3 Leaders in the Financial Industry Share How They’ve Grown While Supporting Other Women

Supporting and empowering other women starts at home. That’s what Yajaira Lopez, Head of Branch Banking at Santander, and the proud mother of two, her 27-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter, tells us. “As a daughter of immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of supporting women by sharing my learnings, successes, and struggles to help spark awareness while bringing women along with me in my journey of growth professionally and personally.” And while Lopez’s support starts at home, it doesn’t end there. She tells us how she’s proud to be an authentic example for other women — both at home and at work.

This advice about being open about your professional experience also holds true for Catalina Rodríguez Ronderos, Vice President Relationship Manager at Santander. Ronderos started her professional journey over 15 years ago by working in the multinational financial services sector while studying in Argentina — and she’s never stopped learning. 

“As I continue my journey, my aspiration is to leverage my extensive experience to drive innovation and transformation within the financial sector,” Ronderos shares. And, in addition to growing her company and herself, Ronderos also focuses on supporting the women around her. “One of the main advantages of my role is the connectivity with different teams globally,” says Ronderos. “This exposure has allowed me to create opportunities to connect highly talented women with roles or leaders who can contribute to their career development.”

Claudia Vanegas, the Sr. Director, Compliance at Santander Consumer (SC), Santander’s Auto division, agrees that making connections and learning from others’ experiences is imperative to helping colleagues grow. 

“As a leader, I share professional techniques that I’ve learned throughout the years with all of my employees, regardless of gender,” notes Vanegas. However, she’s also aware of how women and men approach moments like difficult conversations and year-end reviews differently. So, “I reinforce the need for my female associates to come prepared with examples of their accomplishments and to be assertive when they are asking for what they want to accomplish from the discussion,” she shares.

And that’s just the beginning of their advice! Here, these leaders provide insight into their career journeys, how they are supporting DEI at work, and why Santander is a great place to work!

First, let’s discuss your career journey. What made you decide to make a career change and pivot to your current role? 

Lopez: My desire to have a broader impact in helping both our customers and employees is what motivated my change. I am personally very passionate about our teams and know that when our employees are happy, we deliver the very best service to our customers and ensure that we manage a profitable business. 

Ronderos: My family comes first. My husband was transferred to Miami for his job, so we decided as a family to embark on a new project and live this new phase in Miami. Life sometimes takes these big decisions that push us out of our comfort zone. I love working at Santander, so I looked for a way to rejoin the workforce in the USA, and that's when opportunities emerged. Today, I'm fortunate to work in a different segment of the bank, which is commercial banking. Every day, I learn more about the market and my role.

Vanegas: I have been in Compliance and Risk Management for close to 15 years. My current role, in addition to being a promotion, allows me to expand my knowledge and compliance acumen. It is also challenging, which is important for me to stay motivated. 

Outside your day-to-day role, are you involved in any employee groups or other DEI efforts at Santander? If so, which ones and how do these function?

Lopez: I’m part of the Santander US DEI council, which has formal monthly meetings where we discuss areas we are doing well and develop plans and action items for opportunities. I’m also the Ambassador for Conexion, our Business Resource Group (BRG) for Latinos/Hispanics, which meets on a monthly basis to address what activities we have to involve our team members and our communities. 

I’m also a member of EmpowHer, BOLD, Embrace, Thrive and AAPI BRGs. I believe in bringing others along with you, and BRGs are a great way of doing so. 

Ronderos: My career journey is a testament to my dedication, persistent pursuit of excellence, and passion for innovation. I would like to continue making significant contributions to the bank, and that means I am equally committed to championing diversity, equity, and inclusion in my professional sphere. I am passionate about fostering an inclusive work environment and believe it's crucial for organizations and individuals alike. 

For instance, when I moved to the USA, I had an open conversation with my manager in which I expressed my interest in participating in the bank's DEI initiatives. It's important to present good arguments on why we want to be part of these teams and how we aim to propose positive changes to contribute to the development of best practices. This way, we can be recognized as change agents who bring value to these committees. Today, my commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evident through my role in the Santander US DEI council, where I actively contribute to fostering an inclusive work environment.

Vanegas: Shortly after starting at Santander, I was invited to join Conexion as a member. I’ve always been passionate about associate development, and I was approached by a BRG committee member about the possibility of joining their committee. I became a committee member and subsequently moved back to a member role. The idea of being able to contribute ideas and support development for Hispanic associates and allies was exciting. Santander is very supportive of BRGs, and I saw this as an opportunity to give back to Hispanic associates and use knowledge acquired throughout my career to benefit their own development. 

What do you think other companies can learn from how Santander handles their DEI initiatives? 

Lopez: Ensuring that DEI initiatives are part of the conversation and not an event. As a leader, I feel responsible for ensuring that we bring this to life!

Ronderos: Understanding our unique needs and priorities is crucial. We must obtain a proper DEI diagnosis of our organization and define the information that we need to gather and process in order to develop sustainable initiatives with long-term impact.

Overall, why do you believe Santander is a particularly supportive place for women employees?

Lopez: Our culture is one where we are intentional around diversity recruiting. We create forums where we celebrate and support women talent, one example being our BRG EmpowHer.

Ronderos: I believe Santander is a supportive place for women because of the diversity of Santander’s workforce. Santander has internal goals to increase diversity within senior level roles in terms of gender as well as ethnicity. In 2023, out of over 13,000 employees, the bank has 58% women and efforts are underway every day to ensure that at least 30% of these women reach executive management positions. The bank has realized that by promoting diversity, it also fosters the organization's growth.

Vanegas: I have been able to thrive at Santander. Santander fosters an environment of inclusion and continues taking steps to implement programs for associate development and diversity at all levels, including leadership.

Finally, what is your favorite thing about working at Santander? 

Lopez: We have a collaborative culture, a culture of recognition, and a culture that leads with our people! 

Ronderos: It's a people's bank, where we all collectively build the culture.

Vanegas:  I feel like I belong. The company fosters diversity in a way that allows for outside the box thinking and creativity. Ideas to come up with the best solution are welcome from associates of different backgrounds and with different experience. I truly feel that my ideas are appreciated and my opinion is valued. I also feel consistently challenged and given the opportunity to have accomplishments by being able to contribute to my performance goals and aligning my professional development to the company and departments goals.

Want to join a collaborative team that will support your unique perspective and growth? Consider joining Santander.

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