:19
I was actually making connections because my network was so broad that
24:23
I could connect people,
24:25
whether it was internally within Mastercard or actually even within their own
24:28
walls. at the organization that was the value that I
24:32
was bringing and a lot of that is because of trust and
24:34
because of the relationships that we can build.
24:36
So what we need to do and make sure and now I'm
24:39
but what we need to do is make sure that we're flipping
24:42
the script from stereotype to actual fact we don't have and then
24:48
we make it a superpower like your accent shouldn't be the determinant
24:52
of people thinking you're stupid or less competent.
24:56
It is a bilingualism,
24:58
multi color, bi culturalism,
25:00
negotiation skill, but also it's your superpower to get companies like
25:05
an apple to all of a sudden think that they can do
25:09
Simple but crazy. Let's flip the script from under to a
25:14
plus and then to a super plus a super power.
25:17
OK. So let's about your superpower.
25:19
We've spoken a little bit about your negotiation skills and what else
25:23
What are, what are your superpowers if,
25:24
if your team described you or you know,
25:27
like you get reviews all the time,
25:28
what are the things that people don't say about you?
25:30
So besides besides a change agent?
25:32
Because like I said,
25:33
I think I'm very comfortable finding the white spots.
25:36
I'm very comfortable finding opportunities.
25:38
Once you actually start seeing the big picture,
25:41
I think it's a sense of curiosity.
25:42
And I think that's another one that once you accept that change
25:46
is inevitable. Once you accept that change is almost like the
25:49
only concept that we have in life because let's be honest,
25:51
today is not the same day as yesterday.
25:52
It's not gonna be the same day as tomorrow.
25:55
I think you get comfortable or you get,
25:58
interested and curious about learning more.
26:02
and that curiosity will,
26:03
will expand to many different things,
26:05
you know, depending on,
26:06
on people themselves. But that,
26:07
that's having that sense of curiosity extremely important,
26:10
especially in a fast moving industry like payments.
26:13
I have to stay ahead.
26:14
I have to understand what are the latest things,
26:17
the latest threats. For example,
26:18
in cybersecurity, how is a I potentially helping many of my
26:21
customers, how are we developing and evolving some of our products
26:24
and solutions? So we have to grow with the times and
26:27
to do that, there is a sense of curiosity that you
26:30
need to have so that you can be a well rounded individual
26:33
It doesn't even need to stay within the professional landscape,
26:37
I love, I love visiting,
26:39
you know, art museums as an example.
26:41
I love spending time with my kids.
26:42
I love doing sports,
26:43
but I also have my own personal interest that become conversation starters
26:48
that become ways in which you can draw a connection with,
26:51
with somebody else doing yoga or doing Pilates.
26:54
For example, these are conversation openers ways to connect from
26:59
the, from the human side with different people.
27:01
So I think, I think that is you are what you
27:05
bring to the table is what I like to tell my kids
27:08
you know, the more well rounded that you are,
27:11
the better that you will be in anything in life.
27:14
And in work when I was working at Walmart,
27:16
I met somebody that was what I thought he had the career
27:20
that I wanted to have.
27:21
And I put that in his calendar.
27:23
I was like, can you mentor me?
27:24
And in the 30 minutes that I spent with him,
27:27
all he spoke about was curiosity.
27:29
He said his career took off because he was a very curious
27:33
person. He recommended a book which is actually called curious or
27:37
a curious mind from Brian Glaser,
27:39
the guy that directs movies with Ron Howard.
27:42
And I just became fascinated about this idea of just always
27:48
being a sponge because sometimes you,
27:51
I'm old enough, like I,
27:52
I already learned as much as I,
27:54
I, yeah, I'm already the expert and it made me
27:58
really change how I approach conversations and how I'm always trying to
28:02
consume information. How do you consume information?
28:05
Like when you want to stay up to date?
28:06
Like, what do you do?
28:09
I read every single day before going to bed and I can
28:11
read everything from a fiction,
28:13
you know, a fictional book to a real life autobiography,
28:17
the Hispanics, the Hispanics and children's book,
28:20
which I think are amazing.
28:21
The Sonia. So Mayor definitely a good one.
28:24
But I can read that to actually get my mind and to
28:27
really hone in on my creative side.
