Bank of America

It can be unsettling not knowing your full career path before taking a step. Although my college education was focused on Finance and Economics, I didn’t envision myself as a stock broker or financial analyst. I joined Merrill Lynch in an entry level role, helping internal associates, who were working with external clients, to complete operational tasks that were essential to the client experience and our business. Taking the role, my goal was simply to learn as much as I could, so that I was capable of completing as many of the functions supported by my team as possible. I knew my initiative and growing knowledge of the business would serve me well, and it has.

Being willing to take a risk and never stop learning, has allowed me to move and grow with the company. After accepting a leadership role on the team where I started, I was asked to role-swap with a peer who managed a contact center team. Talk about stepping outside my comfort zone – this was a leap! Trusting in the leader who presented the opportunity, and myself, I took a chance which would prove to be a career defining moment. That move prepared me for subsequent roles that led me across the country (moving from Florida to Arizona to Chicago to open new locations!); it also built my skills, opening the door for future options. 

I’ve now been with Merrill for 10 years. As the leader of our Consumer Investments Life Services segment, I lead 16 teams across 6 sites, throughout the country, who support clients and heirs after a client’s death. I am able to see the tangible difference my team and I make for clients every day. We help them navigate emotions and family dynamics, while educating and guiding them through financial decisions during the most difficult times in their lives. It’s challenging, it’s rewarding and it’s not a career path I envisioned when I started. Looking back, it is the outcome of not limiting your options based on education and experience, putting in the work required, and leveraging the network of leaders within the organization who are committed to helping others grow and succeed, that leads to diverse and sometimes unexpected career opportunities within Bank of America Corporation.

I am the daughter of Cuban immigrants, making me the 1^st generation in my family to be born in the United States.  I grew up in Palm Beach County, Florida, and went to school at Florida State University, I began my career in banking as a part time teller while still in college.

Upon graduation, I was hired by Bank of America and into their management training program.   Through this, I was given the opportunity to manage multiple financial centers throughout Palm Beach County.  As a Financial Center Manager, I took pride in getting to know my team well, investing in them and working together towards a common goal.   

I’ve performed multiple roles throughout my career, including:  Financial Center Manager, Change Manager, Market Leader and Performance Manager. Today, I’m Region Executive for the S. Florida Registered region.

One of the things I am most proud to share is that I have grown up at the bank.  From the day that someone took a chance on me on that college campus offering me a position in the management training program, to my most recent assignment as Region Executive.   Every step along the way there has always been someone I have been able to connect with, confide in and trust to help me continue to grow and build my skills and acumen.   I do my best to pay that back to those around me each and every day.

On a personal level, this past year I celebrated my 25^th wedding anniversary and 30^th service anniversary at the bank.  My husband and I have raised three children along the way.  My career and my personal life have always gone hand in hand, from including my family in volunteer events in our community, to leaning on them while I needed to put in extra time at work.   It’s been a give and take that has worked well both on a personal and a professional level.

A few things that I value and work hard to bring to life each and every day in all that I do are:

1^st – INTEGRITY

Not just the obvious:  Don’t lie, steal or cheat.   It’s more than that:

• It’s work ethic
• Pride in your brand
• Holding yourself to a higher standard
• Knowing that our decisions and actions MATTER, because they affect people’s lives.  

2^nd – EXCELLENCE

• I absolutely can’t stand when I hear:
  • It’s not my job
  • I did my part
  • I don’t get paid to do that
• Excellence is doing the right thing because it’s right – not because someone is watching
• Excellence is not excepting less than the best of yourself
• It’s about challenging yourself to work harder, to practice more and to reach further
• Excellence is what creates winning teams and a winning culture

I like to remind myself that we are part of an exciting story that is being written.  We have celebrated many milestones along the way, but the future is where we have an opportunity to really differentiate ourselves.  I do my best every day to motivate those around me to rise to the occasion, believe in themselves and to pay forward the investment others have made in them.

I joined Bank of America in 2005 in Providence, Rhode Island as a Teller Operations Specialist. I made a conscious decision to start in a financial center operations role as I was new to the banking industry and the client care culture in the United States. Since then, I have held various leadership roles within the company, all of which have enabled me to grow as an individual contributor and as a leader. With appropriate training, encouragement and support, I had the opportunity to become a Financial Center Operations Manager and then to lead a number of financial centers as a Financial Center Manager. The investment in my career continued as I was given the opportunity to lead markets as a Market Manager, and eventually to oversee regions as a Region Executive. As my career progressed, I was able to get my securities licenses and transition to a registered role in Merrill Edge. Throughout this journey, I experienced the usual twists and turns in my personal life, and despite having family members living outside the United States who needed my support, I was able to balance my work and family responsibilities, being a mother, wife and daughter while still growing professionally.

During my 13 year career with Bank of America in multiple roles and geographies, the constant theme has always been that of advocacy and empowerment. Whether as a leader within a financial center, a Region Executive leading teammates in multiple states – New York, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts – or in my current national role, where I have the opportunity to help build strategy and execution plans for the Merrill Edge Field team, every leader I have worked for and worked with has emphasized these same two principles. Along with the career support and advocacy I have received, I have certainly enjoyed being part of the career journey of many of my own teammates, and their success continues to be nothing short of inspirational. I am so proud to be part of a brand that truly believes in delivering together. And this benefits our clients and teammates because teammates who are invested in and whose diversity is embraced and encouraged bring their true, full selves to deliver for our clients in a truly human way.

As a leader, it has been an amazing 13 year journey that continues, and I enjoy coming into work every day because I am surrounded by a team that makes excellence intentional and raises the bar for me!!

It can be unsettling not knowing your full career path before taking a step. Although my college education was focused on Finance and Economics, I didn’t envision myself as a stock broker or financial analyst. I joined Merrill Lynch in an entry level role, helping internal associates, who were working with external clients, to complete operational tasks that were essential to the client experience and our business. Taking the role, my goal was simply to learn as much as I could, so that I was capable of completing as many of the functions supported by my team as possible. I knew my initiative and growing knowledge of the business would serve me well, and it has.

Being willing to take a risk and never stop learning, has allowed me to move and grow with the company. After accepting a leadership role on the team where I started, I was asked to role-swap with a peer who managed a contact center team. Talk about stepping outside my comfort zone – this was a leap! Trusting in the leader who presented the opportunity, and myself, I took a chance which would prove to be a career defining moment. That move prepared me for subsequent roles that led me across the country (moving from Florida to Arizona to Chicago to open new locations!); it also built my skills, opening the door for future options. 

I’ve now been with Merrill for 10 years. As the leader of our Consumer Investments Life Services segment, I lead 16 teams across 6 sites, throughout the country, who support clients and heirs after a client’s death. I am able to see the tangible difference my team and I make for clients every day. We help them navigate emotions and family dynamics, while educating and guiding them through financial decisions during the most difficult times in their lives. It’s challenging, it’s rewarding and it’s not a career path I envisioned when I started. Looking back, it is the outcome of not limiting your options based on education and experience, putting in the work required, and leveraging the network of leaders within the organization who are committed to helping others grow and succeed, that leads to diverse and sometimes unexpected career opportunities within Bank of America Corporation.