00:00
Hola. I'm Claudia Romo Edelman and I'm Cynthia Clio Milner.
00:03
And this is a podcast,
00:05
a La Latina, the playbook to succeed being your authentic self
00:08
today, Sylvana Montenegro,
00:09
global head of advancing Hispanics and Latino at JP Morgan Chase and
00:13
here are the key three takeaways.
00:16
Number one, she gave us her framework on how,
00:18
how to learn from your mistakes.
00:20
Number two, she shared how it wasn't until she felt comfortable
00:24
being herself that her career took off.
00:27
And number three, how important it is to choose your first
00:29
job strategically because it can set you up for the long run
00:34
All of that and more here at a La Latina stick
00:36
around Cynthia. Tell me more about money.
00:46
What is your favorite product?
00:48
The product that I love the most.
00:50
First was our credit builder loan.
00:52
When I moved to the U SI realized that a good credit
00:55
score impacts so many aspects of our life.
00:58
If you have a high credit score,
00:59
you can get lower interest rates on loans and credit cards,
01:02
better insurance rates and better chances of getting a loan.
01:06
Can you imagine that more than half of our members raise their
01:08
credit score by up to 20 seven points in 60 days.
01:12
Wow. Ok, so I'm learning something new here and I
01:14
should be checking on my credit score myself.
01:17
Everybody should and it's super easy.
01:18
So for anyone out there needing to improve their credit score or
01:21
even know your credit score,
01:24
that's amazing. How do you access the credit builder loan two
01:29
ways, either go to Money lion.com/membership or download the Money Lion
01:34
Thank you. I'm in today.
01:36
The incredible Silvana Montenegro.
01:39
She's the global head of advancing Hispanics and Latinos at JP Morgan
01:43
Chase. She has been recognized by Latino leaders as one of
01:47
the most influential Latinas,
01:49
as well as Green's New York,
01:51
notable Hispanic leaders and also Latina styles as one of the top
01:55
12 highest ranking Latinas.
01:58
She serves on the board of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
02:02
and is a member of the American Latino Veteran Association Advisory Council
02:06
Sylvana. What an honor to have you here.
02:09
Que Brazel Brace. Mis.
02:12
Thank you for having me.
02:13
Of course, it's really incredible.
02:15
You are one of those incredible trailblazers that every time I see
02:19
something really big happening is you're probably behind it and we are
02:24
delighted to have you here.
02:25
I admire you. I respect you.
02:27
I really have a lot of admiration for you as well.
02:30
A friend. Tell us everything about you.
02:33
What's your background? Well,
02:35
the admiration is mutual.
02:36
So Thank you. I grew up in Brazil with a family
02:41
with really strong values.
02:43
My father was an adventurer and my grandma was a social activist
02:49
So since a very young age,
02:52
there are two things that were very strongly instilled in me.
02:55
The first one was the value of exploring the world,
02:59
never stay in your bubble.
03:00
And I think the other one from my grandma was really,
03:03
no, you're not here for yourself.
03:04
You're here in the spirit of serving others.
03:07
So as I grew up with a huge sense of curiosity early
03:11
on, I knew I wanted to have an international career.
03:14
And I started with JP Morgan Chase 27 years ago as an
03:18
intern in Brazil in Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo.
03:21
You were an intern for JP Morgan.
03:27
I know I started when I was two.
03:31
But I think since then it has been an amazing journey
03:34
and I feel like the values that I got from early on
03:38
really not only helped shape my career and where I am,
03:41
but really who I am as a person today,
03:43
I feel like next time somebody introduces you,
03:46
they should give you the award of the most loyal employee because
03:49
you have never left.
03:50
You've been there your entire career.
03:51
But you did, you know that Latinos we stay in our
03:54
first job, 41 to 45 months,
03:57
more than non Latinos.
03:59
So once you are there in a place where it particularly if
04:03
it's your first job.
04:04
The likelihood is that you can be like Silvana,
04:07
how, why did you decide to go to banking?
04:10
Because your father wasn't in banking?
04:11
Right? So my father had a corporate career and then he
04:15
built his own business.
04:16
He was a small business owner.
04:19
The honest answer is I did not,
04:22
I wanted an international career.
04:24
And when I saw I was studying psychology at the time and
04:28
I saw an ad for an internship at Chase at the time
04:32
And the internship was at human resources.
04:37
I would have never been hired because I did not know what
04:40
human resources was. I just went because it was Chase.
04:44
So I would say it was a lucky accident more than anything
04:47
I used to have this theory.
04:49
I want to know if you will confirm it with your career
04:52
that your first job,
04:54
you should really try to go to a company where you can
04:57
learn a lot. And it's almost like an anchor.