28:29
So I purposely read,
28:30
you know, fictional books to actually practice my creative mindset to
28:35
obviously listening to podcasts and to listening to news,
28:39
to listening to a Latina.
28:40
I mean, these are great ways for you to be able
28:42
to learn a little bit more to better yourself.
28:45
and also to stay up to date.
28:46
So, podcasts, whether they are,
28:48
you know, the Massacres podcast,
28:50
which actually highlights a lot on,
28:51
on what are some of the latest trends to to podcasts
28:55
around women and women in power and women that have actually that
28:58
hold leadership positions. Those are all good things.
29:01
So I do that on my way to work every morning.
29:04
I do that before I go to bed.
29:06
So throughout the day,
29:07
very difficult to do.
29:08
So I choose to actually do that even ahead of actually watching
29:13
I read a lot and your kids are probably also are a
29:16
source of inspiration and my kids know the trends better than I
29:20
do and, and the slang understanding their slang.
29:23
I need a new dictionary in this aspect more than asking you
29:27
about what, you know,
29:28
like what techniques you use as a mentor.
29:30
What makes a good mentee I've had the pleasure.
29:35
So I before the role that I'm in right now,
29:38
you know, leading Mexico,
29:39
Central America and the Caribbean,
29:40
I used to lead different verticals within within Latin America
29:44
governments but also fintech and digital partners and retailers.
29:48
And with fintech early on start ups,
29:52
there was a lot of opportunity that I had in being able
29:55
to advise many of them.
29:56
What models should you bring?
29:57
What is the technology that you,
30:00
and from that, where could you potentially differentiate yourself?
30:03
So that, that opened my ability to work with many different
30:08
entities? What I know or what I have found is that
30:11
the best mentees are those that one are willing to listen
30:15
with a with their own agenda about what,
30:18
what is it that they're expecting from that mentor mentee relationship?
30:22
They come with a plan,
30:23
they come with a series of questions,
30:25
they come prepared, not everyone comes prepared.
30:28
A lot of them look at it as only a stepping stone
30:31
towards their next career opportunity.
30:33
A lot of people that are seeking out that mentor mentee relationship
30:37
is more because they're ready to take on a new role and
30:40
they're expecting a promotion or they're expecting a career change.
30:45
That to me is the least the worst type of relationship that
30:48
you can actually start with.
30:50
Do you want a relationship that is about trust?
30:52
You want a relationship that is almost like a friendship that you're
30:55
actually building because even if this,
30:57
this mentor cannot properly help you in your career path right now
31:02
the more that you disclose about about yourself,
31:03
the more vulnerable that you are,
31:06
that person will build that relationship,
31:08
that person will remember when a position actually comes,
31:11
but positions don't come every single day.
31:13
So building the relationship is the most important as well as actually
31:17
having a plan. What is it that you're expecting on both
31:19
sides? Because mentors have an expectation as well of what,
31:22
what kind of relationship they want to build?
31:24
The same is with a mentee,
31:25
the the earlier that you can actually agree or align on the
31:29
goals and objectives of that relationship,
31:31
the better everybody will be.
31:32
Have you heard of this idea of reverse mentorship?
31:36
do you have like a young mentor that tells you what's cool
31:40
and what's the next trend I do?
31:43
And something that I actually have a shadow day coming up with
31:47
a series of people that are going to be shadowing me.
31:51
And if I tell you that my expectation from that shadow day
31:55
is that I would like to capture the feedback,
31:58
the input, the learnings or even ideas that the younger employees
32:03
are going to be able to bring me.
32:07
which is people for three days,
32:09
kind of like following me joining me in meetings,
32:11
joining me with customers asking questions,
32:14
I mean, but it's not an observer role.
32:17
I'm expecting them to also be part of the conversation,
32:20
I'm expecting them to engage and to also not just give me
32:24
feedback, but for me to actually capture some of the ideas
32:28
So it's a, it's a nice way of actually bringing this
32:31
reverse mentoring concept. But again,
32:33
it goes back to what are the expectations of a mentor has
32:36
I think there's more value to me personally than,
32:39
than people obviously see seeing me in action,
32:42
Kiki, why haven't we heard more about Kiki?
32:45
I would like to know whether there was anything that was holding
32:50
you back from shining because that's something very,
32:53
very common for Latinas.
