National Hispanic Corporate Achievers

DR. CHRISTOPHER ROSA
University Assistant Dean for Student Affairs,
City University of New York

Christopher Rosa serves as the City University of New York’s University Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. He joined the CUNY Office of Student Affairs in July 2004 after 11 years of student affairs experience at Queens College. While at Queens, Christopher served as its Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, as Director of its Student Support Services Program, as its Affirmative Action Officer, and as a Student Disciplinary Officer. Christopher has served as Chair of the CUNY Committee on Student Disability Issues (COSDI), Chair of the U.S. President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities’ (now subsumed under ODEP) Employee Disability Concerns Committee, and as Vice Chair of the New York State Independent Living Council. Christopher earned his B.A. in Sociology & Philosophy from Queens College in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Sociology from the CUNY Graduate Center in 2001, with a dissertation entitled “Disability Rites: Constructing American Disability Culture”. A published disability studies scholar, he serves as an adjunct faculty member for CUNY’s Masters Program in Disability Studies and as the Co-Executive Officer of the Society for Disability Studies’ Executive Offices.

JOSE BORREL
Director of Manufacturing, Cambridge
OH Plant
Global Supply Chain – North America
Home Care
Colgate-Palmolive Company

Since joining Colgate in the Dominican Republic in 1994, Jose has rapidly progressed in his career through assignments of increasing responsibility and cross functional experience. His exceptional leadership has enabled him to succeed in many roles within the organization including manufacturing and customer service and logistics.
Jose is currently leading our Cambridge, OH Plant, which is one of Colgate’s strategic manufacturing sites. In this important leadership role, Jose is actively working with the plant team and internal business partners to ensure we continue to meet our cost, quality, safety, productivity and customer service objectives.

In his 15 years of experience, Jose has played key leadership roles in different geographies, making significant contributions in each assignment. He began his career at Colgate as an Industrial Engineer in the Dominican Republic plant and was then promoted to Plant Operations Coordinator and later became Plant Manager, where his leadership skills and results oriented focus increased the profitability of the facility.

Jose later became Operations Manager of the Juncos, Puerto Rico facility where he effectively led the team to deliver productivity improvement and to meet quality, safety and cost objectives. Jose entered the US Company as Project Manager for Oral Care NA in Park Avenue, followed by a promotion as Burlington, NJ Plant Manager.
In his most recent assignment as Associate Director Supply Chain Planning in North
America Customer Service and Logistics, Jose developed a solid understanding of this function, delivering exceptional results through inventory optimization while delivering improved customer service.

Jose has been an active contributor to the community we operate within. While he was
Plant Manager at Burlington, he actively worked with United Way Program.

In his current role, he sits on the Board of Directors of the Guernsey County Foundation,
a non-profit organization focusing on improving the quality of life for the community, both now and for generations to come. Jose is also member of the Community Improvement Corporation of Cambridge which promotes and supports business and opportunities for the development of the local county.

Jose is a graduate of Technological Institute of Santo Domingo, with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineer and a MBA from the same institution. Jose has gained respect in the organization for his ability to deliver results, his teamwork approach, collaborative spirit and great management skills. Jose has received the “You Can Make a Difference” and “Leadership Star” awards in recognition to his performance and
visible leadership. Jose enjoys listening to music, going to the gym and being the family chef during weekends. He is married to his wife Maria Del Pilar and has three beautiful children, Jose Manuel, Fernando and Isabella, who keep him busy at home.

Dario joined Colgate-Palmolive Company Colombia in 1984 as Production Supervisor and progressed through various positions of increasing scope and responsibility in the subsidiary, including Soap and Detergents Plant Supervisor, Senior Industrial Engineer, Process and Technical Engineer, Detergents Focus Factory Manager and Technical Manager.

In 2000, Dario moved to Mexico as the Technical and Quality Director of Mexico’s facilities, where he successfully led the implementation of the Corporate Quality Standards and the FDA Quality System for the Mission Hills Oral Care Plant, resulting in the FDA approval of the site.

Currently, Dario has global responsibility for Global Quality – Oral Care organization. Dario’s extensive Manufacturing, Quality & Technology experience, coupled with his leadership capabilities and teamwork approach to working made him ideally suited to lead this newly formed area within Global Quality. In this position, Dario is responsible for the development and implementation of short- and long-term strategies to ensure quality of products, most efficient and effective use of our resources, and compliance with Colgate Quality standards and Global Quality systems required by external regulatory bodies in the regions.

During 2009, Dario led his organization’s transition to a truly unified Quality team. Feedback from Supply Chain and other customers was uniformly positive on his leadership and partnership skills.

