00:00
Hola. I'm Claudia Romo Edelman and I'm Cynthia Cleo Milner and
00:05
a La Latina, the playbook to succeed being your authentic self
00:09
the incredible Rita Ferro,
00:10
president of Disney Global Advertising.
00:13
And in this episode,
00:14
you will get three main takeaways.
00:16
Number one negotiation isn't an annual meeting.
00:19
It's an ongoing discussion where you demonstrate the results that you have
00:23
delivered what you want to achieve still and reiterate your commitment to
00:27
your company. Number two,
00:29
marketing and advertising are a perfect fit for Hispanics.
00:32
It is a good blend between creative and business.
00:36
It's fun, interesting and you can make a lot of money
00:39
make sure to use your internship in college to learn what you
00:43
like and what you don't like so that you can make the
00:45
right decision when joining the job market.
00:48
These are more in this episode,
00:51
Latina Cynthia, tell me more about money.
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01:50
An incredible guest, Rita Ferro,
01:52
president of Disney Global Advertising.
01:55
Rita sits on the board of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund,
01:58
the Mobile Marketing Association,
02:00
the Ad Council and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
02:04
Rita is the first Latinx woman and third woman in 35 years
02:08
to receive the prestigious Frank Stanton Award for Excellence in Communication.
02:12
She has been named to Variety Power of Women,
02:15
New York Impact List.
02:16
She was recognized by the Hollywood reporters,
02:19
Women in Entertainment Power 100.
02:21
In addition to being featured on advertising ages women to watch Power
02:26
List, which celebrates the most powerful women in advertising for eight
02:30
consecutive years. Rita has been named one of the most powerful
02:34
and influential Latinos by the I Imagine Foundation and was inducted into
02:38
its Hall of Fame in 2019,
02:41
honoring individuals in the entertainment industry who have dedicated themselves to selling
02:46
in the profession. Wow,
02:47
Rita, you are an incredible Trailblazer.
02:50
Honestly, one of our most admired Latinas for ever.
02:55
Thank you so much for being here with us both for having
02:58
me here. It's such a pleasure.
02:59
It's incredible. Like I,
03:00
I after reading and seeing your bio here to our guests,
03:05
we all want to know how did it happen?
03:08
How is it that you are,
03:11
What brought you to be you?
03:13
I was very lucky to be born into an incredible Cuban American
03:16
family. First generation,
03:18
born and raised in Miami.
03:19
I'm a girl from the 305 and I'm still a girl from
03:21
the 305 and I'm the oldest of four kids.
03:24
So I had siblings who kept me honest and busy and
03:30
always energized by, you know,
03:32
being part of, you know,
03:35
and I think that has served me really well in business
03:37
because I started my career in advertising.
03:39
I don't know that I knew where I wanted to go,
03:41
but I, I found my passion in college and started in
03:44
a business that, you know,
03:46
has fulfilled me in both the creative side and the business side
03:50
I'm a very big fan of,
03:51
if you do what you love every single day,
03:53
it's not work and I've been lucky to get to do that
03:55
for almost 27 years at the Walt Disney Company.
03:58
And that I get to work at a place where I love
04:00
what I do so much every day doesn't feel like work.
04:02
I work on amazing characters and franchises.
04:05
I started my career in ESPN and I worked in Latin America
04:09
and then I came back to our kids and family business in
04:11
the US and eventually took over the advertising business and recently the
04:15
global advertising business. So which is incredible.
04:18
It was fun. But you know what?
04:20
It's fun. And I get to go back to what I
04:22
call home, which is the international business which I love.
04:26
I was in France and Germany last week,
04:28
I'll be heading to Argentina in two weeks,
04:31
I was in India a month ago.
04:34
It's so exciting because it's a business that's in transformation.
04:37
And so I'm constantly learning,
04:39
which is really important.
04:40
I feel like I'm always invested in what's new,
04:42
what's happening, the transformation happening in our business,
04:45
knowing, understanding technology,
04:47
understanding data and how that's gonna influence how we work with brands
04:52
I feel like there's so much to talk about your work and
04:54
your job and, and the trends that you see.
04:56
But I wanna understand the circumstances in which you grew up because
05:00
you said that you found your passion in college and then you
05:03
were probably one of the luckiest people I've met in,
05:06
in the professional context where you found your passion right away.
05:11
I don't know that I found it right away.
05:13
you would know that I graduated 5.5.
05:15
It took me 5.5 years to graduate from my undergraduate degree.
05:19
I was a disaster at school because I tried my best friend
05:23
and I were super social,
05:27
we like to go out and,
05:28
and, and be part of every,
05:29
every club, every meeting,
05:31
every, but we were not great students.
05:34
So I was not a great student in my undergraduate.
05:35
I did graduate with,
05:37
you know, honors in my graduate degree many years later.
05:41
But in my undergraduate degree,
05:42
it took me 5.5 years to find my calling.
05:45
I probably went through every major available and at the end she
05:50
well, you're going to do fashion and I'm going to do
05:52
advertising and we'll figure out what we like and we'll both switch
05:55
and she found her passion and has been have,
05:58
you know, she has a very successful career in fashion and
06:00
I found my passion in advertising.
06:02
You know, whenever we see her mom,
06:03
her mom lives in Puerto Rico and whenever she comes and she
06:06
sees us together, she's like,
06:08
if I would have seen the two of you today and 20
06:11
years ago, you would have told me to place a bet
06:13
on that. This would be what the two of you are
06:15
I would have been broke,
06:16
right? Because we were a disaster.
06:19
And yet we both found our,
06:20
you know, what we loved and when you find what you
06:24
it becomes easy, it becomes easy.
06:26
And I'm not saying you're going to find what you love maybe
06:29
in the first job or in your first.
06:31
But I think, you know,
06:33
when you find that spark that,
06:36
that creates that excitement in you and by the way,
06:39
it's not only what you study because if you don't land in
06:41
the right place, right?
06:42
So you have to try a bunch of different things.
06:44
Internships are important. I tell my daughter who's a,
06:46
you know, she's about to finish her freshman year in Clemson
06:49
You want to do internships,
06:50
not so much for what you love to make sure you know
06:52
what you don't love,
06:53
right? So you don't waste time doing that.
06:55
So it was finding your passion.
06:59
But also probably the,
07:01
the values that you had played a role in like sort of
07:04
like directing you, guiding you and,
07:06
and putting you like,
07:07
what were those? And were they coming from your family?
07:09
Is there anything that you wanna share on that?
07:11
Because I think that we have a lot of to say thank
07:15
for short generations above.
07:17
And also the role we have to be conscious about the role
07:20
that we play as mothers in giving it back to us.
07:24
I worked, I grew up in a family that was very
07:27
hard working. My dad had his own business,
07:29
a food company with my grandfather that they started in Cuba.
07:33
And when they came here they restarted it.
07:34
Conchita Foods. It's a Spanish Vegetables and Fruits company.
07:38
Canned Fruits Company. My brothers run it today and they worked
07:43
probably 12 hours a day.
07:44
So hard work was always something that I knew was going to
07:47
be part of who I was because it's what I grew up
07:50
and I didn't know anything else.
