2015 Leadership Pipeline Program Recap
The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) held its first annual Leadership Pipeline Program (LPP) on November 2nd and 3rd at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Prudential, the HACR LPP was created to provide Fortune 500 and HACR Corporate Member companies a forum to develop mid and upper level Hispanic executives. The one and a half day convening consisted of leadership development workshops and business sessions, featuring subject-matter experts and thought leaders in the areas of corporate governance, management, leadership, personal branding, and employee resource groups.
The LPP kicked off with breakfast and an opening session featuring a short presentation on HACR, its mission, and work from HACR President and CEO, Cid D. Wilson. LPP attendees were joined by the HACR STEM initiative participants for this opening session. Immediately following the conclusion of the opening session LPP participants began their breakout business sessions. Dr. Juana Bordas, president of Mestiza Leadership International, welcomed LPP participants with an overview of the program and Latino culture.
Following Bordas’ welcome, the first business session, “Practical Genius Playbook” was presented by best-selling author of Practical Genius and diversity manager at Google Inc., Gina Rudan. Rudan walked LPP participants through her steps to finding and expressing their practical genius.
Next, renowned executive leadership professor at the Columbia Business School, Dr. William Klepper, led the “Business Case Study – Nonprofit (for value) Board Engagement” business session. The interactive case study focused on the Wounded Warrior Project, covering best practices in executive leadership and governance within the nonprofit and for value sectors. Other topics discussed by Klepper included an overview of organizational missions, strategic objectives, leadership, revenue performance, and board engagement.
The joint LPP/STEM HACR Lunch Meeting, sponsored by Prudential featured a fireside chat with Gilbert Casellas, board member at Prudential and chairman of Omnitru Technologies and HACR’s President and CEO Cid D. Wilson. During the fireside chat they candidly discussed Casellas’ personal journey to the boardroom. The discussion aimed to give participants from both programs insights about key leadership traits they consider “must-haves” in order to be successful, career obstacles they may have to overcome, and advice for aspiring board members and C-Suite executives.
Following the lunch, Bordas led the next LPP business session titled “Leadership with a Latino Lens”. The session, sponsored by MillerCoors, led participants through leadership principles from a Latino perspective and how tapping into cultural assets can widen the breadth and depth of Hispanics’ leadership impact.
Prudential sponsored the final LPP business session of the day, “Defining Leadership in the 21st Century” featuring Michele C. Meyer-Shipp, vice president and chief diversity officer at Prudential and John D. Rosero, vice president, chief legal officer and secretary at Prudential Annuities Distributors, Inc. The two Prudential executives discussed the skills needed to navigate organizational change in an evolving global marketplace before opening it up for a lively Q&A.
That evening, participants networked at the pre-dinner reception hosted by Altria before heading to the HACR Leadership Dinner sponsored by PepsiCo. Albert P. Carey, CEO of PepsiCo North America Beverages, shared his personal journey onto the leadership team of the second largest food and beverage company in the world with the LPP and STEM Initiative attendees during the dinner.
On Tuesday morning, Dr. Robert Rodriguez, president of DRR Advisors LLC, and David Solís, national executive for small business centralized sales at Bank of America led the first LPP business session of the day, “Ten Strategies for Promoting Yourself”, sponsored by Bank of America. The interactive session highlighted ten effective strategies for developing the practical skills that will lead to a winning self-promoting strategy. Attendees were engaged in dialogue about how to utilize these skills to build their personal brand and maximize their networks.
The final LPP business session, titled “A Conversation with Hispanic Board Directors”, featured a panel of Hispanic board directors including Michael Montelongo, chief administrative officer and senior vice president of public policy and corporate affairs at Sodexo, Inc., Elizabeth Oliver-Farrow, president & CEO of The Oliver Group, Inc., and Patricia Salas Pineda, group vice president of Hispanic business strategy at Toyota Motor North America, Inc., moderated by Victor Arias, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Arias led an engaging discussion on their career successes and struggles that helped make board directorship positions possible. Attendees were able to engage directly with the panelists during a Q&A session after the discussion.
The LPP concluded with the Verizon sponsored closing lunch featuring Emilio Gonzalez, executive director of strategic alliances at Verizon. At the lunch, Gonzalez discussed the power of leadership in the information age.
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