Dario holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia and a top management diploma from the ICESI University, also in Cali. He also received a Global Chairman’s You Can Make a Difference Award in 1999.Dario is a long tenured Colgate executive with uncompromising ethical standards. His excellent technical understanding balanced with strong relationship building skills enables him to successfully lead multiple functions to successful outcomes. He is a mentor and leader within the function and has contributed to the development of many early in career talented Quality and Supply Chain professionals.

He is a dedicated father and husband. He lives in New Jersey with his family.

Jim Arca serves as the Managing Director of Facilities for FedEx Office. His area of responsibility includes the repair, maintenance, remodeling and construction of the 1,800-plus FedEx Office retail centers in the United States and Canada. Also, under his direction is the facility management of the two corporate offices in Dallas.

Jim has 23 year experience in the retail facilities and construction field. He started his career with Mobil Oil Corporation. In his 13 years with Mobil he held various positions which include Retail Project Engineer, Environmental Engineer, and Operations District Manager. He also obtained International experience in Peru, South America as the Director of Construction for Mobil’s retail market entry when the government privatized the retail gasoline business.

While in Peru, he managed the construction and conversions of nearly 100 locations. James Arca received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and his Masters of Business Administration in Finance from Dallas Baptist University.

Jim resides in Keller, Texas (suburb of Fort Worth), with his wife, Debbie of 16 years, daughters Elena (15) and Adriana (10), and son Jimmy (14). He takes pride in being involved in his community through coaching youth sports in soccer and football; participation with the Keller Central High School Theatre and Choir Booster Clubs; St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Catholic Church and The United Way.

Mike Lujan is currently Manager of the Oakland Service Center for FedEx Freight which serves the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He has been with FedEx Freight (formerly Viking Freight) for almost 30 years. During his career, Mike has held management positions at various centers throughout the United States.

He believes strongly in a positive work environment where diversity is embraced and valued. Mike has been recognized for his efforts in leading several centers to win “Service Center of the Quarter” multiple times as well as leading his team in Gardena, CA to win “Service Center of the Year.” He has also been awarded the title “Human Resources Service Center Manager of the Year.”

Mike consistently lends support to FedEx local community programs by championing volunteer efforts. His work includes participating in various food drives for persons in need and the March of Dimes. He is also a strong supporter of Alcoholics Anonymous and routinely serves as a guest speaker where he provides insight into the devastating affects of alcoholism on a family to those currently in recovery.

In summary, Mike is a manager who believes that “trust” is the key to making any interaction outstanding and practices positive reinforcement as a primary incentive to encourage excellence in performance.

Ricardo Aldape serves as a Senior Programmer Analyst at FedEx Services in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In this position, Ricardo provides services for information technology professionals and business groups within the corporation. Armed with a degree in computer science, Ricardo has worked for Security Pacific National Bank (SPNB), and as vice president of the Security Pacific Automation Company -- an organization that developed innovative systems and networks. In this capacity, he led a staff of 10 analysts and programmers that were responsible for the main system architecture design and interfaces, including 14 systems with a total of 1,300 users.

After Bank of America acquired SPNB, Ricardo was retained as a consultant to oversee the data merger between the two multi-billion dollar companies. As a consultant, Ricardo worked with multiple clients on various projects, including the merger between the Tokai and Sanwa Banks of Japan, and systems development for trucking company, Viking Freight Systems (currently FedEx Freight, Inc.) of
San Jose, CA.

In the area of community service, Ricardo serves as a volunteer tutor where he teaches conversational Spanish to members of his church. He also participates in the FedEx-sponsored March of Dimes campaigns and Diversity Week activities. Ricardo’s list of awards include the FedEx Five Star Award, the company’s highest
honor presented to an employee for outstanding service, and “Extra Mile Awards” presented for his contributions to several information technology-related projects and initiatives.

Mark Barrett is currently the Director of New Business pertaining to the Plan Sponsor and Annuitant Administration teams for MetLife’s Annuity and Investment Operations organization located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Mark leads multiple teams that are responsible for the strategic management and day to day operations for over $17 billion of in-force Structured Settlement and Income Annuity administration as well as the strategic management and day to day operation of over $40 billion in Separate Account assets for many of the Fortune 100 corporations for whom MetLife provides annuity benefit as well as investment administration.

Mark has over 22 years experience in the insurance and financial services industry, with over 13 years of this time with MetLife. Mark began his career at MetLife as a Financial Reporting Analyst and has held several positions within the U.S. Business line of business including Senior Pensions Benefits Consultant, Investment Administration and Separate Accounts Manager, and Director of Structured Settlements and Income Annuities Administration.