32:55
Even for me, I have to say at my previous job
32:58
at the United Nations,
33:00
you had basically choices that were clear,
33:03
either you get credit and you shine or you get things done
33:08
So I was like for me,
33:08
like I'm gonna always do the the speeches of my bosses,
33:12
but I'll, I'll make sure that I know what they want
33:15
them to say. It took me a while to be able
33:18
to feel comfortable speaking and getting the the spotlight until I realized
33:23
it was important to be able to be relevant,
33:27
to be able to be trusted,
33:28
to be able to get more impact.
33:31
What is your trajectory with perception and with shine or not shine
33:35
like with exposure like great that you have these two awards.
33:40
How did you come to that place of like,
33:44
I think it, I think it clicked a little bit for
33:48
where I felt that I had accomplished a certain level of
33:53
of initiatives or a certain level of success where I could
33:57
feel like my trajectory matters.
33:59
And I think that for many of us,
34:01
we we are comfortable and my focus up until then had been
34:04
internally within the organization,
34:06
internally, within Mastercard building,
34:08
a solid brand building,
34:09
a trusted brand building myself as somebody that is efficient,
34:12
that can deliver that,
34:13
that drives results. That is a doer to your point.
34:16
That had been the focus early in the career.
34:19
you know, 15 years a Mastercard 60 now.
34:22
So 15 years at Mastercard,
34:24
I dedicated a lot of time to building that reputation.
34:27
So I think we're comfortable doing that.
34:29
I think if you had asked people within mastercard,
34:31
they would be able to tell you yes,
34:32
who Kiki is people in the industry?
34:34
My immediate industry may may know obviously from some of these engagements
34:39
How do you actually take that to the global scale?
34:42
That was the question.
34:43
So I think 2 to 3 years ago is when I,
34:46
I had a realization or an aha moment where it was
34:51
I how do I now take this to share with the world
34:55
in a way that they understand that the impact that I'm driving
35:01
but it's also about other things.
35:04
So it took me on a journey where I became part of
35:07
not for profit boards so purposefully.
35:10
OK, how do I now help,
35:11
for example, you know,
35:13
get women on boards as an example.
35:15
So I'm now part of women on boards.
35:17
I'm now part of L CD A the Latino Corporate Directors
35:20
Association. I'm also sitting on boards myself trying to carry
35:25
you know, some of the values and,
35:27
and, and purpose that I want that I want that I
35:30
want to bring, but where I felt like I can actually
35:33
bring something to the table that is bigger than just,
35:37
the ideas that I had within my industry.
35:40
this idea that you can give more and that you can put
35:44
yourself to represent for the Latinas,
35:47
for example, I had to get comfortable with.
35:49
Yeah, I had to get comfortable with that.
35:52
It happened, you know,
35:54
once I turned 40 I think,
35:56
you know, where it was like,
35:57
OK, how do I now put myself in that role and
36:01
carry the responsibility? So even within Mastercard,
36:04
how do I put myself as,
36:05
as one of the top Latina women at mastercard?
36:08
How do I put myself and bring change?
36:10
Because with that responsibility also comes the idea that you have to
36:13
deliver and you have to create change and how has been that
36:17
journey of like be from being,
36:20
you know, like private to being public and speaking up more
36:22
and showing yourself. Has it been easy?
36:25
What has helped you to get?
36:28
I can tell you it was a journey like literally,
36:30
I was, I never spoke in public before until a couple
36:36
it was a hard journey to get more comfortable with public speaking
36:41
with understanding what my voice was like,
36:44
I had to take a lot of courses and watch a
36:46
lot of videos. How was,
36:47
how was your journey?
36:49
It's difficult and I think it's difficult for me personally because you
36:52
have to get comfortable with being vulnerable and people don't like being
36:57
vulnerable. I don't like being vulnerable.
36:58
I don't like talking about mistakes or I don't like talking about
37:01
you know, challenges or issues.
37:03
We tend to lean on the optimistic side,
37:07
like I'm a, I'm a glass half full kind of person
37:09
Like I always like to look at the at the sunny
37:11
side. I always like to look at the positive.
37:15
OK, we had a setback but then let's let's get over
37:20
I have a challenge being vulnerable.
37:23
But in order to put yourself in this,
37:25
in this, in public speaking,
37:27
not talking about payments.