07:51
You know, my dad used to always say you have two
07:54
Spend more time listening than talking unbelievably valuable,
07:59
right in our business where people love to,
08:01
you know, always be talking to listen to what's going on
08:04
It was always a thing of the people around you.
08:09
our team at the office is an extension of our family.
08:12
My team is an extension of me,
08:14
right? I hire the best people and I let them do
08:16
what they want because I saw that in,
08:19
My dad's family was,
08:22
you know, everybody who worked at in the company was part
08:26
you know, they were part of everything we did and So
08:28
that was really, really important.
08:30
And I remember when I started business,
08:34
they were all small business owners.
08:36
I was the first one to go into the corporate world.
08:38
And he used to tell me whenever you get invited into a
08:40
meeting, you have to contribute.
08:42
So make sure you say something in that room.
08:44
So people know why they invited you and why you're there and
08:47
make sure that you have an opinion.
08:48
So be prepared when you walk in and make sure that you
08:51
contribute something in that meeting to make sure that they know who
08:55
you are and that you deserve a seat at that table every
08:57
single time. And that was really important for me,
09:00
you know, I didn't know,
09:01
I, I hadn't seen executives in my house.
09:03
everybody I knew was a small business owner,
09:05
right? All of my aunts and my uncles,
09:06
everybody had their own business that was kind of the world I
09:09
grew up in. And so that was really helpful,
09:12
it was really helpful to get that feedback and also to know
09:16
the importance of like your group is really important to who you
09:20
I haven't said this before in any of the episodes,
09:22
but I, I've thought about it.
09:24
Almost every one of our guests has said that one of their
09:28
keys to success has been working hard,
09:31
I don't know why sometimes Hispanic,
09:34
we, we don't have the reputation that we're really hard working
09:36
You know, like the Mexican siesta.
09:38
We are such hard work.
09:39
Oh my God. I think Latinos we work so hard.
09:41
And at some point in my career,
09:43
I can't remember in which job,
09:45
I was applying for a job and I got an interview
09:48
and they have what they consider a trick question.
09:50
The person would ask you,
09:52
what would you define yourself more as smarter than the average or
09:56
harder working than the average?
09:58
And they thought it was a trick question.
10:00
But to me, I was like,
10:01
obviously harder working, but a lot of people answer smarter than
10:04
the average. And to them that was the sign.
10:07
Anybody that answers smarter than the average is like out the door
10:12
I'd rather have somebody who works really hard and who's dedicated.
10:15
I mean, nothing we do.
10:16
I mean, we're not for insurgents,
10:18
right? We could teach great people anything but you have to
10:22
be a great person and work hard and be there and no
10:24
one cheats the system,
10:26
right? You only get ahead when you work hard,
10:27
you put in the time and,
10:29
and you make it so that it's really,
10:31
you're held accountable for what you contribute.
10:33
Let's assume that we're all hard workers.
10:35
But there's a piece that I've heard again and again from different
10:38
guests on how, listening to your calling and what you're good
10:41
at sometimes we shut it down because we don't think it is
10:44
relevant or is going to be bringing us a prosperous career.
10:48
And I heard a little bit of social party you call it
10:52
disaster. But for me,
10:53
it's listening more to,
10:54
I can picture you in more like gathering and leading people towards
10:59
you know, like an event or doing more of that
11:01
piece. And I don't know how much you recognize that in
11:04
advertising, but there's a piece there that is socially listening and
11:09
then bringing people together to share an idea.
11:12
Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
11:14
And it's funny because I'm an introvert.
11:16
I see this all the time.
11:18
an introvert, but when I'm on,
11:22
And so this is part of the job.
11:23
And so I love what I do and I love that part
11:26
of the job, but I am a complete introvert in my
11:28
social life. My husband,
11:30
I will get home on Friday and he's like,
11:32
And I go nothing today,
11:33
right. Because you need to recharge.
11:35
It's how you recharge,
11:36
I think. But it's really important and it,
11:38
it's interesting you say that because my daughter is much more of
11:41
an extrovert like my husband than I am.
11:44
we were going through this whole,
11:45
she's a freshman, she's finished her freshman year.
11:47
She has to declare a major.
11:50
of course, I want her to study finance or economic,
11:52
you know, I want her to study a thing that you
11:53
could take and do anything with.
11:55
And she's like, but I love what you do and I
11:57
said, I know you love what I do and the perception
12:02
so I want to do marketing.
12:03
I said that's great and you could do whatever you want to
12:05
do. But I want you to pick something that you love
12:08
because you love it.
12:09
Not because you, you think I love what I do.
12:13
And I'm, I'm super happy at it because you,
12:15
she would be an extraordinary marketer because she's fun and creative.
12:20
she's like the one that brings people together too,
12:23
like a lot of similarities when I was younger I see in
12:27
you want someone to be able to find what,
12:30
like I say, you could do every single day that doesn't
12:33
feel like a job because you just love it so much.
12:37
I think this whole perception of like it was so hard to
12:40
figure out how to get ahead in,
12:43
in, in your career and,
12:44
and how do you network and you know,
12:47
the the in the rooms,
12:49
the people who understood the numbers really well,
12:51
the people who went to the right schools always seem to have
12:54
an edge. And so for,
12:56
it's always, you know,
12:57
I want you to be better prepared.
12:58
I want you to have more opportunity.
13:03
as my husband reminded me when she left and I was like
13:05
you know, what do you study exactly what you want
13:07
to study? You want to do marketing,
13:08
great sports management. Great.
13:09
So now she's going to do marketing with a minor in sports
13:12
management. But, you know,
13:16
you know, you have to be prepared.
13:17
but you had a communications degree with a minor in creative writing
13:21
and look where you are,
13:22
right? Like, it doesn't matter what you study,
13:24
it matters what you do with it afterwards.
13:26
And that is really important.
13:27
And I've always been very careful with her because I have the
13:33
job that I have that I never wanted to put a lot
13:35
I was always around.
13:37
I always came back on the weekends,
13:39
I always brought her to every event I could bring her to
13:43
while I missed a lot,
13:44
she got a lot because of the job I had,
13:46
she was able to attend a lot of things that,
13:48
you know, she has to call mom and that's probably why
13:50
she wants your job because she doesn't see,
13:54
she doesn't see the hard work of it all.
13:57
you know, it's something that she always knew she was my
14:01
priority but she always saw that I worked really hard and long
14:04
hours and I traveled a lot and she knows it's not easy
14:08
Right. She's been through the ups and the downs of
14:11
friends of mine losing their job or,
14:13
you know, the industry changing.
14:15
And what does that mean?
14:15
And we moved when she was five from Miami to New York
14:20
So she grew up here,
14:21
right? And so very important that she also understood the importance
14:24
of like family and your cousins.
14:26
And what does that mean?
14:28
your network, first and foremost.
14:30
Yes, you have friends,
14:31
but your cousins are your first friends and you know,
14:33
your cousins are your kind of your nucleus if you will.
14:36
And so we spend a lot of time when she was growing
14:39
up talking about that.
14:40
And now it's like I just want her to do what she
14:43
loves and the beauty is,
14:45
you know, she has many more advantages our kids do than
14:47
we had, which is amazing.