Mark actively participates in MetLife’s corporate social responsibility efforts including the Atlanta Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, co-lead of the Alpharetta Local Inclusion Action Team and member of the U.S. Business Institutional Diversity Committee. Mark has also coached in the Dunwoody Little League program.

Mark graduated from Central Connecticut State University in 1985 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

As Senior Director, Talent Acquisition, McGraw-Hill Education, Peter Castillo is responsible for leading the staffing function of one of the world’s top educational publishers, serving teachers and students across virtually every aspect of the growing global education market from pre-K through professional learning.

Peter has spearheaded the challenging effort to identify top talent to meet the growth initiatives for McGraw-Hill Education, including developing recruiting strategies for marketing and sales for its testing and assessment services. Peter is a key member of the Corporate Talent Acquisition team and is intimately involved in developing the Company’s social media recruiting strategy, campus recruiting efforts and vendor relations. He is instrumental in devising the Company’s diversity recruiting initiatives to build on the Company’s perception in the employment market as an “Employer of Choice.” Peter’s partnership with an outside vendor, HBCU Connect, helped in The McGraw-Hill Companies receiving the #1 employer award on the HBCU Connect Top 50 Employer list in 2009. Peter is a long time committee member of The McGraw-Hill Companies’ Hispanic Heritage Network (HHN) employee resource group. Peter works closely with all the firm’s employee resource groups as well as the Diversity & Inclusion Councils and leads many efforts to attend key industry conferences.

Peter joined The McGraw-Hill Companies in 2005 after a successful tenure with Pitney Bowes as their head of operational recruiting. Prior to PB, Peter
was the VP of International Staffing for ThruPoint, a management consulting firm specializing in network security. Working closely with the senior
management team to build global business opportunities and strengthen its presence in existing markets, Peter’s recruiting assignments included Beijing, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, London, Ireland and Caracas, Venezuela.

Earlier in his career, Peter was a national director of staffing at Ernst & Young, VP of Recruiting with Citicorp and Regional Recruiting Manager
with General Electric.

Geraldo is the HR Director supporting Platts, the world’s global leader in energy information. He joined the McGraw-Hill Companies in the spring of 2006.
In his current role, Geraldo leads the people strategy focusing on delivering results in the area of talent development, attraction and employee retention. In his tenure, Geraldo has influenced the organization to attract top talent who are helping the organization expand in new markets such as Risk Management, Emissions and key emerging markets including the Middle East, Russia and China. He is the co-chair of the Leadership Development Committee of the Hispanic Heritage Network.

Prior to joining McGraw-Hill, Geraldo work for the International Business Machines (IBM) for nine years. At IBM he had the opportunity to work in a number of roles, including HR generalist, compensation specialist, diversity talent manager and HR manager. During his tenure he worked in number of locations, including Raleigh, NC, Washington, DC, White Plains, NY, Armonk, NY and Rochester, MN. As a diversity talent manager he established IBM as the employer of choice at diversity focused colleges and universities, including University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Florida International University, University of Miami, North Carolina A&T and City College of NY. He also created partnerships with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and the Society of Hispanic Engineers. His leadership in diversity recruiting resulted in a significant increase in the number of Hispanic and Black employees joining IBM. He was an active member of the Hispanic Employee Network group which created leadership development, community outreach and mentoring opportunities for internal Hispanic employees.

Prior to joining the corporate scene, Geraldo had a 10 year career working in higher education as a counselor and recruiting officer. He worked at his Alma matter, SUNY Geneseo, Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY, Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.

Geraldo received a BA in Political Science and an MPA from SUNY Brockport. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity an organization focused on a culture of service and service for humanity. He is a volunteer for the Big Brother Big Sisters program. He was born in the Dominican Republic and now lives in the Bronx. He is an active road runner and enjoys competing in road races.

Rosmery began her career at KeySpan Corporation, a subsidiary of National Grid, in 2004 as an intern in the Stock Plans Group. Upon graduating college in 2006, and based on her outstanding work as an intern, she was offered an Associate Analyst position in the company’s Treasury department. Rosmery spent two years in Treasury where she was responsible for the administration of the company’s 401(k) Plan. In 2008, Rosmery joined the Planning & Forecasting Group where she was recently promoted to Financial Analyst.

Rosmery graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Business Management from St. Francis College. She recently attained and MBA in Finance from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, she currently lives with her husband Jaime in Woodside, NY, where she volunteers her time in multiple community activities such as fund raisings, food collection, and mathematics tutoring. Rosmery is a board member of the Hispanic Professional Association (HPA) at National Grid.

Since 2004, Rosmery has been actively involved in the leadership of HPA, serving as Events Coordinator, Communications Lead, and Secretary. She is currently the Treasurer.

