2008 Operating Committee / NATIONAL HISPANIC CORPORATE ACHIEVERS

2008 Operating Committee

DANNY RAMOS: Founder, National Hispanic Corporate Achievers
BIOGRAPHY

PHILIP BERRY: President National Hispanic Corporate Achievers
Vice Chair of The City University of New York Board of Trustees
President of Berry Block & Bernstein,LLC
Formerly Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives, Colgate-Palmolive Company
BIOGRAPHY

DENISE SINGLETON: Vice President of Diversity Metlife
BIOGRAPHY

ALEXANDRA CONTRERAS: Senior Analyst, Global Workplace Initiatives Colgate-Palmolive Company
BIOGRAPHY

NORMA Y RODRIGUEZ: Corporate Advisor / Retired
Formerly Director of Business Transformation & SOX Compliance Finance and Accounting
BIOGRAPHY

MELBA CRUZ VASTI: Assistant Vice President International Compensation and Benefits MetLife
BIOGRAPHY

MARIA-DOLORES (Loli) Vázquez-Abad: Senior director in WWD at Pfizer
BIOGRAPHY

ANGELICA WONG: Senior Director/Team Leader Right First Time, Americas Area Pfizer Inc
BIOGRAPHY

DAVID GONZALEZ: District Sales Manager Metro NY Pernod Ricard USA
BIOGRAPHY

RAFAEL ROMERO: President/CEO Sports Medicine Concepts, Inc.
BIOGRAPHY

IRENE RIVERA: Marketing Manager, National Grid
BIOGRAPHY

IVY LATIMER: Director, EO Compliance Officer, Johnson & Johnson
BIOGRAPHY

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PHILIP BERRY
Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives
Colgate-Palmolive Company

Philip Berry is Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives for Colgate-Palmolive. In this role, Philip is focused on enhancing Colgate’s efforts to attract and retain the best people from a diverse and broad base of global talent, and to create an inclusive work environment that furthers Colgate’s commitment to Becoming the Best Place to Work.

Philip joined Colgate in 1990 as Associate Director of Human Resources in the U.S. Company. He has subsequently held senior Human Resources positions serving the Central Europe/Russia, Africa/Middle East, Latin America and European Divisions. In each of these areas Philip has made outstanding contributions in focusing the Human Resources function on key business issues, particularly goal alignment, training, plant site rationalization, and acquisition integration.

In 2001, Philip became Vice President, Global Employee Relations - Best Place to Work. He assumed his current role and was elected a corporate officer in 2003.

Prior to joining Colgate, Philip acquired broad Human Resources expertise at Procter & Gamble, where he worked for eight years in labor relations, organizational development and compensation. He also worked at Digital Equipment as Personnel Manager and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority as VP, Human Resources.

Philip holds a BA degree from Queens College in New York, a master’s degree in behavioral science from Columbia University, and an MBA from Xavier University. Philip was appointed to the Business Leadership Council of CUNY (City College of New York) by Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, and is on the Panel for Education Policy appointed by the Mayor of New York. Further, he is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for City University, which has responsibility for the 23 colleges within the New York City area. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the New York City Center, an arts and cultural institution.

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ALEXANDRA CONTRERAS
Senior Analyst, Global Workplace Initiatives
Colgate-Palmolive Company

Alexandra Contreras is Senior Analyst, Global Workplace Initiatives for Colgate-Palmolive. In this role, Alexandra is focused on supporting the overall development of the company’s strategies for recruiting and retaining the best people from a broad base of worldwide talent, and to create an inclusive work environment that furthers Colgate’s commitment to Becoming the Best Place to Work. Alexandra is also responsible for Colgate’s Affirmative Action Plans and influencing the company’s support for community outreach and employee network groups. In addition, Alexandra links diversity initiatives directly to customer needs and creates effective tools to set goals or report on metrics which rely on theoretical and practical alignment of business processes. She is accountable for identifying new systems/solutions that result in reduced cycle time, increased customer support, and lead continuous improvement.

Alexandra joined Colgate in February 1992, previously holding positions of increasing responsibility in Global Staffing/Employee Relations and U.S. Operations. She provided key staffing support, managed human resources programs and projects in Employee Relations, the Latin America Division and Global People Development. She consistently demonstrated a clear focus on the customer and implemented numerous process improvements that enhanced the delivery of services. Alexandra assumed her current role in 2002.

Alexandra holds a Bachelors of Business Administration degree in Human Resources Management from Baruch College in New York. She is also an active contributing member to Madrinas, an organization that seeks Latina women who support the empowerment of all Latinas, share the spirit of networking and are committed to supporting the professional advancement of Latinas in today’s business environment..