37:29
I'm very comfortable talking on stage about what I know.
37:32
I'm very comfortable talking about payments.
37:34
I'm very comfortable talking about trends in the industry and financial services
37:38
I've had to do that and that was something that I
37:43
you know, I was given the opportunity to just represent matre
37:46
in many different things.
37:48
It wasn't about like being in front of an audience,
37:50
it was more about being in front of an audience where I'm
37:53
actually telling my story,
37:54
that was a different kind of vulnerability,
37:56
right? Because then you're,
37:58
then you're having to share about,
38:00
about your life about what you like,
38:02
what you don't like the setbacks and you got exposure,
38:06
it helped to have a support group,
38:09
it helped to have sponsors.
38:11
I'm very lucky that at mastercard,
38:14
you know, we do have great leadership team and in my
38:18
case, I do have great sponsors,
38:19
including the CEO who I just met yesterday.
38:22
I just had a meeting with him.
38:24
not the first time that I've met him,
38:26
but they're very approachable,
38:28
very open and very supportive of me taking on this journey.
38:32
So the support of that I can get from them even talking
38:35
about how do I help you get on board?
38:37
Kiki, if this is your interest,
38:40
We should tell them to support you coming with the Hispanic delegation
38:44
to Davos. That's what I think.
38:45
There you go. We can,
38:46
we can ask the team that happy to do it just on
38:49
on, on the last piece on the,
38:51
is someone from Mastercard as a fact,
38:55
gave me a piece of insight that I will never forget.
38:59
I heard you talking about Latinos.
39:02
We don't necessarily, we're,
39:04
we're Latinos and we're like fighting and working and you're like,
39:07
barely making it, you know,
39:09
like between your family and this and this and particularly if you're
39:11
a Latina. But all of a sudden I heard you talk
39:14
and it made me realize I never acted on my Latinidad within
39:19
my company. I never realized I was one of the top
39:22
Latinas in my company and I never did er G si never
39:26
did affinity groups. I never did anything to role model.
39:29
I never exposed myself as a Latina.
39:30
I never told anybody I was a Latino because I didn't need
39:33
to. No one asked me.
39:34
It's not that she was denying it.
39:35
And I never had that,
39:37
that moment. So I hope that,
39:39
you know, like with the awards and with the journey that
39:42
you're getting more and more Latinas get inspired to raise a hand
39:48
and say like I want that job,
39:50
I want that opportunity.
39:51
I want that microphone,
39:54
I think people would be surprised at the amount of support that
39:58
we get when we speak up and when we actually put ourselves
40:02
out there and when we,
40:03
when we share our content,
40:06
one of the pivotal moments in my career was immediately after hurricane
40:10
Maria in 2017, I felt hopeless.
40:13
I felt like I could not do anything being in the US
40:17
And I had my family in Puerto Rico and basically struggling
40:21
because they could not get,
40:22
for example, access to water.
40:24
I had for nine days,
40:26
my parents, I did not have a communication with my parents
40:29
post the hurricane. And for those of you that may not
40:32
know hurricane Maria was a catastrophic hurricane category five.
40:36
Over 100 years, it was the worst hurricane that the island
40:40
had actually faced. And for nine days,
40:44
I could not communicate.
40:45
I did not know if my parents were ok because they could
40:48
not communicate with me for nine days.
40:50
So it was horrendous.
40:55
my parents did not have water access.
40:59
So how that takes me into my own professional journey.
41:03
The first board that I joined was Water aid Americas.
41:06
Their focus is in actually giving access to water for underserved communities
41:11
because as much as people,
41:12
people may not know,
41:13
but over 2 billion people around the world don't have access to
41:19
We all know that they teach you that in in elementary
41:21
school. So imagine not being able to have access to like
41:25
the most basic need.
41:26
And that took me with the,
41:29
that brought me to the realization that I needed to do more
41:31
for Latin America. So what I,
41:33
I changed jobs from being global focus at the time,
41:36
which I was in a global product role to then moving into
41:38
Master Card and L IC.
41:40
So again, being purposeful about,
41:43
OK, can I do something about it?
41:45
Just ask yourself, can you do something about it?
41:47
And what is the legacy that you wanna build?