05:01
Like if you anchor yourself in your first job in a company
05:05
that is local or that it's not,
05:06
there's not a lot of growth opportunities that may set your career
05:10
it's gonna be harder for you to then like climb higher
05:13
But if the first one,
05:14
you kind of like go really high,
05:16
you're, you're ahead from the very beginning.
05:18
So the first job is so important,
05:23
what was really interesting was that I was having so much fun
05:27
that I kept going and I always say I'm still with JP
05:31
Morgan Chase 27 years later because I never had to leave because
05:35
I had a number of opportunities,
05:37
international, you know,
05:38
different roles. And in a big company,
05:41
you get to have that.
05:42
But it's also important,
05:44
I think that to understand that you move from Latin America to
05:48
the US, which probably was a very different company.
05:52
Like, felt the same company,
05:54
but probably felt like different worlds 100%.
05:57
And I think throughout my career,
05:58
I saw that, I remember I was probably two years into
06:02
my internship. And I said,
06:04
you know what? I think I'm ready to start asking about
06:08
international opportunities and sort of jokingly sort of not,
06:12
I would tell my managers.
06:13
Ok, so when are you sending me to the US?
06:15
And then one day they said Savannah,
06:16
stop bugging us. I was very young at the time and
06:20
they said, you know,
06:20
you're going to New York and at that time I was dating
06:24
my boyfriend, which is now my husband and I just said
06:27
yes on the spot when I got here,
06:30
I was like, oh my God,
06:33
I did not think it through,
06:34
but I'm glad I didn't think it through too much because otherwise
06:37
I, I wouldn't be here.
06:38
And Claudia, I think before the this conversation,
06:41
you and I were talking about it.
06:43
I came here and I got this label,
06:46
Hispanic. I was so confused.
06:48
I was like, what I used to be,
06:51
you know, a Brazilian in Brazil,
06:53
you know, this woman blah,
06:54
blah, blah. And I think it took me some time
06:58
to really figure out,
06:59
OK, so who am I really in this context?
07:04
I don't feel Hispanic,
07:06
but I do feel Latina because I was born in Latin America
07:10
And I feel that between Latinos and Hispanics and you know
07:14
interchangeably even we have so much more in common than less
07:20
And I really feel strongly,
07:21
I'm a part of this broader community,
07:24
there's 2 million Brazilians in the US.
07:27
And you know, like overall,
07:29
it doesn't matter whether you're from Mexican,
07:31
Colombia and Venezuela, we don't have that in,
07:34
you know, like connection when you live in your country of
07:36
origin. But once you move to America,
07:40
you belong to this group.
07:42
And I have always wonder why the Brazilians actually feel the need
07:48
to separate or is it because it,
07:51
you know, like you guys are so much fun you want
07:54
to be. But for me as a social activist and
07:58
trying to unify the Latino community,
08:00
it makes total sense.
08:01
But what are the nuances,
08:03
how do we get more Brazilians to get on with the Latino
08:09
like, I know that it is,
08:10
it is an invention anyways.
08:12
But how do we make it and how,
08:14
what has been your experience and what would be your message for
08:17
young or not so young Brazilian out there?
08:21
That should be part of a Latino bigger effort.
08:24
Absolutely. I think my experience has been one when,
08:27
when I was growing up and this is one person's view,
08:30
right? Everyone's experience is different.
08:34
but we're different than the rest of Latin America.
08:37
And I think a lot of it is because Brazil was colonized
08:40
by Portugal and the other countries colonized by Spain as I started
08:44
growing up and getting exposure to different countries,
08:47
what I realized was that there were more commonalities than not.
08:51
And with that, it helped me integrate.
08:54
I think that as we think about the broader Brazilian population,
08:59
I think my message is,
09:00
you know, get curious and get connected.
09:03
This is a community.
09:04
And when I say community,
09:05
I'm including all the over 20 something countries now that,
09:09
that comprise our community,
09:11
the more we connect with each other,
09:13
the more we like each other and the more we wanna be
09:16
long and the more we wanna be part of it,
09:18
this is an amazing community,
09:20
you know, made up of a lot of communities.
09:23
But we're one and the more connected we are the stronger we
09:27
are together. I think we can achieve so much more.
09:30
One of the things that I always think about and,
09:32
and I know the two of you do too is if we
09:35
start saying I am this,
09:38
If we come together united as one community,
09:40
think about it, you know,
09:41
64 million people in this country and united for a purpose.
09:45
Right. Exactly. Which is how do we change the perception
09:49
that people have and understand that we are positive contributors to the
09:53
country and economic drivers of America.
09:56
And how do we use that to increase our representation and value
09:59
We could all agree on that.
10:00
Do you think that those are values and things that Brazilians could
10:04
adhere to 100%? And I think when I think about the
10:08
Latino community, right,
10:09
I'm thinking about resilience,
10:11
resilience are also resilient when I think about,
10:14
you know, impact 100% value of,
10:19
you know, service to others.
