2nd Annual Latina Pioneer Summit & Hispanic Career Fair
Detroit

After last year’s huge success and positive feedback of the First Annual Latina Pioneer Summit, the Detroit metro area eagerly received the conference back to Michigan. Hosted once again by LATINA Style Magazine, in partnership with the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (MHCC) and the National Society of MBA’s (NSHMBA), the Second Annual Latina Pioneer Summit was held at the Troy Marriott in Troy, Michigan on Monday, October 2nd 2006.

Troy is the second largest city in Michigan behind Detroit, and is the thriving center of business, specifically in the automotive and financial sectors. Though Troy is part of the Detroit metro area, both cities are expanding and organizations have been working together to enlighten everyone about the growth of the Hispanic population in the area. Thus, empowering the Hispanic community following in-step with the Latina Pioneer Summit.

With an abundance of energy, women were welcomed by the mistress of ceremonies Lourdes Duarte, of Fox 2 News. That morning, Terry Beltran-Miller of Vista Latinos followed by giving welcoming remarks and encouraged women to take advantage of the available networking opportunities. Beltran-Miller also encouraged attendees to meet with panelists that would be presenting throughout the day. Before the first panel began Robert Bard, president and CEO of LATINA Style Magazine, welcomed the audience and shared his amazement in the growth of not just the Hispanics but of Latinas in this country—a huge influence in the consumer market including the auto industry.
Latina executives from the major automotive industry, including a large banking firm opened the panel sessions. Diane de Hoyos of General Motors Corporation, Carmen Weimer of General Motors, Casilda de Benito of DaimlerChrysler, and Leslie Quasarano of Fifth Third Bank all spoke about the necessities to be a top executive ranging from breaking the glass ceiling and work-life balance. De Hoyos summed it all with her top ten lessons for a professional (which can also be applied to life lessons): 1) Navigate your own destiny 2) Don’t underestimate the power of networking 3) Take the path less taken 4) Be political astute 5) Say what you mean not what you say 6) Teamwork 7) Image is everything 8) Pay credit and moral bills 9) Don’t make anyone mad 10) Be humble.
Following was the entrepreneur panel moderated by Beth Ardisana of ASG Renaissance. Joining her on the panel were: Faye Caballero of Black River Plastics, Josephina Hooker of Freedom Pontiac, Buick and GMC Truck Inc., Lydia Gutierrez of Hacienda Foods, and Georgette Borrego-Dulworth of Techline Automation. Each of them touched base on the previous panel discussion, and related the reason they started their business.

Lourdes Hassler, CEO of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs greeted the audience at the luncheon. She stressed the importance of education, which led her to introduce our renowned champion and supporter of education, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch. Her topic of discussion was legacy and leadership. As a leader, one needed to realize that leadership is not about oneself but the mission and entity as a whole. Extraordinary leaders are extraordinary because of their humility. As a person, you should “share everything you have and learn through experience and humility.”
After Kickbusch received a standing ovation, more were given to the following award recipients for their commitment and support to the Hispanic community: Lourdes Duarte received the Media Advocate Award, Diane de Hoyos received the Executive of the Year Award, April Diez received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Alicia Villareal received the Community Leader Award, and Maggie Garcia received the Lifetime Achievement Award

The final panel of the day, Arturo Ordaz of Ford Motor Company & NSHMBA moderated the MBA Career panel. Included on this panel were: Lourdes Hassler, of NSHMBA, Kate Piasecki of the Ross School of Business & University of Michigan, Fred Pacheco of DTE Energy; and Dr. Arbulu of Northwood University. The panelists addressed the value of an MBA and the various programs that are offered at a university. It was summed up that an MBA is a critical part of a professional career. As with many things in life, you want to make sure to be prepared—mentally and physically. Once the panel concluded, everyone was welcome to network in the career fair.

The event could not have been possible without the support and participation of the sponsors: DaimlerChrysler (Platinum), Ford (Gold), Fifth Third Bank, Comerica. Sponsors for the Career Fair included: La Salle Bank, Comcast, DTE Energy, Compuware, Nationwide Insurance, Eli Broad School of Business of Michigan State University, Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and John Hancock.

The mission of The Latina Pioneer Summit is to provide an open forum that empowers and educate women in their personal and professional lives. Therefore, it is important to expose the tremendous resources for Latinas available in Michigan and its network of accomplished Latinas.

By Joy Hayes