14:49
Exactly. And that's part of what we want to do in
14:52
this podcast is to provide the role models,
14:54
the playbooks and then the network so that our Latinas can do
14:58
it in half the time with all the bruises.
15:00
I wanna go back to one point.
15:02
So you're the highest ranked and the most important Latina in your
15:07
company, Walt Disney.
15:08
You are probably the most important Latina in advertising.
15:11
How did you, you know,
15:13
like if you can look back,
15:15
in the company for 22 years,
15:17
like from student, that was like a disaster student to a
15:20
master degree or something.
15:22
And today tell us a bit more about your career getting into
15:26
corporate. I don't know that I would say that I had
15:29
a road map because I don't think,
15:32
I don't think that when I started almost 27 July 7th of
15:35
97. So imagine it's almost 27 years.
15:38
I don't think that I started and I thought one day I'm
15:40
gonna run advertising in this company.
15:42
You know, I started at ESPN,
15:43
I knew nothing about sports,
15:45
but I knew the Latin America business and,
15:46
and the reason I got into ESPN,
15:48
by the way was because I was having lunch with two friends
15:51
who were going to interview for the head of sales for ESPN
15:53
job. And so after lunch,
15:55
we're going to drive by the airport at the Admirals Club.
15:57
Imagine how long ago that was.
15:59
I was interviewing. So my two guy friends come and he's
16:02
like, ok, you're next.
16:07
what the hell I'm going to go in because at that time
16:08
I worked at MTV and I worked in sales on the fashion
16:12
and sneaker side. And so all of our pitches were against
16:15
ESPN. So I felt like I knew the business but I
16:17
didn't really know sports at all.
16:18
I knew it as a fan but not to the level I
16:20
know it today, he loved that.
16:22
I spoke Spanish. The other two guys,
16:24
you know, they said they spoke Spanish,
16:26
they didn't really speak Spanish.
16:27
I could speak it and write it and,
16:30
in a business where,
16:31
you know, I spoke it all the time and and
16:33
it was such an advantage,
16:35
it's one of the things my daughter speaks fluent Spanish today and
16:38
that was, it's really important that she and I tell
16:42
her all the time that you have that because it's,
16:45
a differentiator in the market today with so much so few people
16:48
who speak multiple languages.
16:50
But I remember I came out of the interview and,
16:52
you know, John mcdonald,
16:53
the, the gentleman at the time says,
16:55
sweetie, you're not going to get the job,
16:56
you're a girl. And I'm like,
16:59
what? I don't know that I wanted the job,
17:01
but I took the job after that.
17:03
you know, they hired me and I immediately moved to your
17:06
two friends were like,
17:07
oh thank you for the ride.
17:08
Like literally I was with them in the car.
17:11
if not, I would have gone back.
17:12
So I talk about being at the right place at the right
17:15
time. But part of it was,
17:17
I'm not going to get the job and I'm a girl.
17:18
Right. I grew up with two brothers.
17:20
I was going to get the job.
17:21
and I did get the job and,
17:24
And immediately after I got the job,
17:26
you know, I made a tremendous impact right away because the
17:28
guy that had the job before lived in New York didn't live
17:31
in Miami didn't know the market.
17:32
So I was able to make an impression right away and then
17:35
travel to Latin America and speak the language.
17:37
They did, the guy who was there before was Cuban American
17:39
But like third generation didn't really speak Spanish.
17:43
And so like the Latin team was like,
17:45
we love her because we can communicate and she understands us.
17:49
a tremendous advantage. And over time,
17:51
I, I eventually Disney was running out,
17:53
you know, converting to an advertising business.
17:55
Eventually, my boss was looking for a head of sales at
17:58
the time, saw me at a restaurant said I heard you
17:59
run advertising at ESPN.
18:01
Do you have someone you can recommend?
18:02
I said I'll call you this afternoon with some names and I
18:04
called my boss and I'm like,
18:05
why are they hiring a team?
18:07
we're the same company.
18:09
And it was the first time that they brought ESPN and Disney
18:12
together internationally to be able to do that.
18:15
And so I took over sales for both Disney and ESPN.
18:18
And so, you know what,
18:19
what's the theme? I always said,
18:20
yes, there was an opportunity.
18:23
Oh, I wanna try that.
18:24
I said yes. And eventually that led to something else.
18:27
Right? Until eventually I got a call from the US.
18:30
Hey, the girl Diegos were going to run Europe,
18:32
the girl who runs the kids and family business in the US
18:34
is going to be his CMO.
18:36
Do you want an interview for this job?
18:37
Sure. Right. And so it just became a series of
18:43
people know who you are because you always say yes and you're
18:45
working on multiple projects,
18:46
not only my stuff but other stuff that wasn't necessarily what I
18:50
would have touched, but eventually led to a different opportunity.
18:54
And then seven years ago,
18:56
they said we're gonna start to integrate these sales organizations.
18:59
And I remember my boss,
19:01
my old boss from ESPN Ear who ran ESPN said they're going
19:04
to come talk to you and he said it to me at
19:07
an event and it made me so nervous that I was like
19:11
I ran, I ran upstairs,
19:12
I left the event and I ran upstairs and it made me
19:15
nervous because I was like,
19:16
what does that even mean?
19:17
I it was not even on my radar that I could eventually
19:21
you know, run an integrated organization.
19:24
it was a much smaller organization on the line.
19:25
I went today, it was only around ABC and the cable
19:27
networks and the kids business.
19:30
And he knew he was going to retire and he knew that
19:31
business was going to get folded in too.
19:33
Right. And so he was very supportive and I remember saying
19:36
to him, which was a very important moment for me.
19:39
And I've said it to many other executives who have been moved
19:42
up in the company because I said,
19:43
well, why do they want me?
19:45
I don't know anybody.
19:47
but I ran a very small business compared to my peers.
19:50
And he's like, it doesn't matter that they don't know you
19:52
because they're going to want to know you when you run that
19:54
business and you're going to do an amazing job at it because
19:57
you have the skills to be able to do it like no
19:59
one else does. And so that was incredible for me because
20:04
you don't always have to be perfectly fit and check all the
20:08
boxes. But when you have,
20:11
when you work hard and you have the experience of what they're
20:13
looking to do and you've done it successfully and I,
20:16
you know, I had integrated teams over and over.
20:19
You can do the next job and what made you successful doing
20:22
that doesn't mean you're successful in the next job.
20:24
But all those things that you put in your head,
20:27
right? Why would they give me the job.
20:29
I don't know anyone.
20:30
Right. I didn't know the big power players in the market
20:32
and he very confidently,
20:34
like in two seconds said,
20:35
you don't need to know them.
20:36
They're all gonna want to know you.
20:37
It does sound like you had a lot of sponsors,
20:39
like throughout your career that you did a good job.
20:42
And then a lot of them are my bosses.
20:44
A lot of them are my bosses who would say we're going
20:47
to do this. And I'm like,
20:48
you're crazy. We're going to do it and it's going to
20:51
be great and it feels like you're dangling off the ledge,
20:54
but he's holding you by the back of your shirt.