10:21
Same thing, I don't think the values are much different,
10:25
quite honest at a high level.
10:26
I think they're exactly the same and it is exactly what I
10:29
think that your role now leading very successfully.
10:35
The Latino strategy for your entire institution is focused on.
10:40
Yeah, tell us more about that.
10:41
So this organization was created three years ago.
10:45
So it's called Advancing Hispanics and Latinos.
10:47
What is unique about JP Morgan Chase is that we have our
10:50
diversity and inclusion is a business that sits under the president of
10:54
the company. We do work very closely and have an alignment
10:59
with human resources because the president being a Latino Pinto,
11:02
Daniel, Pinto Lano always 100%.
11:07
And we work with hr from an employee lens,
11:10
of course, but three,
11:13
maybe four years ago,
11:15
divers director and inclusion was under our hr organization and there
11:20
was a conscious decision to say,
11:22
OK, so the way that we can further impact our communities
11:25
and drive business results because we cannot talk about,
11:29
you know, Latinos or other communities as we are all the
11:32
underserved, we're an economic power,
11:34
right? It is to get closer to the business and think
11:38
about how we engage with the different communities from a business growth
11:44
lens, from a wealth creation lens from yes,
11:48
a community development and also career advancement.
11:51
There were at the time,
11:53
there were four centers of excellence spread out across the company.
11:59
One was an organization focused on women.
12:02
There was an organization focused on the black population,
12:05
one focused on veterans.
12:06
And there was another one which was the office of and it
12:09
still is the office of Disability and Inclusion.
12:12
There were three big communities that were not represented there,
12:16
which was Hispanics and Latinos LGBT Q plus an Asian and Pacific
12:22
Islander. So when that organization came under the president of the
12:27
company, there was these three new organizations that were created and
12:32
I was so fortunate that I was the one that you know
12:36
was able to build it from scratch.
12:38
Of course, leveraging the playbook from others,
12:40
but build it from scratch.
12:41
And I think through the past three years,
12:45
we have been very intentional around.
12:47
OK. What are some of the potential career barriers for Latinos
12:51
within the firm? How do we address those?
12:54
How do we bring in more students to participate in our and
12:58
true level early careers programs?
13:01
How do we maximize the power of JP Morgan Chase to support
13:05
businesses to grow and scale and that happens through partnerships.
13:09
But that also happens through leveraging internal programs.
13:13
How do we connect our business to opportunities and you know,
13:18
you're a great partner.
13:19
We have a number of relationships.
13:21
This, these are forums of,
13:24
you know, very important Hispanic and Latino business owners,
13:28
executives, etcetera. And I think since then we've been able
13:32
to, to achieve tremendous impact because we work across the firm
13:36
and with our external partners to drive impact business and support the
13:41
economy. I have so many questions.
13:44
How do we empower our Latino employees?
13:46
How do we support them to grow?
13:48
How do we find more students?
13:50
So I think a few things I'm gonna give you a couple
13:53
So early days, what we realized was one some of the
13:59
career barriers for our Latino employees and by the way it applies
14:02
to other communities too,
14:03
but we're owning your power,
14:06
right? How do you talk about what you're good at?
14:09
How do you identify what you're good at,
14:12
how do you brand yourself?
14:14
And what we did was look,
14:16
we can put together a workshop series which is so easy to
14:21
to implement. And we launched this series called The Vanzant
14:24
Careers. And the good news is,
14:27
we have touched almost 5000 employees and we got interest from
14:35
countries outside of the US,
14:37
which is a global program.
14:39
We got very positive feedback from other communities who also joined it
14:43
and we were able to connect people through these topics.
14:47
I think the other thing that,
14:49
that we've done is we had a mentoring program where we saw
14:55
the pockets? And I would say,
14:56
you know, in seniority level where we're seeing that people are
15:00
potentially advancing, not as fast as we would like them to
15:05
advance. And in doing that,
15:08
we focus on some particular populations,
15:10
right? So mentoring was another thing and related to that,
15:14
like with students, we have a program that is called
15:18
the fellowship program. And the fellowship program is focused is sponsored
15:23
by advancing black pathways and advancing Hispanics and Latinos.
15:27
And what it's meant to do is to provide the college,
15:30
sophomore students with a head start in their careers.
15:33
And that head start really is OK.
15:35
Maybe I'm the first one to go to college in my family
15:39
Maybe I didn't grow up in a corporate environment.
15:41
I don't know what the rules of the road are.
15:44
And by bringing students early on,
15:46
we're opening the door for them to get a hands on practice
15:50
This is a five week internship,
15:52
it is an internship,
15:53
it is an internship and they have the opportunity to get offers
15:59
for an internship, you know,
16:01
the following year. So I think wherever we,
16:05
OK, where is the barrier,
16:07
where can we provide something that will help individuals?
16:13
So let's talk a little bit about that internship.
