Guillermo Diaz: “Someone’s Going to Do It . . . Why Not You?”

07/26/23 • 45 min

Guillermo Diaz isn’t shy about emphasizing the impact of his time in the Navy.

It’s not only where he developed his competence in technology but where he began to truly understand the power in building relationships—the power in fostering a sense of community.

As chairman of the Hispanic IT Executive Council and former CIO of Cisco Systems, Diaz can provide plenty of proof of his brilliance in technology. What has his focus today is leveraging that expertise to connect Latinos in the greater business community. He does that as the mastermind behind the digital platform Conectado.

Guillermo Diaz isn’t shy about emphasizing the impact of his time in the Navy.

It’s not only where he developed his competence in technology but where he began to truly understand the power in building relationships—the power in fostering a sense of community.

Previous Episode

Camille Vasquez on Her “Earned Luck” in Law

Camille Vasquez didn’t anticipate her fame.

Raised by a Cuban mother and Colombian father who met while learning to speak English at a school in Los Angeles, Camille and her sister were given a simple directive early on: focus on your education. And so they did.

According to Vasquez, that resulted in one of two options: doctor or lawyer. She chose the latter—her sister the former—and started down a path that led her to representing Johnny Depp in a highly publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

It wasn’t a predictable route, but her parents had set her on a course to becoming a prominent—and now internationally recognized—Latina lawyer.

Vasquez doesn’t take her newfound celebrity lightly. Her “earned luck,” as she describes it, means she not only gets to play a role model for young Latinas entering law but also gets to honor her parents’ sacrifices.

Next Episode

Teresa Barreira Was Raised to Be a CMO

For most ten-year-olds, managing a grocery store would be daunting. For Teresa Barreira, it was a learning experience.

Growing up in a small village where her parents ran three businesses, Barreira discovered what it meant to be entrepreneurial and scrappy. That background—in combination with an unflinching pride in her heritage—informs her today as a marketing and thought leader who sits as Global Chief Marketing Officer at Publicis Sapient.

It also inspires her work with younger generations of Latinos who don’t see careers in marketing as viable options. Barreira knows that a diverse perspective in marketing makes the product, the solution, and the company better. She’s seen the proof her entire career—and she wants to see more of it.