20:56
So you're not going to fall but you're dangling and who knows
20:59
what's going to happen.
20:59
By the way, when it was successful,
21:02
And when it didn't work,
21:03
it was 100% his fault.
21:04
He always took the blame for it.
21:06
And so having bosses like that who really like block and tackle
21:10
for you, but also push you to test your boundaries.
21:14
That's super important. The job isn't about the job you have
21:17
It's about the person you work for,
21:19
right? And so I always strive to be the boss that
21:21
people feel like, hey,
21:23
she helped me be my better self.
21:25
She helped me get a different job.
21:27
She pushed me to do something else.
21:29
There's someone on my team right now who's being considered for a
21:32
role in the company.
21:33
And I called her and I said you have to do this
21:36
but I'm not going to get to work for you.
21:37
No. No. But you get to work with me.
21:38
That's even better. Right.
21:40
You don't work for me right now.
21:41
You work for someone on my team and this job is going
21:44
to be a job that is my peer.
21:46
You should do this job.
21:47
You could do this job.
21:50
It's called twice over the weekend.
21:52
I don't, I said go to the interview,
21:55
you're going to see,
21:56
you're gonna be able to understand the job,
21:59
understand why you're, you're being considered and know that I am
22:03
1000% supporting you to do that job.
22:06
And so can I just like pause here because I think that
22:08
there's bit of reputation that I have heard from Latinas about
22:13
having a Latina boss.
22:15
That is not necessarily,
22:16
that is probably like not a good combo,
22:18
at least traditionally because we have had the scarcity mentality.
22:23
And so we want to be the only Latinas in the room
22:25
We feel that we're scared.
22:27
So we don't support each other and we don't support particularly like
22:30
another Latina. And I would like to women,
22:33
not women in general.
22:34
Yeah. Yeah, women in general.
22:35
But a lot of Latinas have told me that that is an
22:39
issue or that was an issue.
22:40
I haven't heard that in a long time and the community has
22:43
changed so much in the last five years.
22:45
We're by far more proud,
22:46
far more unified, we understand our power.
22:49
So we're by far more awake and you know,
22:51
like ready. So maybe things have changed,
22:53
but how to become a great boss,
22:56
Latina boss for Latina talent.
22:59
Well, listen, I need to do a better job at
23:02
it. Clearly, I wish I had more senior senior Latina
23:06
talent in my organization.
23:08
I spend a lot of time sponsoring kids.
23:10
Obviously, the reason I got involved with HSF is I have
23:12
a tremendous passion for having the right pipeline of incredible talent coming
23:17
into. And by the way,
23:19
we have incredible talent coming into these industries.
23:22
These kids are so damn impressive.
23:24
I remember we used to sit on board meetings and COVID where
23:27
you would do them from your house.
23:29
And so there was a tremendous benefit to that because you could
23:31
actually spend more time through all of the different industry like workshops
23:38
And I remember I told my daughter I need you to sit
23:40
here and I need you to hear what is going on because
23:45
these kids have unbelievable talent unlike her,
23:49
don't have the privilege of the financial resources to be able to
23:54
and yet the drive the passion,
23:59
yes, the grit that these kids have and the empathy and
24:05
the optimism, which is unbelievable given their background is so inspiring
24:12
that's where I spend a lot of time is really like the
24:15
kids that come out of that who are part of our organization
24:18
because I think there's,
24:19
there's a lack of talent,
24:21
candidly, none of my senior leaders are Latino,
24:24
none of them. Not because I don't want them to be
24:26
but just because there hasn't been that pool of talent and
24:29
yet there is a tremendous amount of Latino talent in the organization
24:33
And I spend a lot of time mentoring them.
24:35
a Latina who was on my team who actually wanted to pivot
24:38
and go to hr we sponsored her,
24:40
we actually paid for her role to spend time in a different
24:44
organization. And eventually she showed her value,
24:46
merit whatever and they created a position for her.
24:50
But that's important,
24:51
right? When you can do those things to really elevate Latino
24:54
talent, both men and women by the way,
24:55
because I don't see it in either men or women pervasively in
24:59
especially in the marketing industry.
25:02
I wish there was more talent,
25:03
but there's a tremendous pipeline of talent coming through right now that
25:06
you can see and the inspiration around that.
25:09
And also that marketing is a great career because I think a
25:12
lot of them because they come from these backgrounds and they support
25:14
their family and they're gonna get out of college and they have
25:17
to pay back loans and help,
25:18
you know, their families don't think of marketing as a career
25:22
where you can actually be successful and prosperous and,
25:25
and, and make a lot of money like you do in
25:26
finance or whatever. And yet again,
25:29
is that because it's a passion or is that because financially that's
25:32
the decision they're making to take that career.
25:35
And so I'm, I'm here to tell you,
25:37
like, when you find something that you love,
25:38
you will be successful and,
25:39
and be successful financially and,
25:41
and everything else because you love it.
25:43
And so I, I think that's really,
25:45
really important because that,
25:46
that gets lost in the opportunities that they can choose to have
25:50
One of the reasons why we wanted to create this forum
25:54
with this specific like playbook in mind is that there is that
25:59
the, the pyramid or the,
26:00
the pipeline looks like there's a lot of Latinas at the bottom
26:04
and then like, there's really very few that get promoted to
26:08
that first managerial role.
26:09
And in part, we hear that it is because they don't
26:12
go for it. Sometimes Latinas are closing doors that they maybe
26:16
should be closing 1015 years later.
26:18
What if, what if I become successful and I can't
26:20
have a family or what if this career actually works out
26:24
But I can't make enough money?
26:25
Like so, so we think that that first managerial role is
26:28
promotion is an important one.
26:30
But we also heard that you are very passionate about teaching or
26:35
talking about how people should know their worth and negotiate what they
26:39
think they deserve. So,
26:41
can you tell our audience,
26:43
like, actually people,
26:44
women that are in that 1st,
26:46
2nd job that want to get promoted,
26:48
how to have a conversation,
26:49
how to get what they think they're worth.
26:52
You know, it's funny we do talk a lot about that
26:55
Right. Because I think as a Latina,
26:56
you tend to be very thoughtful and I will have,
27:01
you know, I run a sales organization.
27:03
We would kill to get the right deal done for the company
27:06
because that's what our job is,
27:08
right? And so we're very thoughtful,
27:09
super prepared. We go in with all of the insights,
27:14
information and the right opportunities to get deals done for the company
27:18
And yet when you go in to negotiate for yourself,
27:20
and I was, by the way,
27:22
probably one of the most egregious violators of that in my role
27:25
where I negotiate on behalf of the company every day of negotiating
27:28
for yourself. And I think it's culturally,
27:30
you know, the way we grow up,
27:32
right? Which is be respectful.
27:33
Don't question the right.
27:38
You're lucky to have the job.
27:39
No, no, they're lucky to have you.
27:41
You know, like I tell my daughter every day that she
27:43
said something to me the other day about,
27:45
I'm lucky. Whatever I go daddy,
27:47
they're lucky to have you.