41:51
it was very much about OK,
41:53
let me try to use what I know to use my skill
41:57
sets and my knowledge base to try to change the game in
42:00
Latin America. and it's been fantastic.
42:03
It's been, it's been a digitization journey.
42:05
It's been a fintech journey.
42:08
You know, Fentex are the the highest penetration of Fentex for
42:12
a Mastercard in the world is in Latin America.
42:14
People may not know that we have more digital accounts in Latin
42:17
America than anywhere else in the world.
42:19
It's amazing. It's something to be proud of.
42:21
So telling that story also becomes important.
42:26
you know, as I think about my journey is how do
42:28
I tie the payments and the impact that we can drive on
42:31
the business side? But then also with OK,
42:33
what else can I do to give back?
42:35
What else can I do to,
42:37
to change the game for myself,
42:39
but then also for my daughter and for everybody else that comes
42:42
that comes behind me or next to me.
42:44
I love that we're having an awakening moment and I hope that
42:47
more and more Latinas can use their voice to support each other
42:50
as well. Absolutely.
42:52
I don't think we ask you this question,
42:55
I wanted to ask you before and it,
42:56
it's not super clear to me yet.
42:58
So you've been in Mastercard for 16 years.
43:01
I know because I'm also in the industry,
43:03
many, many people in Mastercard.
43:04
It's a company that is full of talent full of,
43:08
there's other Latinas, but there's a lot of women and there's
43:11
a lot of super smart people and somehow you stood out,
43:16
not everybody go to to the top the way that you did
43:19
What do you attribute to like the success?
43:22
You've spoken a little bit about some sponsors.
43:25
Also, you've spoken about your Latinidad,
43:27
you haven't said this,
43:29
but there was an element of luck like being prepared,
43:32
right? But like what,
43:32
what do you, what do you think?
43:34
It's the like, what was your secret sauce?
43:37
Look? I think that in my case,
43:40
I think the combination of being able to be in the right
43:44
place at the right time.
43:45
So there is an element of luck.
43:47
There's also an element of what I said before of understanding,
43:51
where can I drive the biggest impact and where can I potentially
43:55
serve the organization in a way that serves me as well?
43:59
So, meaning are there initiatives that I can help drive or
44:02
that I can be a part of that are really changing the
44:05
landscape or changing the ecosystem in a way that is going to
44:08
have a lasting impact.
44:10
So I think the initiatives that I've been able to be a
44:12
part of gave me exposure,
44:14
how do you use that exposure,
44:16
you know, to continue learning to continue challenging yourself?
44:19
But I've been very lucky in that sponsors have actually sought
44:23
me out sponsors, you know,
44:25
and also in, in building the brand,
44:27
people understand that I will give it my own people know that
44:30
People know that I will,
44:31
I will be able to deliver.
44:33
So that's, that's really important.
44:36
And that's how you get,
44:37
you know, these connections and this network.
44:39
And I do pride myself in having a very broad network within
44:42
the company and outside that opens doors,
44:46
it, you, you'd have to prove yourself once you obviously
44:49
open the door, but that opens the door.
44:51
So serving as a connector has been a superpower of mine as
44:54
well externally within the company,
44:58
but then also internally.
44:59
So it's the sponsors,
45:00
but it is also the peers and it is also the teams
45:03
my teams or even others that see the value and that
45:08
want to work with me.
45:09
So if they want to work with me,
45:11
I capture the best talent.
45:13
And if I capture the best talent,
45:15
then I rise, they rise and I rise.
45:18
So you have to have a very strong brand within the
45:23
company and you have to have proof points to obviously back it
45:25
out. But once you have that talent that wants to work
45:29
with you, you only get better.
45:31
So on the on the network and the connector,
45:34
I think that there is a,
45:35
there's a myth within the Latino community that is changing by
45:39
the way, that is like a scarcity mentality.
45:42
So you don't connect,
45:43
you don't open the door,
45:44
there's one seat at the table,
45:46
you make it and you close the door and you're like,
45:48
oh so, but the more you connect people,
45:54
the more you use your network to connect,
45:56
the more connected you will be,
45:57
the more empower you,
45:59
the more you empower others,
46:01
the more empowerment you will get.
46:02
Can you talk about that for a second?
46:03
And then we can dive into Latinidad.
46:07
you touch on this one.