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María-Dolores (Loli) Vázquez-Abad
Senior director in WWD at Pfizer.

Loli is a physician licensed to practice medicine both in Mexico and in the US (Connecticut). She is an internist and a rheumatologist, with special training in molecular, cellular and humoral immunology. She joined Pfizer in 1998 as an Associate Director. In 2002 she was promoted to Senior Associate Director, in 2003 to Director and in 2007 Senior Director and was appointed the Therapeutic Area Clinical Lead for Inflammation in World Wide Development at Pfizer. In her new role she is responsible for chairing the inflammation technical review committee, working closely with research and serving on the St. Louis Research Portfolio Team, and, perhaps most importantly, serving as the technical advisor to all clinicians in the therapeutic area. As president of the Hispanic Network she lead the initiatives to improve the appreciation of the Hispanic culture; as supervisor and mentor of colleagues and as chair of Pfizer R&D teams she lead individuals and teams to success. Her many leadership activities with different deliverables and successful outcomes show her ability to apply different leadership styles as needed and her understanding of each situation with ability to manage change with problem-solving, and decision-making focus. Her clinical skills and a wide range of scientific knowledge include vascular inflammatory and immune diseases, osteoporosis and pain. Loli has been a clinician and clinical lead in numerous teams in Research and Development at Pfizer. In December 2005, Loli completed a secondment in Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals at the corporation's headquarters (HQ) in Manhattan with the Celebrex team as a Medical Director to further increase her understanding of the commercial and regulatory environments providing her with a broader knowledge of the challenges of the drug development process how to anticipate longer term needs for each program. In addition, her technical knowledge is recognized outside Pfizer, she has served as Reviewer for NIH proposals (most recent on “Innovative Therapies for Rheumatic and Skin Diseases” October 2006). As president of the Hispanic Network at Pfizer she launched a series of different sessions focusing on issues of special interest to her Hispanic colleagues at Pfizer, improving external and internal environments via monthly seminars, special training and Round Tables. She drafted the goals for the network in alignment with Pfizer’s business needs focusing on improving relations both within Pfizer and within the Connecticut area. Example of her community activities includes working with New London high school students of Hispanic heritage under Pfizer’s Science and Math Are Really Terrific (SMART) program; with the Norwich CT middle-school ASPIRE program; her involvement as a Founder Member of the Latin Network of the Visual Arts; and her active participation in each of the Hispanic Network’s Newsletter (issued twice a month). As a president she led the network group in exploring ways in which the culture of Hispanic people can be better appreciated by the organization at large. She played an important role in the creation and functioning of the Pfizer Groton/New London Diversity Council, and is a leader in advancing other affinity groups within Pfizer, to better service the needs of Pfizer and all of her colleagues. She helped establishing new network groups for disabled colleagues (2006). She is also the founding member of the Manhattan HQ Pfizer Latino Leadership Council, where she chaired a sub-committee, working to increase diverse recruitment in clinical trials, and works with medical education programs with the goal of leading Pfizer to the number one pharmaceutical company among Hispanic patients and doctors; since 2007 she is co-chair of the communications committee of this Council. She received the National Hispanic Corporate Achievers Award in 2005 and is a member of the National Hispanic Corporate Achievers board since 2006. In 2006 the National Hispanic Employee Association presented Loli MENTóR award “in recognition of her leadership, dedication and contribution to the social and economic advancement of the Hispanic employee and the quality of life of the U.S. Hispanic community”.
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David Gonzalez
District Sales Manager Metro NY
Pernod Ricard USA

David Gonzalez is a District Sales Manager for the Hispanic Market. In his role, David is responsible for selling and developing Pernod Ricard USA brands within this segment of the business. His daily functions entail working with the single largest distributor Southern Wine & Spirits in Metro New York. He leads and manages a distributor sales force towards achieving monthly sales goals in order to achieve the company’s strategic vision and growth.

David joined Pernod Ricard USA in 2001 and has been instrumental in building stronger relationships between the Hispanic community and the company’s direct involvement. He is focused on developing his company’s efforts and presence in this diverse market place. He works closely with marketing in creating and executing innovative programming towards these consumers via his experience and expertise.

Prior to joining Pernod Ricard USA, David worked as a Market Sales Manager at Guinness Bass Import Company. During that time he became a fixture within the West Indian and Latino communities via supporting and attending social events on behalf of his company. This exposure resulted in building long-term relationships with diverse cultural leaders and community members. It also enriched his knowledge and prepared him for a more challenging position in the industry.