27:50
contributing to that room,
27:51
you're giving them all kinds of ideas and,
27:54
you know, they're lucky to have you doing it as a
27:56
volunteer. Like that's your time.
27:59
By the way, your time is worth money and,
28:00
and value and we just have to shift that mindset.
28:05
It's really, really hard.
28:07
but I think that conversation starts with,
28:10
here's all the things that I'm super excited that we delivered on
28:14
here are the things that I'm excited to deliver on.
28:17
I love your feedback on.
28:18
Do you agree? These are valuable and why,
28:22
And then what does that mean in terms of my opportunity in
28:25
terms of where I'm going?
28:26
Financial conversations are the hardest to have,
28:28
by the way, they're hard for the boss sitting on the
28:31
other side, 95% of the time because you don't really control
28:34
100% of what's going to be put for us and in terms
28:37
of pay. But I also want to know that if I'm
28:41
going to go and fight for you that you believe that you're
28:45
going to be able to deliver that,
28:46
you believe that you're aligned with what the roles and responsibilities are
28:50
for the organization and that you want to be here,
28:53
right? Because there is also this notion,
28:55
especially in the younger teams coming in right now that,
28:58
you know, I'm gonna be here until I get to my
29:00
next thing. And so I wanna fight to have the best
29:03
people on our team and I fight to have the best people
29:05
on our team all the time.
29:06
And I fight for anyone on my team will tell you if
29:09
if there's something I do is I make sure that we
29:11
every dollar that we can get for these guys,
29:14
And so no matter what,
29:16
when we're, you know,
29:17
and, and the end of the year when we had to
29:19
figure out the bonuses and commission,
29:21
you know, things every credit that we can get every,
29:24
this wasn't the team's fault because,
29:26
you know, the marketplace change or what I fight for that
29:29
as if it was my paycheck,
29:30
right? And it's not,
29:31
but it is my paycheck,
29:32
right? Because that's my team.
29:33
And so they need to feel that they contributed,
29:36
they need to know that they mattered,
29:38
they need to know how they mattered.
29:40
And one of the ways,
29:41
one of the most important ways is that they feel like,
29:43
hey, the company took care of me.
29:45
And so it's really important that you have those ongoing conversations all
29:49
the time with your teams and that you're having like the worst
29:52
thing that you could do is walk in once a year and
29:54
say, here's what I did and here's what I deserve.
29:57
That should be an ongoing conversation.
29:59
So that by the time you walk in with your boss or
30:02
your leader or your hr partner,
30:04
you've had an ongoing dialogue that has laid out for many,
30:08
many months at a time,
30:10
why you deserve how you should get paid and what matters to
30:13
you. Because by the way,
30:14
compensation for different people means different things,
30:17
right? We're in the process right now and of looking at
30:20
compensation, we've lost a lot of people to these tech companies
30:22
because they pay a lot in stock.
30:23
So is that something that matters more to the teams?
30:25
How should we be thinking about compensation?
30:27
But if you don't raise it,
30:29
it's no one's going to raise it with you,
30:31
right? So you have to raise it and it's very uncomfortable
30:36
but it's equally uncomfortable for the person on the other side
30:38
of the table. And if it's not anchored in a one
30:40
time a year discussion about a transaction,
30:43
but it's over. Here's my value,
30:45
here's how I've contributed it aligns with the company's goals,
30:49
then it's a lot easier to have that conversation.
30:51
And I think that you can negotiate a La Latina which is
30:56
using your superpower translated into what you just said is like
31:00
companies want to hear commitment,
31:02
loyalty. I wanna hear that you're here that I'm gonna,
31:06
I wanna hear that you care.
31:07
I wanna hear that you will deliver.
31:08
So all of those things are exactly the least that you gave
31:12
for Latinos. We're optimistic,
31:14
we have greed, we have passion that could be flipped the
31:17
script towards commitment and,
31:21
Right. And we are loyal,
31:22
by the way, that's the other piece is that,
31:24
you know, Latinos tend to be very loyal.
31:27
And do you know how loyal do you know?
31:30
Well, listen, I've been here 27 years,
31:32
I'm very loyal. 41 to 45 months longer in our first
31:36
job than the rest of the population in your first job.
31:39
Is that true? That's,
31:42
that's amazing. I believe it.
31:44
I think having most of my best friends are Latina from all
31:49
my life and most of them have been in their roles in
31:52
their companies, not in their roles,
31:54
but in their companies for a long time.
31:56
Because I think that that is what was established,
31:58
right? Like if somebody is good to you,
32:00
you're good to them.
32:00
Exactly. So negotiate La Latina using your superpowers and what is
32:06
true to us. But at the same time,
32:08
understand what is the company needing?
32:10
What do we need to do?
32:11
I wanna go back to you.
32:12
But before stay in our,
32:14
our common lane, which is marketing,
32:17
advertising and the industry,
32:19
I think it is such unnatural for Latinos,
32:23
particularly for Latinas to be in the industry.
32:26
And yet I do think that there is a misconception or not
32:30
understanding of how much it can be a career of,
32:34
of, of a really successful career that brings a lot of
32:37
funding and money. I don't know enough about the scholarships
32:42
the internships, the publicity,
32:45
the campaigns that we're doing to bring more Latino to the,
32:48
Latinos and Latinas to the to the industry.
32:51
I'd like to see more and more on that and run maybe
32:53
campaigns the way that I see the tech companies tackling Latinos saying
32:57
like you wanna buy a house for you,
32:58
Aita come and be an analyst and,
33:00
and doing a little bit more of that.
33:03
you know, when you see the tech companies doing it,
33:05
we had a, a meeting a couple of years ago and
33:08
there was a bunch of educators in the room from these schools
33:11
that are not necessarily,
33:13
you know, the schools that most companies recruit at,
33:15
but they're very big with diverse talent,
33:17
right? You also have to,
33:19
I say it all the time,
33:20
Harvard and Stanford and whatever are great,
33:22
but most Latinos are not in those programs.
33:25
They're in state schools because that's where they can afford to go
33:27
I went to a state school too.
33:29
And you know, the notion of where you're recruiting is really
33:33
important. But when you come out the other side,
33:35
one of the things that we heard from all the educators in
33:37
the room is the reason they're going to these tech companies is
33:40
because they've set up a an opportunity when these kids come in
33:44
that they pay for room and board or they reimburse some of
33:47
your schooling after you've been there a certain amount of time.
33:50
And that's really important for these kids who didn't have a lot
33:52
of money and have a lot of college loans and want to
33:55
be able to work in New York City,
33:57
but can't afford to work in New York City unless there's a
33:59
an opportunity that the company that they're working for is helping
34:03
And it was really important to say that in the room because
34:05
I think companies are like,
34:07
we are Coke mcdonald's,
34:10
you know, the Walt Disney company,
34:11
any, any major brands.
34:14
Of course, people want to work here and yes,
34:16
I think they want to work here.
34:17
But when you make it easy for them,
34:18
like these tech companies do of like,
34:20
hey, we're gonna reimburse your schooling after you've been here three
34:23
years and we're going to subsidize your housing and we're going to
34:27
do all of these things that makes a huge difference in terms
34:30
of where you can potentially make a decision to go.