46:08
I think there's a level of competitiveness and competition that I feel
46:11
is artificial. And people think that,
46:14
by closing the door on somebody,
46:15
then then you put yourself in a better spot.
46:18
That's never the case.
46:19
That's never the case for women.
46:21
It's never the case for Latinas.
46:23
It's never the case.
46:24
It's never the case.
46:25
For anybody. I mean,
46:26
like I, I can open doors and still walk through the
46:29
door with somebody right next to me.
46:31
So I look at it almost as help me,
46:36
like I will do you a favor and at some point,
46:40
you will also help me kind of like bring me up.
46:43
So I, I think that there's more of a,
46:47
I look at it in the context of a sense of community
46:49
of camaraderie of being able to kind of like,
46:52
lift yourself up but also lift others.
46:55
I think when you look at it from a competitive point
46:57
of view, everybody loses.
46:58
Yeah, absolutely. You have been working for many years in
47:02
corporations. Have you ever had to dial down?
47:06
Like, like let's talk about identity.
47:08
Have you ever had to dial down or actually on the contrary
47:11
have you been able to double down on your Latini
47:14
to help just broadly?
47:17
I think on the I think there's a few,
47:22
there's a few things that I have learned throughout,
47:24
throughout my career. Language,
47:26
the language bias is real.
47:27
I think the language bias in the US especially is something that
47:31
holds a lot of people back that may prevent a lot of
47:34
people from growing into other,
47:36
into other roles. So I think to some extent,
47:40
yes, I, I've worked hard to actually minimize my accent
47:44
right. But it's not a bad thing.
47:46
I mean, like I don't look at it necessarily as a
47:48
bad thing. I'm fluent in Spanish.
47:49
I'm fluent in English.
47:52
I can navigate both.
47:53
I mean, like I bring,
47:54
I bring my identity as part of that.
47:56
I bring my identity even with my name,
47:58
I've never changed my name.
48:00
Kiki is my nickname.
48:02
Kiki. If anything has actually served me for people to remember
48:05
me because it's such an easy name that I've actually found that
48:09
it is, it is kind of like a superpower also,
48:12
well people people remember,
48:13
oh they may not remember whatever,
48:17
Maria Alejandra, whatever,
48:18
but they do remember Kiki.
48:20
So that's your name?
48:21
Maria Alejandra? Is,
48:22
is it a secret or can you share your name?
48:25
So I don't usually share it but you don't have to.
48:29
My real name is Janet.
48:31
Janet is my mom's name.
48:33
I I never really like took on the name because to be
48:35
honest with you, like it was my mom's name is my
48:39
name and everybody, everybody at work kind of like knows me
48:42
by that. But I think language kind of like going back
48:45
to that point lang the language bias is real.
48:47
I think I always think about the modern family episode where
48:51
Sophia Vergara basically says,
48:53
do you know how smart I am in Spanish?
48:55
I say that all the time,
48:57
correct? So it is it is something that I fall back
49:02
on every once in a while because in my head,
49:03
I may actually think of a word but I think about it
49:05
in Spanish. So I take the time to pause and it's
49:08
ok to pause and it's ok to basically say,
49:10
like give me a second.
49:13
Well, while I gather my thoughts,
49:15
so that's fine, but spend the time to actually do it
49:21
I do think that is something that we have to overcome.
49:23
The other thing that I believe we have to purposely know and
49:27
once you know, you will pay attention to it is the
49:30
power distance. In Latin America,
49:33
we suffer from a high power distance.
49:35
What is power distance is the ability that you basically have an
49:39
authority, authoritative figure and,
49:41
and the belief that you obviously have to abide by hierarchies.
49:44
We do it because we,
49:46
we have grown up to understand and to,
49:50
and well, when I say it,
49:51
are gonna recognize it.
49:53
We have grown up to actually recognize that we need to respect
49:56
our elders and we respect our grandparents and you don't answer back
50:00
and you don't question what they say.
50:05
there's a level of respect that we have as a culture towards
50:09
you know, more knowledgeable,
50:11
older generations. For example,
50:14
it is the same when you apply it to the workplace,
50:17
many people including people,
50:19
even within my team,
50:21
they will go to their manager before they come to me,
50:24
for example, or they believe that they cannot,
50:27
they cannot actually reach me or that they should not be sending
50:29
me an email directly.