In addition, Rosmery is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, the Alliance of Black Professionals at National Grid, and the Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society in Economics. She recently became a member of the St. Francis College Alumni Board, her Alma Mater.

Alejandro has been with Pfizer, Inc. for 18 years. As Vice President of Corporate Services and Business Operations at Pfizer, Alejandro is responsible for delivering business and mobility solutions across the enterprise (such as Global Travel, Fleet and Creative Services), as well as for providing business planning and performance management leadership for Global Operations, Pfizer’s Real Estate & Facilities organization. His accomplishments at Pfizer have resulted in significant contributions toward Global Operations’ goal of delivering total shareholder value through creating, optimizing and responsibly managing workplace environments that enable Pfizer’s core business.

At Pfizer, Alejandro has also been an active member of the Pfizer Latino Colleague Resource Group (CRG) since 2008. He currently serves as the chairman of the Membership Committee for the Pfizer Latino Cultural Resource Group, a small organization of passionate colleagues who’s objective is to foster greater engagement, inclusion and cultural collaboration across Pfizer business.

Born in Argentina, Alejandro received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and a Master's in Business Administration from the Argentinean Institute of Business Development (IDEA).

He also holds an Argentinean/French Baccalaureate specialized in Sciences. Alejandro joined Monsanto Argentina in 1992 as a Manufacturing production planning trainee, and went on to hold a number of positions of increasing responsibility in Global Sourcing, Supply Chain and International Logistics. He relocated to the United States in 2001 to join Pharmacia in Skokie, IL as Director of Materials Management & Logistics for the Chicago region.

After the merger with Pfizer in 2004, Alejandro joined Global Operations in the Enterprise Performance Management team. He later became Senior Director of Business Planning & Operations where he was responsible for leading a diverse team of skilled professionals providing strategic decision support, business planning and program management leadership to Pfizer’s Real Estate and Facilities organization. Married to Cecilia, and with three children, Lucila, Gaston and Olivia, Alejandro enjoys family activities, music, movies, travel and soccer.

Alejandro Bernal has been with Pfizer for ten years. He is currently the Area President for Canada and Latin America, Pfizer Animal Health. Alejandro has hold other positions within Pfizer. He was previously the Regional Director for South West and Central Latin American Region for Pfizer Animal Health in Mexico; Business Director for Central America and Colombia for Pfizer Animal Health, Costa Rica; Business Unit Manager Swine and Poultry, Pfizer Animal Health, Mexico; and Regional Marketing Manager Swine for Pfizer Animal Health, North of Latin America.

Alejandro Bernal received a Master Degree in Business Administration from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia and University of Manchester, UK. He also has a Master of Science, Physiology of Reproduction, from Texas A&M University, and is a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine.

Anamaria Luque
Vice President Emerging Markets
Established Products, Pfizer

Ana Maria Luque, brings 15 years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical market in areas such as: Established Products Portfolio, Regional Business Development, Regional Marketing TA & Portfolio Management, Country Management, and Commercial Operations & Brand Management. She successfully completed her Masters Degree in Business Administration with additional education in Bio Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacological Science.

Recently, Anamaria Luque was named Vice President, Established Products of the newly formed Emerging Markets Business Unit; her position became effective January 1, 2009. Previously, she was the Senior Director Team Leader for Established Products (EP) for Canada/Latin America/Africa/Middle East since July 2007. She was responsible for 2.2 Billion dollars in revenues. She created a new innovative business operating model for EP across the area better known as the “Community Practice Network” that was recently selected for the Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations (WPO) Commercial Excellence Award. She reports directly to Jean-Michel Halfon and has been become an integral member of David Simmons Leadership team since the creation of the global Established Products Business Units (EP BU) early in 2008.

She was Business Development Director for Latin America since February 2005. In this capacity, Ana Maria reported to Andreas Fibig, Area President for Latin America. Serving as Country Manager in Peru for five (5) years since April of 2001, Ana Maria managed the two merger process of Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia; while sustaining people engagement and obtaining business growth. Ana Maria strengthened Pfizer’s image in Peru through appropriate public relations management, and gained a leadership position on intellectual property management. Ana Maria joined Pfizer Peru in 1993 as Product Manager. Since then she has assumed positions of increasing responsibility in Latin America (LA) Marketing, Sales and Business Operations. She has been President of Intellectual Property Committee (Lima, Peru) in the AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE as well as Vice-President of the Pharmaceutical Research Association, Lima, Peru 2003 – 2004. She is now a leading director of the General Manager committee of the “Organization Women International Trade” (OWIT) Association and has recently become an active member of the Pfizer Global Women Steering Committee.

Anamaria is happily married and proud mother of two children, Claudia and Fernando and has been living with her family in Westchester, New York since 2005.