34:33
And the optics of again,
34:34
like I said, those finance degrees where,
34:36
you know, the money is so significant and by the way
34:40
they're in an internship,
34:42
their junior to senior year and they get an offer.
34:43
So they know when they graduate,
34:45
they've got an offer,
34:45
we haven't gotten that good on the marketing side across companies to
34:49
say you finished your junior year,
34:52
you're coming to do an internship here and hey,
34:54
we're going to make an offer so that you have a job
34:56
starting when you graduate.
34:58
Can you tell a message to our younger Latina audience and just
35:01
say, why do you think they should come to the advertising
35:04
like we're creative, social hard workers,
35:07
all of that. So what would you say?
35:10
listen, you, you're gonna have a great time.
35:13
You're gonna learn, you're gonna be able to work across multiple
35:17
businesses every day. My job is different.
35:19
Yes, I work for the Walt Disney Company,
35:20
but I work for the pharmaceutical industry,
35:22
the automotive industry, the fast food industry,
35:25
the retail business every day,
35:26
it's different. And so I love that I get to learn
35:29
multiple industries. I get to work with partners who are best
35:32
in class and world class marketers on how to make their business
35:36
better. And I get to work on the most incredible storytelling
35:39
brands in the world.
35:40
So creative side, which is always fun and the business side
35:44
So you have to use your business A and the world
35:46
is transforming into A I and machine learning and data and technology
35:51
which is enabling that we're at an incredible intersection in our
35:55
industry right now of all of these advancements that are new and
35:59
are going to speed and feed that system in a way we've
36:02
never seen before. And so if you wanna come into a
36:05
dynamic different business. It's fast moving and engaging.
36:09
This is awesome. So,
36:10
you're talking about A I and about changes in the industry
36:14
And I've been curious,
36:15
I'm, I'm the CMO of a company that targets Hispanics,
36:19
but we also target everyone in America.
36:22
And in my marketing career,
36:24
I've always struggled to spend money on the Hispanic market because you're
36:29
always thinking, I first have to maximize my budget with everyone
36:33
else. How do I then carve out a little bit of
36:35
money for different segments of the population and now with a I
36:39
I think it's a totally different,
36:41
right? Like, because you can personalize,
36:42
like it really goes from being mass market to segmented marketing to
36:45
person, like fully personalized marketing.
36:47
What are you seeing from your like CMO S that you
36:51
work with in terms of targeting Hispanics?
36:54
How are they using technology and how are they using creativity to
36:57
be better at talking to us?
36:59
Well, I think you're absolutely right.
37:01
A I is gonna transform it,
37:02
right? You're, you're going from a world,
37:03
especially in video. We spend a lot of time talking about
37:05
this even internally, which is you're going from a world of
37:09
When you think of advertising on TV,
37:11
to a world of 1 to 1 and so 1 to 1
37:14
means you're going to have the opportunity to change the creative that
37:17
sits in front of that,
37:18
that person in real time,
37:20
you're gonna be able to understand exactly who sits on the other
37:24
You're gonna be able to do sequential targeting,
37:25
right? When they show up the first time,
37:26
here's the message, but when they show up the second time
37:28
here's the message and sequentially target them,
37:31
that's all enabled by technology and data and A I.
37:35
And so the restrictions that you had before because I didn't have
37:40
now you're gonna have so much system process optimization through A I
37:44
that you'll be able to have more dynamic create,
37:46
right? You'll create 20 different pieces.
37:48
And depending on who shows up on the other side of the
37:50
screen, you'll be able to dynamically and in real time,
37:53
have a commercial that comes together and gives that commercial message to
37:57
the person. So it it is going to transform people,
37:59
think about the audiences they serve who's spending money.
38:04
the massive growth of the Hispanic population in the market,
38:07
you're not going to be able to not think about.
38:10
Even if it doesn't change what you market,
38:12
it will change how you market only because the consumers and the
38:17
taste and how they what will motivate them to click to buy
38:22
will change. And the notion of everything moving to a much
38:26
more personalized in real time,
38:28
one or two click environment,
38:30
which is what's going to happen is happening as we speak,
38:34
is going to inform a lot of that and So that's going
38:36
to be true for not only Latinos but for every segment of
38:41
the population, every region of the country,
38:44
how you think of different screens,
38:46
how you think of different screens interacting,
38:48
right? So you're watching a commercial,
38:49
but what's the opportunity to click to buy here?
38:52
And so it is transforming how we think of everything that we're
38:56
doing from a content and storytelling perspective.
38:58
And what does that mean in terms of how you talk to
39:00
a customer? in terms of how do you best partner
39:04
with them? That's why it's so exciting to me in this
39:05
business right now, right?
39:06
Because everything, the rule book is out the door and everything
39:10
is changing and it's just a matter of how quickly can we
39:14
adopt change and embrace all of the opportunity that all of that
39:17
is gonna create for us.
39:18
And are you getting from marketers from companies,
39:22
your sponsors, your advertisers,
39:24
more demands to talk to Latinos,
39:26
content creation and more on that?
39:29
And are you, are you satisfied or would you like more
39:33
Listen, I always want more being a Latina,
39:36
of course, but we have a couple of years ago,
39:39
we actually started as part of our upfront making a request to
39:44
marketers in the room to say we want to make sure that
39:47
when you're planning your upfront budgets,
39:48
there is a specific budget to target multicultural audiences across our portfolio
39:54
and every year and we put up a number $100 million the
39:57
first year and they doubled it.
39:59
And the next year I said,
39:59
well, you doubled it.
40:00
So I'm gonna ask you to double it again.
40:02
And so we get on stage every year and we make this
40:04
request because we know we know that marketers are thinking about it
40:09
most of them are thinking about it from the black consumer experience
40:13
But I think what it has evolved now.
40:16
And so we're going back to a much more again because of
40:20
what's going on and how consumers market and how the ability to
40:25
There's a bigger, you know,
40:26
conversation around women, there's a bigger conversation around Latinos.
40:30
There's a bigger conversation about LGBT UI.
40:32
I mean, I think this weekend,
40:34
you know, we had the March Madness final four and we
40:38
had the women's package,
40:39
right? The CBS and Turner had the men's.
40:42
I would dare say there is nothing more exciting right now going
40:45
on in sports in the women's March Madness tournament,
40:47
right? And it's women's,
40:49
the names in the women's tournament are much more household names than
40:52
even in the men's tournament.
40:54
And that was a deliberate investment that we as a company started
40:57
to make 20 years ago when we partnered with the NBA to
41:01
And we have increasingly invested in sports in prime time windows for
41:05
women to make sure that we had the rights available so that
41:08
people could watch incredible athletes who are just as good as any
41:13
of their male counterparts.
41:15
That's a deliberate intentional outcome of what the investments we've made over
41:19
years until when brands get behind a marketplace,
41:22
a Latino marketplace, they will make that much more intentional investment
41:27
and it will come through in terms of the opportunities we're able
41:30
to create. I think we're a long ways to go still
41:33
though in terms of content and storytelling that is Latino anchored,
41:39
but resonates with broader audiences.