50:31
For example, if their manager is not copied.
50:33
So there is a checkpoint when you think about being efficient,
50:37
or even the US culture,
50:39
it doesn't operate like that.
50:40
I can feel comfortable sending a message to the CEO of mastercard
50:45
and know that he's going to be responding back to me yet
50:48
we in Latin America more often than not do believe,
50:52
but there is still the power distance is higher.
50:54
So you're saying that we should,
50:57
I believe that you should be adjusting to and really trying to
51:00
accommodate to whatever works for the organization,
51:03
to whatever works for you and also for the people.
51:06
But you should be taking risk and you should be actually more
51:09
open, more conscious.
51:10
Am I doing this to check to check myself?
51:15
Because it is my my boss demanding that I actually need to
51:18
check with him before emailing myself.
51:20
Is that something that we need to challenge?
51:22
So if we need to challenge it,
51:25
then then let's make a conscious effort about doing that.
51:28
But I think you will find that that there is support from
51:31
other areas of the or you know,
51:32
from the organization as a whole because it is not the US
51:35
way. So if once you recognize that,
51:38
then how you can play with a different set of rules.
51:41
Don't try Lalita and the Chancla culture.
51:45
no, no. Bring it to the work,
51:47
bring it to the work.
51:48
I would never be able to challenge my Aita.
51:51
I mean, I think that the,
51:52
the issue is that if the culture of the company is that
51:56
of being less hierarchical and you as Latino don't do it.
52:02
People will think that you're less ambitious or less committed or less
52:05
passionate when you should be doing that,
52:07
then you will be overlooked,
52:09
then you will be left behind.
52:10
So we cannot say that we didn't try or that we didn't
52:13
you know, go for that position when others are actually
52:17
doing that and we're holding ourselves back.
52:20
If you work in a flat organization don't work,
52:23
you're a, you like you're a Kiki one of our
52:30
favorite topics and the people on social media love this idea.
52:35
And I think it's because it's really resonating.
52:37
The, the concept is that there are certain values that we
52:41
have and we've touched on many of them.
52:43
And for years, they have been seen as negatives in corporate
52:48
America. We care a lot about our families.
52:50
How can we care about work?
52:52
We are loud. Is that,
52:54
is that like now we're saying we're,
52:55
we're actually passionate or we're,
52:57
we're, we speak with an accent we're bilingual.
53:00
That's good. Are there specific examples that you have on something
53:05
that, that you feel like has been seen as a negative
53:08
and that, that you would like it for companies to see
53:12
I think that you're too passionate is actually can come back as
53:16
I think I, I've actually heard it in a very negative
53:18
way. You're, you're too,
53:20
you're too passionate about a topic or you're too passionate about Latinidad
53:23
I mean, and it's like,
53:25
why is that a bad thing?
53:27
So that the too passionate,
53:28
especially for me is,
53:30
is a challenging one or I would challenge that one because
53:34
passionate means motivated. It means being curious,
53:38
it means committed, it means,
53:40
you know, being able to really drive or want to deliver
53:45
results or drive change or whatever it may be.
53:48
So the two passionate often comes out when you're speaking or it
53:52
can come out as well,
53:53
you're being loud or you're speaking in without taking pauses
53:58
We tend to also speak in a way very,
54:00
very fast, especially when we like something or when we're ner
54:04
but especially when we like something,
54:06
we, we don't tend to tend to take pauses or we
54:10
so they will, I've actually heard the,
54:12
the feedback like, well,
54:13
you're too passionate about that topic and it's like,
54:17
you can't put the word two before passion.
54:20
So I, I do think that that one is one that
54:23
comes with with the Latino culture.
54:26
I think it's we need to,
54:27
I think we need to embrace it to be quite frankly.
54:30
it's a beautiful thing that we are passionate,
54:32
that we're passionate about culture,
54:34
about language, about arts,
54:36
dance, about what food,
54:39
whatever that may be,
54:40
it's, it's who we are.
54:41
So the passion that I always look at it as a positive
54:44
and whenever, whenever,
54:46
whenever I hear that being said or,
54:48
or being told to me,
54:50
yeah, I'll take that as a compliment.