16:14
I would love for Latinas who are listening to this,
16:17
to apply for the internship.
16:19
Number one, very tactically,
16:22
Like where in the website?
16:23
And what are you looking for in the students that actually make
16:27
it 100%? So I would say that we're launching the program
16:32
in this fall. If we go to JP Morgan chase.com
16:37
I was gonna say punto com slash careers,
16:39
you were going to see all the opportunities there.
16:41
And the fellowship program is one of them listed.
16:45
What I would say for Latinas listening to this podcast is don't
16:52
And we do have a tool we use,
16:55
which is called higher view.
16:57
And we see a lot of candidates shying away from doing that
17:04
interview, which is part of the selection process practice,
17:09
you know, share with friends and family,
17:11
do what you have to do to get ready.
17:13
There are resources out there but take the high view and do
17:17
it. You'll be surprised how you can do.
17:19
Well, in terms of these interviews,
17:24
But before I have to ask you,
17:26
so if you're Danielle Pinto and you're looking at this,
17:30
you obviously are Latino,
17:32
you care more. Therefore,
17:33
there's an interest. But what is the business case?
17:36
Just tell us so that I can smile.
17:38
We had dinner four years ago,
17:40
probably you were launching this initiative where you said I need to
17:44
make the business case.
17:45
What is it? Why this initiative?
17:48
Why Latinos? So here's a very simple business case and data
17:53
We have almost 20% of this country is Latino.
18:00
This community is generating 3.6 trillion in GDP to this country.
18:07
That's the equivalent of the fifth largest economy in the world.
18:10
And this is the recent data from Latino donor collaborative this year
18:15
$3.8 trillion in purchasing power.
18:19
Youngest demographic, 25% of Gen Z in this country are Latinos
18:24
Do we wanna bank this population?
18:26
Do you want to help the economic growth of this country?
18:30
I think that's the most obvious business case.
18:33
78% of the new workforce in the next 10 years gonna be
18:38
Latino. So there's talent,
18:40
there is economic potential,
18:41
there is youth, there is buying power,
18:45
ignoring this population is simply,
18:47
you know, a a bad business decision.
18:49
So your insight is this is gonna mean how much for us
18:53
or I don't have all the stats,
18:56
but the one that always,
18:57
you know, keeps me thinking about it is,
19:01
you know, we have probably around $270 billion generated in income
19:08
less than some of the other communities and I'll send you the
19:11
exact stat. So please don't quote me on this if what
19:17
but like if we're generating 3.6 trillion in GDP,
19:21
imagine if we were at par with our oh my God
19:25
counterparts with the others.
19:28
OK, perfect. Let's go to you our very,
19:31
very subject. So how did you make it to where you
19:35
are? What were some of the decisions that enabled you to
19:41
Was it always easy being a Latino or was it sometimes
19:44
a detriment? Like how,
19:45
how tell us a little bit about like and I wanna ask
19:48
like related to that question,
19:49
I'm trying to imagine you arriving to this country now you get
19:53
here. I don't know how good your English was,
19:55
but I imagine you didn't have a network.
19:58
So when I asked to come here,
19:59
I had a month to move right?
20:02
Be between, you know,
20:03
the getting the opportunity and being here and it was all dreams
20:08
and all. I'll never forget this was June 19 2001 and
20:15
I was wearing this green sweater super hot here.
20:20
It was cool in Brazil and getting out of a yellow cab
20:24
in Manhattan. I was staying at a corporate apartment in midtown
20:28
and I remember I looked up at all the buildings and I
20:33
what have I done with my life?
20:35
I did not know anybody here.
20:38
My boyfriend stayed there.
20:40
All my friends were there.
20:41
All my family was there and it was very,
20:44
was there in Brazil.
20:49
And I think there was a,
20:51
a shock in culture because Brazilians,
20:53
you know, like our Latino community,
20:55
we tend to be warmer.
20:57
We tend to, you know,
20:58
ask people and make them feel good.
21:07
I think II I was borderline depressed when I came to New
21:10
York, but that didn't deter me.
21:12
So I think the first thing that I did,
21:15
which I think is very much embedded in me giving up is
21:18
never an option. OK.
21:20
I committed to this.
21:21
I gotta make it work.
21:22
My boyfriend came a few months later and we built our life
21:28
you know, we were middle class in Brazil.
21:30
I moved here to a studio and there was a mattress on
21:34
the floor. Initially,
21:35
we didn't have a TV.
21:36
We had to buy and we built from nothing again.
21:40
And what I did was really,
21:42
you know, I worked extremely hard.
21:45
I doubted myself many times and when I got the,
21:48
the label as, as Hispanic,
21:50
now I'm part of this group here,
21:54
you know, I don't belong here.
21:57
I really made a huge effort to try to fit in.