41:40
I think you've seen that with Black Anchored storytelling in many shows
41:45
you haven't seen that massive hit,
41:47
I would say yet in the same way from the Latino audience
41:50
And I think that's going to be transformational in terms of
41:53
how people just, you know,
41:55
it, it all of a sudden you see that click and
41:57
all of a sudden everything starts to really move fast.
41:59
We haven't gotten there yet.
42:01
I mean, Disney has created some,
42:03
oh for sure, products that have for sure gotten there but
42:08
it's not like there's always,
42:09
we don't have like a playbook already,
42:11
that's proven and it's happening.
42:12
Exactly. And across the marketplace,
42:15
right? So that you see it and no matter what you
42:17
tune into what platform,
42:18
what channel, what podcast,
42:20
what anything that is,
42:21
if you had a magic ball and look at the future,
42:24
would you say it's going to happen or do you think it's
42:27
you can see that it's starting to happen.
42:29
You're starting to see now a lot more talent coming through and
42:32
you're recognizing the names and you're recognizing who they are.
42:35
And Evan Longoria is much more,
42:38
you know, people buy into Evan Longoria,
42:40
not because she's Latina,
42:41
but because she's an incredible producer and storyteller and you're going to
42:45
have multiples of that coming through now and you're starting to see
42:49
more momentum in that space.
42:50
And I hope that the disruptor in you,
42:52
the pioneering, you can lead the way because I like you
42:56
believe that there will be a moment.
42:57
It will be like turning on the lights where we've been putting
43:00
the, if there would be a Christmas tree,
43:02
we've been putting like lights for a long time,
43:05
someone's gonna turn and go and we're gonna see that Latino that
43:10
wants to see Latino content that wants to see himself or herself
43:13
reflected on the screen.
43:15
So I hope that with your magic and your again disruptor innovative
43:20
skill set and leadership,
43:21
we can, we can celebrate that moment.
43:24
Rita, I think I know the answer,
43:26
but I'm gonna still ask the question.
43:28
Did you ever have to dial down being Latina?
43:31
I feel like you're very authentic.
43:32
But did you ever find yourself in situations as you were climbing
43:36
the ladder or working your way up where you try to blend
43:42
That's what I thought.
43:43
You know, although I will tell you,
43:45
I had a moment I was,
43:47
and Tori knows this when we were in a podcast.
43:49
Actually, it was a Zoom.
43:50
Maybe it wasn't a podcast.
43:51
It was a Zoom during COVID where it was me.
43:54
a lady who ran a very important advertising agency.
43:58
And they asked her the question and she said,
44:00
you know, I walked into,
44:01
I became the president of this agency.
44:03
I walked into a room and I looked around,
44:05
she's like, and I sat down and I said,
44:08
wow, what did I do to get here?
44:10
And it was a moment where she's like,
44:12
did she had to think about,
44:14
did she suppress who she was or how she acted or how
44:18
how authentic she was to be part of that room?
44:23
And I've never had that luckily,
44:25
thank God, I've never had that.
44:27
But I think it was because,
44:29
you know, I was always very,
44:31
I just, I loved what I did.
44:33
I don't, it's hard to describe.
44:35
I think it's so important to find what you love because when
44:38
you find it in a place that embraces who you are.
44:41
And, and I was very lucky to work for bosses who
44:43
were incredible and allowed me to do.
44:46
I remember when we started,
44:47
she's like, you know,
44:48
in case you say the wrong thing,
44:49
I always say the wrong thing that's part of who I am
44:53
But I think I say it with such genuine,
44:55
you know, sincerity and that I think people accept,
45:00
I'm very direct. People know I always have the best intentions
45:04
I always say the right things in terms of wanting to motivate
45:07
people. And so it always comes from a place of that
45:11
and I think when you do that,
45:12
you can't really make a mistake,
45:14
you know, does it rub people sometimes the wrong way?
45:17
Like, oh, you're confident.
45:18
Oh, you're not scared.
45:19
Oh, I think mostly it's women candidly.
45:23
It's mostly I've never felt that from a male boss.
45:27
I've early on in my career,
45:29
I had a woman boss and I talk a lot about it
45:31
because she taught me she was one of the smartest people I've
45:35
ever met to this day.
45:36
One of the smartest people I've ever,
45:37
she was young, but she was super smart,
45:40
super prepared, whatever,
45:41
but she was vicious,
45:43
vicious, not only to women by the way to,
45:45
to everybody because she was like,
45:47
I got here and I had to go through whatever.
45:50
And so I'm not going to make it easy for any of
45:51
you. And so what I realized from her is wow,
45:55
you have to be super prepared,
45:56
super ready to go whatever.
45:58
And I never want to be that person.
45:59
Then I came to work for someone at ESPN who was an
46:02
incredible boss could not do the job to save his life,
46:06
but an incredible human.
46:09
And so I've been lucky in that I took being prepared from
46:11
her and being super aggressive and,
46:14
and you know, not being ashamed to be aggressive,
46:16
right? Not being scared to be publicly ambitious if you will
46:21
And from him that how you make people feel matters more
46:24
than anything as a boss.
46:26
And so little by little,
46:27
you take the best of the things that you've learned and you
46:30
bring them into who you become as a leader.
46:33
I was very lucky that I've,
46:34
I've had been able to create that,
46:36
you know, tapestry if you will of,
46:39
of experiences that allowed me to become who I was.
46:42
But no, I've never dialed it down.
46:45
What about the other way around?
46:46
Like maybe you don't have have expressed that in this way
46:50
But what are the things that come from your Latinidad that
46:54
become your superpowers that have helped you and propelled you in your
46:57
country? Well, I think optimism for sure.
47:00
You know, I think always looking from a place of opportunity
47:03
and possibility and not from what are all the things that could
47:06
go wrong. I never think of like when they're like,
47:09
Ok. Well, how are we going to get there?
47:10
And they're like, oh,
47:11
it's gonna be impossible.
47:13
You can always get there.
47:14
It may not be the linear path that everybody thinks you're going
47:16
to get there, but you can always get there.
47:18
So optimism is, is very important,
47:20
working harder I use,
47:21
I mean, there's no question,
47:22
I worked harder than everyone around me and that always came through
47:27
really important. But I also think,
47:28
you know, the fact that,
47:30
you know, we do everything as a group,
47:31
right? Like I never,
47:32
I never did anything by myself.
47:34
It was always me and my cousins and my siblings and my
47:37
parents and the grandparents.
47:39
You know, you even went to have an operation in the
47:41
hospital and it was like the entire waiting room was your family
47:43
right? And it was like 50 people and so embarrassing
47:46
sometimes. But it was like,
47:47
I look back now and I'm like,
47:48
I love it, but it was so embarrassing at the time
47:51
that was so great and that translated into your,
47:54
into your corporations around me matter.
47:58
But it's also that I want the best people around me and
48:02
I don't care who wins because we all win when they win
48:05
right? And so that's really,
48:07
really important having the best people around you who are smarter than
48:10
you and make you better than you and who can't celebrate with
48:14
you when you win and who like are in it with you
48:16
and we're not winning and not blaming,
48:18
right? But in it with you,
48:20
that's really, really important.