54:51
So for hr people hiring out there,
54:55
we're gonna send you a little cultural nuances of Latinos so that
54:58
you know, when someone appears too passionate,
55:01
you have someone that is gonna be committed that is gonna be
55:04
persistent that is not gonna give up and it's not a ball
55:07
When you listen to someone with an accent,
55:10
we're going to give you the we're going.
55:11
But also if you're a Latina,
55:13
please acknowledge it. You say it.
55:15
You might think I'm very passionate that translates into,
55:19
right? Yes, I think it's a badge of honor.
55:22
The fact that you're passionate means that you care.
55:24
It means that you're going to be the one that actually finished
55:28
whatever was started,
55:29
it means that you're going to be a doer.
55:31
So there's so many things,
55:33
positive things that come with that.
55:35
So don't let it be a negative.
55:36
Exactly. Worried with we,
55:38
we with a badge of honor,
55:41
so now our closing questions,
55:43
if you could give advice to Kiki when she was in her
55:47
thirties, maybe you were a manager,
55:49
senior manager. What would you tell her?
55:51
I will, I will give you one that is probably not
55:56
probably not work related.
55:57
I think the most important decision that you could ever make in
56:00
your life is actually choosing the right partner.
56:02
I think that I will not be able to do what I
56:06
do if it's not for my husband,
56:09
if it's not for him,
56:10
actually taking on a little bit more of the load of the
56:13
household is for him even taking steps back in his own personal
56:17
career growth. And he will never tell you that he's actually
56:20
has actually sacrificed himself or taking any steps back.
56:23
But the idea that you can build a life with somebody that
56:27
you can actually share the values and the objectives of what you
56:31
want in your household and your home to be is so important
56:34
that to me was the most important decision that I ever had
56:37
to make in my life and it has,
56:40
it has worked today.
56:42
And definitely I think it came with some sacrifices for him
56:45
sacrifices for me as well.
56:47
But he's the constant in the home.
56:50
So I think if I had to choose something,
56:53
it could be the difference between you actually having a great life
56:55
or you being miserable.
56:57
just make the right decision for who you're going to be spending
57:05
what advice would she give here to you right now?
57:09
Oh, that's an interesting one.
57:13
I think, I think just have fun,
57:16
just enjoy life. I think we're always on the move.
57:22
We're always kind of like,
57:24
you know, we're always aiming for more.
57:26
We're always kind of like,
57:29
which is great, but we need to have fun along the
57:31
way. We, we need to stop and go on vacation
57:35
and shut off your phone and you know,
57:37
spend time with the kids because everything will be ok.
57:40
Of course, everything will be ok.
57:43
Last, last question.
57:44
Who else should we bring to the podcast?
57:46
Any women you would like to,
57:48
there are some amazing rock stars.
57:53
I would be remiss if I don't say Priscila Mado,
57:55
which I don't know if you guys have actually brought her,
57:57
but she's obviously the only CEO CEO of Fannie Mae,
58:00
only Latina women ceo of a Fortune 500.
58:04
So that's, she's a rock star.
58:08
I think Paula Sande Paula is the CEO of Pepsi of Pepsico
58:13
in Latin America. She's doing amazing work when it comes to
58:17
really trying to drive digitization for the SME for the small business
58:21
She's changing the game in many cases and we have partnerships
58:26
with Pepsi that are really going to be very unique,
58:34
you wouldn't think about it.
58:35
But we are digitizing SME S in Latin America.
58:40
And it's amazing. We're using whatsapp platforms.
58:43
We're, we're using innovations that it's not even seen here in
58:46
the US. So it's really cool.
58:49
and I think a third one,
58:50
Sylvia Mosquini, I love her.
58:53
I love her. She's fantastic.
58:55
She's a rock star in the crypto in the crypto space.
58:58
So obviously, if you want somebody that is thinking about future
59:03
how are Latin Americans thinking about crypto,
59:06
which is much more of a savings tool necessarily always investing.
59:10
It's it's another good reference.
59:13
Kiki Del Valle. You're just fantastic.
59:15
This podcast was amazing.
59:18
I learned so, so much,
59:19
not only about you but also about frameworks that are gonna be
59:22
so useful for so many people.
59:23
I would be remiss if I didn't say that this was priceless
59:30
Well, Kiki, thanks to you and the lessons that you've
59:33
been giving us, hopefully many Latinas can lead and succeed.
Series