David attended Brooklyn College of New York and has more than 18 years of field sales experience within the alcohol/beverage industry. During those years he has received numerous company and community service awards for his involvement and commitment from various diverse organizations.
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Daniel Ramos
Corporate marketing and public relations consultant.

Daniel Ramos is a corporate marketing and public relations consultant specializing in serving firms that wish to market their products and or services to the Hispanic market. In 1978 he was selected by a special presidential commission to be one of 12 U.S. representatives to counsel system leaders behind the iron curtain on the marketing system of the free world. Mr. Ramos has served as the Hispanic market consultant to various political campaigns including U.S. Presidential, Congressional and Senatorial races and has developed Hispanic marketing programs for numerous major corporations.

In 1979 he founded the Hispanic World's Fair held annually at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, the first and premier marketing Hispanic event in the Northeast. He also founded The Annual Minority Career Convention, The Annual Merengon-Dominican Festival, The Annual Raices Festival of Central Florida, and The Carnaval 27 de Febrero, founded and served as President of the New York State Minority Business Convention for 12 years.

He has received 44 Gubernatorial, Mayoral Citations and Proclamations and named Minority Business Person of the Year by the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry for his work in the minority community. He also received the "Director's" Award presented by the Governor of New York for Outstanding Contributions to the Minority Community of New York. He was awarded the responsibility of organizing the New York City's first ad campaign in mass media to stimulate minority-owned business owners, to participate in state and city contracts.
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Angelica Wong
Senior Director/Team Leader Right First Time, Americas Area
Pfizer Inc

Angelica Wong joined Pfizer in Peru in 1980. She held a series of leadership positions in Quality Control and Production before moving to Venezuela as Quality Operations Manager. She was appointed Production Manager in 1995 and the Central Latin America Regional Quality Operations Leader in 1997. She was named Site Leader of Valencia, Venezuela Manufacturing Operation in 1999. Angelica subsequently consolidated the manufacturing operations of the two plants in Valencia into a single organization. In each of these responsibilities Angelica’s priorities have been to develop a strong Leadership team, focusing on talent development and having a sustain focus in performance.

In 2004, she moved to New York as Right First Time Leader, Latin America/Canada Area, and became Senior Director/Team Leader, Latin America and Puerto Rico Region in 2005.

In 2007, she is appointed to the position of Senior Director/Team Leader, Right First Time Americas Area. In her current capacity, Angelica is responsible of implementing Pfizer Global Manufacturing Right First Time strategy in all Manufacturing operations in Latin America, Puerto Rico, US and Canada. Right First Time is a science-based approach that has a dramatic impact on business performance by transforming competencies, technologies and ways of working, thereby establishing Pfizer Global Manufacturing as the industry benchmark in innovation.

She holds a B.S. in Pharmacy and Biochemistry from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. She is a member of Pfizer Latino Leadership Council and Pfizer Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
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Melba Cruz Vasti
Assistant Vice President MetLife

Melba Cruz Vasti is assistant vice president and Latin America regional lead for international compensation and benefits programs for MetLife. In her role, Melba is focused on enhancing and developing international rewards-based initiatives across the corporation and region to attract, retain, and motivate global talent.

Cruz Vasti joined MetLife in 2006 from Groupe Danone, where she managed the executive and non-executive compensation and benefits function for Dannon. She was the Dannon human resources representative on the mergers and acquisition team and secretary of the pension committee. She also was a member of the labor relations team. Additionally, Cruz Vasti worked at Cigna, Colgate and Bristol Myers Squibb, acquiring broad human resources expertise in the areas of organizational change and design, performance management and international compensation.

Cruz Vasti holds a B.A. degree in labor studies and economics from Queens College in New York and attended New York University. She has been a member of numerous industry committees and organizations.
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Norma Y Rodriguez
Director of Business Transformation & SOX Compliance Finance and Accounting

After three years of public accounting experience with Price Waterhouse & Co., joined Brooklyn Union’s Internal Audit Department in 1978. In 1979 promoted to the Treasury Department holding numerous finance positions in Cash Management, Senior Financial Analyst, Pension Trust Administrator, and Manager of Investor Services which launched the first Investor Relations Program at Brooklyn Union/Keyspan.