22:00
I remember getting home and I was exhausted and when I got
22:04
home exhausted, day after day,
22:06
it never occurred to me that,
22:08
you know, maybe there's something else that you can do.
22:12
I was like, what is wrong with me?
22:15
this woman who was a very kind and,
22:19
and seasoned, D I leader and she pulled me aside
22:23
after a meeting and she said,
22:25
Silvana, you have a very different style,
22:30
And that was almost like a wake up call.
22:33
I was like, oh my God,
22:34
I've been trying to re invent myself and guess what?
22:38
If I can't be myself,
22:40
then I can't be here and guess what?
22:44
you know, you can probably relate,
22:46
like being myself was actually the gift that I brought to the
22:49
table. So why was I trying so hard to hide that
22:53
And I think that being authentic and true to myself was
22:58
the turning point for me.
23:00
We hear that so much in this podcast.
23:03
But what did it mean?
23:04
What, like I always hear being your authentic self and I
23:08
always get questions like,
23:10
How does it look like you come with your folklore dress or
23:15
you know what, I'm so glad you're asking this because any
23:18
person can say that and mean something different in my case,
23:22
what it really meant was I don't need to hold my hands
23:25
like this all the time.
23:27
You know what I like to be warm.
23:29
Like I like to hug people.
23:31
Not that I'm gonna walk into a meeting,
23:32
hugging everybody, but it's OK to be,
23:35
you know, friendly with people.
23:39
you know, mimic and looking at this,
23:40
like, how do I ask this question?
23:44
I'm not a native speaker,
23:47
So if I phrase my question in a meeting and it's not
23:50
the most perfect way of it is OK.
23:54
Right. We can always evolve.
23:56
But like that was a relief because I didn't have to try
24:00
to speak the same way that people did try to,
24:03
you know, I tried to lose my accent.
24:05
Not only it's impossible.
24:11
I think it's like it's ok to be a little,
24:14
you know, show up as yourself versus,
24:16
I felt like I was in this tight suit all day long
24:20
but it only took you two years or that moment of
24:23
the wake up call took me two years.
24:26
I think that since I wasn't born here and now I've been
24:31
So of course, you know,
24:32
I'm much more part of this culture throughout my career.
24:37
I, I have to remind myself and say,
24:39
OK, no, just be you.
24:42
And what did the ladder look for you?
24:45
I mean, you've been there for almost 30 years.
24:47
So promoted over and over again.
24:50
Like how is there a recipe you can give us too?
24:53
And also in that ladder building up on what Cynthia asked is
25:00
did you feel any rejection to you taking the decision of
25:04
being yourself? You know,
25:05
like some people might have seen you like,
25:07
why you're how in your hand like this?
25:09
Right? Absolutely. I,
25:11
I would say that I never thought about,
25:15
OK, here's where I want to get to.
25:18
My career was really driven by my own purpose.
25:23
I have a lot of fun in my job and if it's
25:25
not fun, I need to do something to change it,
25:29
right? So I've been always super strategic around,
25:32
you know, here's an opportunity because there is a gap and
25:35
here's where I can play a role in,
25:37
in solving it. I knew I wanted to grow in my
25:40
career, but that wasn't super clear.
25:43
I think what, what made me get to where I am
25:45
was resilience and persistence.
25:48
That's your framework. If somebody says,
25:50
no, we, we don't do this here or it can't
25:53
I like to prove people wrong.
25:54
we can do this here this way.
25:57
So how can I go this way?
26:00
And I think doing that,
26:02
you can actually over and over.
26:05
I, I demonstrated to myself that if I persist and if
26:09
I have a vision that is strong enough,
26:13
And guess what many times in my career,
26:15
people said, oh my God,
26:17
this is brilliant to say,
26:18
I know I've been talking about it for the past year,
26:21
right? But not giving up.
26:23
And I think the last thing that I would say is I
26:26
learned from my mistakes.
26:30
I've made like any human many mistakes and I didn't want to
26:35
deny they happen or blame something else.
26:39
I would learn from it and I remember early days here
26:44
there was this super important meeting and I was the human resources
26:49
partner for the human resources Function.
26:51
And they asked me to present our diversity stats at a meeting
26:58
I had to be superwoman.
26:59
So of course, I didn't ask for help.
27:01
I tried to figure out what I should do,
27:03
didn't eat, didn't sleep for.
27:04
I don't know how many nights I go and present and there
27:08
is silence in the room and this woman being very kind.
27:13
it's just that we're not used to seeing the,
27:19
oh my God, I wanna run away from here.
27:23
And then later that afternoon my boss went to my office and
27:27
that did not go out.
27:29
really? I didn't notice.
27:31
And what she told me I take to this day and she
27:34
said, Savannah, when somebody asks you to do something,
27:37
you don't need to do it yourself.
27:39
If you don't have the expertise,
27:42
but you bring in the experts and I always have that in
27:46
mind. Ok, I need to drive this.