48:21
There are cultural nuances.
48:23
That Latinos have, we've been talking about them,
48:25
but sometimes they are not understood as an asset in corporations.
48:29
So if you're a social there,
48:30
it's like, considered as a negative as opposed to.
48:34
like building teams or being too loud or being this?
48:38
Are those that you can see with your experience incorporating America that
48:42
should be flipped? So that Latinas feel like?
48:45
Oh, wow. Having an accent doesn't mean that I'm less
48:47
intelligent. It means that I'm bilingual.
48:49
So I'm gonna take it as a positive.
48:51
What do you think could be in your mind?
48:53
One or two things that within corporations could be flipped?
48:57
Well, it's funny that you say that because I was talking
48:59
to one of the girls that I met her,
49:01
a graduate from HSF who's a Stanford graduate.
49:03
She's brilliant, so smart.
49:07
I was called by Fidel who said,
49:10
you know, I have this girl,
49:11
she works there, you should meet with her.
49:13
And I remember I met with her the first time and I
49:15
was so impressed from her story.
49:17
Her story was basically,
49:20
her parents came, you know,
49:22
they were illegal, not educated.
49:25
She's, she's a twin,
49:27
she went to high school.
49:28
They were a disaster.
49:29
I don't even know if they graduated.
49:30
She was brilliant and she had a guy who had received a
49:33
scholarship before her and said you should apply to this.
49:36
You're so smart, you could get these scholarships.
49:38
And she eventually, she applied through the process.
49:40
Eventually got in, she got into the University of Chicago for
49:42
undergrad, 100% paid.
49:44
She came to with her parents and she came to,
49:46
to show them the letter,
49:47
they run a little Candi in a building,
49:49
a law office firm in the lobby.
49:52
look, I got this thing,
49:53
I want to go and they're like school.
49:55
No, you're going to work here like that was there.
49:58
And the lawyer, one of the lawyers,
50:00
she's like, she calls him,
50:01
the white guy from upstairs came around that around the banister and
50:06
hugged them. And he's like,
50:07
this is so great for your family.
50:09
This is going to change their life and,
50:12
and they're like, oh,
50:13
well, if the white guy says it,
50:14
so it must be so he's like,
50:15
I'm going to pay for you guys to go and see the
50:17
school. And so he paid and he sent them and eventually
50:20
she went there and she talks about,
50:21
she told me the first her story is I get chills talking
50:24
about it because it's like I remember her.
50:28
Yeah, her story and she's like,
50:29
I was miserable. And I called my mom and she said
50:32
well, you're the one that wanted to go to school
50:34
You can come back here and work here.
50:35
We don't care. They just,
50:36
they still didn't believe.
50:37
And so she's like I went to a women's financial seminar that
50:40
weekend and she met this woman who was very inspirational for her
50:45
and has really mentored her.
50:46
And the woman told her you got to stay in school and
50:48
I'm going to help you and come get internships in New York
50:51
And she did and she worked in finance in New York
50:54
and made a, an incredible career there.
50:56
And eventually the woman got her to work in,
50:58
in a company in Spain.
51:00
She had applied to business school in Stanford full scholarship and she
51:04
deferred it for a year so she could go work in Spain
51:06
But she eventually had to go to Stanford to,
51:08
So she did. And she's like,
51:10
my dream was always to work at Disney.
51:12
she makes a third of what she used to make in finance
51:15
working here with a master's degree from Stanford.
51:17
But this is her passion and she loves it.
51:20
she and I talk about it all the time.
51:21
I'm like, you will eventually do what you want to do
51:25
here because you love it so much and somebody who's willing to
51:28
sacrifice. And by the way,
51:29
her family who she bought a house for and they live in
51:31
the house and, and she bought cars for and everything gives
51:34
her a hard time because she's making a third of what she
51:37
used to make all to say that.
51:41
And so she came to me last week and she said,
51:43
you know, I have to talk to you because I just
51:45
had a conversation with my boss and he's saying I need to
51:48
stop being so ambitious and stop being so comfortable with the head
51:53
of her department and her are very close and she now goes
51:56
a lot and she travels internationally.
52:00
you have to stop being so comfortable with people.
52:03
And I go, are you kidding me?
52:05
I said being comfortable with people.
52:07
That's what you want.
52:08
I said you want to be able to have,
52:09
regardless of who walks in the room have the same conversation,
52:13
right? Because they're both working hard for this company.
52:15
They're both dedicated to service in this company title does not dictate
52:21
Don't speak like that's his insecurity.
52:22
Don't let that rub off on you,
52:24
right? And so the notion of like that you're forward or
52:28
that you're direct or that you volunteer ideas and that you're not
52:31
able to talk about those ideas in a way that is,
52:35
you know, leading to a place of bigger opportunity for everyone
52:41
But she like it killed me that she experienced that.
52:44
And I remember one of my coworkers came in and I go
52:47
can you believe it's like you're getting so angry?
52:49
And I go, I'm so pissed,
52:51
I'm so pissed that her boss would tell her that don't be
52:55
don't be because, you know,
52:56
she was, she's very shy,
52:58
you know, she tends to be,
53:00
she'll hold back. And I have always encouraged her like,
53:03
you're just so smart.
53:05
well, you know what?
53:06
I don't like to tell people that I went to Stanford.
53:08
I'm like, I'd have a tattooed on my forehead and neon
53:11
lights blinking, right.
53:11
Like I couldn't have gone to Stanford.
53:13
I wasn't that smart.
53:16
That is a tremendous asset.
53:19
a tremendous asset that you're Latina,
53:21
you were able to be there and represent,
53:24
you know, the incredible community that we are and that we
53:27
have the smarts to sit at that table,
53:29
by the way with a full scholarship who had worked in banking
53:32
and don't let anyone extinguish that.
53:35
But that piece of just being the notion of being ambitious and
53:41
ambitious is ok. It's not a bad word,
53:43
right? And that notion of like I say it to people
53:46
all the time, there's nothing wrong with being ambitious but ambitious
53:49
for the good of the business,
53:51
your team yourself. There's nothing wrong with that.
53:56
It's not a bad word.
53:57
And that narrative I think is really,
53:59
really important. I love that.
54:01
And that was to me last week very.
54:05
I thought we're so far ahead and then she experiences and I
54:08
was like, I wanna make a phone call and then she's
54:10
like, you can't make a phone call.
54:10
Don't make a phone call.
54:13
I love that. Corporations need to see that as a positive
54:17
for companies and we need to be able to accept our power
54:22
Ok? So I'm not gonna ask a 30 year old
54:23
self, but I am gonna ask,
54:25
who else should we invite?
54:26
What other Latina do you think we should have in this?
54:30
the head of marketing for Telemundo Monica,
54:36
Monica is amazing. So our head of coms connected with Monica
54:39
and we had breakfast in Miami last year at the Grand Prix
54:43
She's amazing. Suffers.
54:45
Amazing. Rita Ferro.
54:47
You are a Trailblazer role model,
54:49
an example and an inspiration.
54:51
Thank you so much for being here with us today.
54:54
Thank you and thanks to you,
54:56
we are going to be able to lead and succeed.
Series