In a cross-training opportunity transferred to the Customer Relations Department and was promoted to General Manager of the Customer Call Center, identified the need for dedicated Spanish speaking customers and worked with selected employees to enhance their command of the Spanish language. This initiative reduced the cost of serving Spanish speaking customers and reduced the need for third party translation services. Initiated and outsourcing of the customer office cashiering function and worked with the union to restructure the pay scale for entry level employees which was in line with the banking industry. Closed two customer offices opened one more strategic location to service both groups of customers. Team Lead on the Brooklyn Union/Lilco merger for the Customer Call Center and District Office activities.

As Assistant Treasurer worked on numerous financings including Ravenswood and the syndication of our $1.3 billion line of credit. Conducted a benchmarking study of the cash management function, worked on the selection and installation of the XRT cash management system and the interfaces required to streamline numerous manual processes. Project Manager for the Finance and Accounting Business Transformation initiative, working with the Accenture Consulting group. We successfully completed initiatives which streamlined, standardized and improved the efficiency of numerous processes in finance. As Director of SOX work on the Compliance-Project Management team together with the Internal Audit Department and our external auditors. We satisfy the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404 which includes performing the segregation of duties review, analysis, RCTS system training and user support, as well as the review of internal controls and all the corresponding documentation. Perform mini-process reviews and assist the various areas in establishing better controls or streamlining their operations.

Instrumental in the launching of the 1st Hispanic Leadership Organization in 2003, an Affinity group which is dedicated to fostering diversity, leadership, professional development, community and business involvement.
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RAFAEL ROMERO
President/CEO
Sports Medicine Concepts, Inc.

Rafael Romero is President/CEO, for Sports Medicine Concepts, Inc. As part of his duties, Rafael’s primary goal is to provide the best innovative orthopedic implants to countries in Central and South America. Currently, his company has six offices in Mexico, one in Peru, and operations in Puerto Rico for the last eight years. He continues to pursue the expansion of his business with negotiations involving the opening of operations in Dominican Republic, Chile and Ecuador.

Rafael also leads the operations of Roadway Training Corps of America, a Florida non-profit organization that serves as contractor for the Florida Department of Transportation. In these efforts, the contracted work is performed by the organization, while the money finances the operational costs and scholarships for young adults ages 18-15. This makes the organization a self sustained non-profit.

Rafael is an active community leader in the Central Florida region. He is the President of the Hispanic Leaders Chamber of Commerce of Florida, an organization with a mission to offer many programs in small business development efforts and other economic development programs for the community, with a different innovative approach that results in the programs being available to everyone and not just a sector of the Hispanic community in Florida. In the past, Rafael served as an attorney contractor for the U.S. Department of Justice, leading a group of 62 people involved in litigation support efforts in the Washington D.C. area. He also served as Legal Liaison for the largest newspaper in Puerto Rico, collaborating in litigation efforts involving First Amendment issues.

Rafael holds a BA degree from Texas A&M University (Kingsville), a Juris Doctor from Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law in San Juan, a Management Certificate Program from Rollins College. Rafael was admitted to the Bar in the following jurisdictions: Puerto Rico, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C. and most recently will be sworn in October for admission to the Florida Bar.

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IRENE RIVERA
Marketing Manager
National Grid Company

Irene Rivera’s career at KeySpan, a National Grid Company began in 1980 in the Customer Relation Area where she held various positions in the Call Center Operations area. Over the years, she worked her way up through the ranks becoming a Human Resource Partner, Employee Services Effectiveness Manager and now a Marketing Manager responsible for achieving growth and new customer satisfaction goals by leading operational performance, development and change management. She is a founding member of the Hispanic Leadership Organization, one of KeySpan’s affinity groups and has been involved in numerous operational excellence and business transformation initiatives. She is a corporate mentor, a member of the political action council and a graduate of the women empowered program. Her awards over the years include the 2000 Bridging the Gap Award, 1998 Leadership Award, 1994 Inroads Supervisor of the Year. She is currently involved in the KeySpan-National Grid Change Management network to facilitate cultural integration of our new company. She attained her undergraduate degree from St. Francis College and is currently pursuing an MBA in General Management at Dowling College. Irene and her husband John live in Brooklyn and have four children. [ top ]

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IVY LATIMER
Director, EO Compliance Officer
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

Ivy Latimer is the Director, Equal Employment Opportunity and Compliance Officer responsible for leading the Company's EEO and Affirmative Action compliance programs and providing leadership and direction across the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in the areas of federal, state and local employment legislation. Ivy's role is to ensure that all Operating Companies' Affirmative Action plans meet regulatory requirements. Ivy serves on several boards, and was most recently elected to the National Industry Liaison Group Board, which is the premier, employer association on Affirmative Action and EEO in the United States. [ top ]