27:48
How do I make it happen?
27:50
And who is the best person or team that I need to
27:57
And do you have a like a systematic way of learning
28:01
from your mistakes? Like some people journal,
28:03
some people like do a post mortem when something doesn't go well
28:08
Like how do you actually learn from your mistakes?
28:10
I think the first thing is when I make a mistake one
28:14
I allow myself to feel whatever disappointment I feel.
28:22
You were sad because,
28:23
or you were frustrated because this didn't go this way and I
28:27
don't do anything, maybe 12 days.
28:31
now, what could I have done differently?
28:34
I do some self reflection and I actually go and I ask
28:40
people for feedback. I ask not,
28:45
you know, annoying feedback,
28:47
that meeting didn't go well.
28:48
And I, I typically ask for feedback from my peers because
28:53
they will tell me the truth.
28:54
And then next time I'm gonna approach situations in a different way
29:00
I think the things that sometimes we don't want to hear
29:02
about are the things we need to hear the most because everybody
29:05
sees our blind spots.
29:06
We have a, a choice.
29:08
Do I want to know what they are and work on it
29:10
or do I want to be blindsided?
29:13
people, everyone is seeing it.
29:14
So just summarize again,
29:16
sort of like somehow the framework that,
29:19
you know, like you took that has been guiding your career
29:23
progression. So I would say persistence,
29:26
it doesn't matter if it's hard,
29:28
keep going and figure it out,
29:31
take risks. Even when you're scared of an opportunity,
29:35
take the chance and again,
29:37
make it work. And the third one is learn from your
29:41
mistakes. Don't be afraid to ask people what you could have
29:46
done better. Don't be afraid of asking yourself what you could
29:50
have done better and keep going.
29:53
I'm sorry if I'm like,
29:54
if I keep asking you the same question,
29:55
but I'm trying to imagine what your career looks like.
29:58
And I feel like I don't yet know where you went from
30:01
being an intern to where you are today.
30:03
So if you had to like draw on a piece of paper
30:06
like these were the key roles that I took or the
30:08
decisions that I made,
30:09
what does it look like?
30:10
What were those decisions?
30:12
So one join as an intern,
30:14
wanna go to New York,
30:15
I wanna go to the US.
30:18
took the leap of faith and became happy here,
30:23
cultural adjustment. You had your,
30:26
her moment of being Latina like you had your Yeah,
30:31
I'm right. I'm gonna be me.
30:33
From that. I had an opportunity to support Latin America.
30:38
I was an Asian business partner at the time and I would
30:43
through 17 years supporting Latin America,
30:46
I would find where is an opportunity that nobody wants to focus
30:56
I've always been passionate around developing talent and I've always been passionate
31:00
around building a positive,
31:03
you know, inclusive environment.
31:06
it's a warm environment where people feel good,
31:09
right? Which is exactly the opposite of how I felt when
31:12
I moved here. So through the 17 years in Latin America
31:16
I had a number of roles in both talent and diversity
31:19
as well as an hr business,
31:22
supporting the, the,
31:24
the banking team based in New York,
31:25
based in New York and traveling across Latin America,
31:29
which is your choice because you probably should have been in Miami
31:32
or something like that.
31:33
But you probably able to say like I'll do it from New
31:36
York. The CEO of Latin America sits in New York to
31:39
this date. So that's why.
31:40
But anyhow, I love Miami.
31:42
I have no problem going here.
31:44
But I think through,
31:45
through these 17 years first,
31:47
I I was committed to supporting Latin America.
31:50
I was committed to being curious and not stopping in face of
31:54
challenges. And there are around 14 years supporting the region.
32:01
What I really like is talent and diversity.
32:05
there was not a talent and diversity organization within Latin America.
32:11
So what I did is I asked,
32:13
I said, I wanna build it and the answer that I
32:16
got initially was OK,
32:18
But really, you're working with the CEO of the region,
32:22
you know, that's not going to be strategic.
32:24
I'm going to continue working with the CEO because give me six
32:29
months and this is gonna be the most strategic thing that we're
32:33
doing in. Hr Sivan's opinion.
32:34
Of course, you know,
32:35
not everybody needs to,
32:36
to agree, but I built that from scratch and to this
32:40
day that organization continues growing.
32:43
So it was a good thing.
32:45
Yeah, exactly. So that was,
32:48
you know, one decision build it when you don't see it
32:51
three years, you know,
32:53
running that, that organization,
32:55
the firm at the time was creating a leadership center of
32:58
excellence which we had consistent programs for the top of the house
33:02
But we didn't have across all managers and I was part
33:06
of the work stream that was working on that.
33:10
hm, why don't I start expanding my career more globally?
33:17
And I took a leap of faith again and,
33:20
you know, moved to that organization,
33:23
which is called leadership edge and learned a ton.
33:27
There was, you know,
33:27
2.5 years into that role and I was running one of the
33:33
some of the top executive programs a few years within that
33:37
that organization. Then I said,
33:38
you know what, I miss the business.
33:41
I like what I'm doing and I spoke about it and thank
33:47
I was doing an excellent job.
33:49
So two of my managers,
33:51
Savannah, there is this role to run talent and diversity for
33:56
our commercial bank business.
33:59
loved it. And like with every new role,
34:05
to be uncomfortable, persist and continue until,
34:09
you know, three ish years ago,
34:11
this role was, was was created and,
34:18
It seems to me that you haven't said it but you,
34:21
you're like spelling strategy,
34:25
like literally, you're so strategic.
34:27
It seems to me that you see it,
34:29
you see the opportunity.
34:31
you try to put the road map and you go for it
34:35
and then very different to a number of our guests.
34:38
You speak up, you're like self manifesting.
34:41
Like I would like to go to the U SI would like
34:44
to create this talent.
34:46
So, is that combination of understanding your superpower?
34:51
I'm not sure what you would say is your superpower,
34:53
you're super strategic. I don't know whether that's your superpower.
34:56
I'd love to hear what you think is yours.
34:58
But is that combination something that you see in a lot of
35:01
Latinas, whether Brazilian or others where we're able to understand what
35:05
we bring to the table and then able to raise a hand
35:07
and say it or is that something you would like more?
35:11
Thank you for articulating strategic.
35:13
I'm gonna add to my super power probably is I never,
35:16
you know, thought about it this way.
35:19
I don't think a lot of Latinas sometimes we doubt ourselves.
35:24
I think the difference with me is that I doubt myself,
35:31
which I think, you know,
35:32
like it takes courage what I would like,
35:35
you know, the other thing that I see with some of
35:37
the Latinas and I do this as you know,
35:39
just a fun exercise.
35:41
I asked Latino, what is your superpower?
35:46
it's OK to have a superpower and we each should know what
35:49
our superpower is because everybody in the world brings a gift to
35:53
the world, which is the one thing,
35:55
right? So what is your superpower?
35:58
I think my superpower really is getting to understand people empathize with
36:04
them and help them achieve their fullest potential.
36:07
And that can either be,
36:08
you know, when I'm talking to a child and the child
36:12
I wanna do this and I like helping them to believe they
36:14
can. It's in the small things so it's helping people fly
36:19
It's really what my superpower is,
36:21
right? I, I would add that you're doing that very
36:24
strategically 100%. I do think that what you said before is
36:30
something we try to do in the podcast,
36:32
which is understand how are we going to articulate for Latinas,
36:37
the tools that are available so that they themselves are able to
36:41
see their own power,
36:42
their superpower, to understand it,
36:43
to know how to self advocate,
36:45
but also to learn when and how to flip the script
36:51
So what advice would you give to Latinas that find
36:54
themselves in organizations that haven't flipped the script enough or where they
36:58
you know, like where their own assets are not yet
37:01
understood. I think first of all get out of our heads
37:05
because sometimes even internally we actually keep telling ourselves,
37:13
yes, there is unconscious bias around us everywhere but try not
37:18
to focus too much on that so that we don't make ourselves
37:23
uncomfortable. The other thing that I would say is,
37:26
you know, keep doing persistence wins the race.
37:29
And the third thing is we don't need to be the ones
37:33
pounding on the table.
37:34
If that's not our style,
37:35
we don't need to be the ones,
37:37
you know, I'm gonna advocate for myself.
37:39
Yeah, I think we can find ways through others like I
37:42
am a one on one type of person and I'm not the
37:46
loudest voice in the room.
37:48
But if I go to a meeting or if I want something
37:51
to happen, I engage a couple of people beforehand.
37:56
Yeah, and they're gonna help me.
37:58
when others are talking about you,
38:00
it makes our lives easier.
38:03
So spending the time cultivating these relationships getting a lies on our
38:08
side. I think it's actually less scary than thinking about us
38:12
We need to by myself.
38:14
I need to be the one advocating and talking and test it
38:17
out. Sometimes I go small and I see how it plays
38:20
out. Like if I'm telling somebody,
38:25
depending on the face.
38:26
People may come like no,
38:27
no. Try a different way.
38:29
Try with safe people and then you start doesn't have to be
38:35
Yeah, le learning to a little bit read between the lines
38:38
which I don't know if it's so common in Latin America,
38:41
we just say what we mean more.
38:44
And I have found that in the US,
38:45
sometimes you have to be sharper reading between the lines and reading
38:49
the reaction of somebody in their eyes.
38:53
But I do think that this is an important time and an
38:56
important moment to be more stepping up and speaking up and people
39:03
that don't want to recognize their awards and talk about themselves,
39:08
maybe we have to actually endure that and know that it is
39:11
a responsibility to be role models and that we have to speak
39:14
up even more because from last five years.
39:16
So now things have changed so much for absolutely.
39:19
And more and more Latinos are smelling the coffee and knowing their
39:23
power. And now they need to know how to self advocate
39:27
how to self promote,
39:29
knowing the data and knowing the history.
39:31
But also knowing that there are role models out there like
39:34
you to raise their voice.
39:36
So, III I do think that what you know,
39:39
like what you're doing with your unit probably is something that
39:45
we want to see other organizations do.
39:48
Yeah. And we started really with,
39:50
let's reshape the narrative and you both know the numbers,
39:54
right? We, we are very unrepresented in major roles
39:59
in Hollywood about 3.6%.
40:03
And if we look at how we are portrayed is with negative
40:07
stereotypes. So half of the leading roles that are led by
40:11
Latinos are negative. So it's about 1.6% and I may be
40:16
you know, a little off on the,
40:17
on the, on the stats that are in main leading roles
40:21
that are positive. So what people think about when they see
40:25
a Latino is not the reality of who Latinos are.
40:29
And as Latinos to your point,
40:31
we need to understand who we are.
40:33
We need to understand the history and we need to feel comfortable
40:36
you know, showing up as who we are,
40:38
which is a a power you touched based on the data,
40:43
right? Like how powerful we are,
40:48
how much money we have and how much we represent as the
40:51
size of economy. But let's zoom in into Latinas,
40:55
Latinas. We 80% of the of the decisions of a home
40:59
by purchasing decisions are Latinas.
41:01
Not only as a person and as a leader,
41:03
but also as an institution going after Latinas?
41:06
And how are you equipping them to make sure that you're
41:09
not only the institution of choice but helping them to be better
41:12
small businesses and better,
41:14
you know, like and so on.
41:15
So talk about Latinas as a target,
41:17
such an important question because we know,
41:20
right? And when you reach Latinas,
41:23
you're reaching the entire community,
41:25
right? Because to your point,
41:26
we are making a lot of the decisions I think as institution
41:30
and, and quite honestly as,
41:31
as you know, organizations that are focused on,
41:34
on this community, we know Latinas are creating businesses at a
41:39
really fast rate six times faster than any other group in America
41:46
what happens is they have even more barriers than Latino owned business
41:52
by men to get access to capital,
41:56
to get the education,
41:58
the technical education that they need.
42:06
And, and by the way we're doing in at JP Morgan
42:08
Chase is connecting these businesses with the resources that they need,
42:15
whether it be through organizations that are providing technical assistance to Latinas
42:21
that are helping them grow their network.
42:23
We know that if you have the network,
42:26
right? And Latinas not necessarily have AAA very broad and strong
42:31
network and connecting them to capital providers because without capital to state
42:38
the obvious we cannot grow our businesses.
42:41
But there is a huge focus because to your point,
42:44
about a third of the GDP generated by Latinos is generated by
42:49
Latinos, we cannot ignore that we created the podcast and this
42:54
network because we found that while we are almost 10% of the
42:58
population, we are less than 1% but by far less than
43:01
1% of senior positions of political roles.
43:05
And that is because we don't have the role models or the
43:08
playbooks, the navigation skills or the networks.
43:12
Does it feel lonely sometimes to be up there being a leader
43:16
Latina leader? I think it did in the beginning much
43:19
more in the beginning.
43:20
And I remember early days in my career,
43:23
I lost count of the number of times.
43:25
I was the only Latina and the only woman in the room
43:30
I, I built my support system and you know,
43:34
I have my Latina sisters and you know,
43:36
our friendship, obviously that helps a ton.
43:40
But when I look around,
43:43
we're not where we should be.
43:45
And I think it takes all of us to what you said
43:49
of being a role model.
43:51
But also, and perhaps even more importantly,
43:54
bringing others up, I would not be here if I did
43:58
not get help from others,
44:00
women and men. And I think as senior Latinas,
44:03
we have the obligation to lift and open doors for as many
44:10
If you could talk to your 30 year old self,
44:12
what advice would you give her?
44:14
I would tell you one.
44:17
Mistakes are mistakes. They are learning opportunities.
44:20
They're not going to end your career.
44:22
Don't take things so seriously.
44:24
Don't be afraid to take risks.
44:27
They are part of the journey.
44:29
And even when you doubt yourself,
44:32
do know that you are much better than what you're telling your
44:38
head internally. Be fiercely,
44:41
own your power, embrace your gift and go incredible all your
44:46
power. Great. I love it.
44:48
Silvana Montano. It's been a pleasure having you here today with
44:53
This was full of insight and I think our audience is
44:56
gonna be super happy to hear what you have to say.
45:01
Wonderful conversation. Thank you.
45:03
And with leaders like Silvana,
45:04
we're gonna be able to lead and succeed.
Series