I’m a girl from the South Bronx who comes from humble beginnings. I was raised by hard working immigrant parents from Puerto Rico and Spain. We didn’t have a lot of money, but I didn’t realize we were poor because we were really happy. I grew up with a strong sense of community, pride in our heritage, and a can-do work ethic that was instilled in me by my parents. I was taught that education was gold, and that there were so many opportunities in America. If you could dream it, you could become it. I really believed that dream, and I always had a passion for reading, writing, and learning new things. As a little girl in elementary school, I would spend hours reading in the public library, and I used to walk to the corner store and buy the daily newspapers and read all of them.

I was about 10 years-old when the Spanish-speaking landlord of our apartment building asked me to be his translator for an eminent domain issue he had with the City of New York. I translated for him in the courtroom, adding a little bit of a compelling flair to my translation. The judge in the case was impressed by my ability, and leaned over the bench and said, ‘Young lady, you should be a lawyer someday.’ That stuck with me, and I decided to make law my ambition. I also learned a lesson from our landlord, who did not trust lawyers, about the importance of communicating trust in providing legal services and in business.

Because funding was cut at the public high school I was going to attend, I chose to enroll at a vocational high school in the Bronx. They had a nursing program there, which I believed would provide me with a higher science education and with a trade that could finance my future studies. I graduated and took the licensing state boards, and at the same time, applied to colleges and got into several Ivy League schools. I started studying political science at Columbia University with the idea that I would pursue law, and I worked weekends and summers as a licensed nurse at New York City hospitals.

I learned a lesson about the importance of communicating trust in providing legal services and in business.

Nursing was the best experience. It taught me so much about humility, respect, empathy, and obviously health, anatomy, chemistry, and health-related technology, which have come in handy at a scientifically innovative skincare company like Shiseido. I also learned a lot of leadership skills – teamwork, fast-paced decision making, collaboration, and communication. There were a lot of parallels with nursing that I have transferred over to business, and the lessons in humanity, respect, and humility were the greatest of all – knowing how precious health and life is, and seeing how having a hopeful and positive perspective can change the patient’s journey.

After college, I attended Harvard Law School, which was an amazing experience. I absorbed like a sponge the fundamental principles of equities that are the foundation of many laws around the world. When I graduated, I worked for two premier NYC law firms, and got a lot of ‘hands on’ practical experience that most young lawyers do not get. In 1992, I got a call from Unilever U.S. to come in-house as legal counsel, and soon after was promoted to global general counsel of their Calvin Klein beauty business. Later, under my watch, it became the global multi-designer beauty business of Unilever Cosmetics International and Unilever Prestige. Based on this success, I was given many business roles in addition to legal, such as licensing, regulatory and consumer affairs, and intellectual property (IP), which fueled my passion for business. I truly believe that a seamless skill set in both business and law is a formidable secret weapon for any business today.

I was at Unilever for 12 years and then joined private equity, which increased my knowledge of business operations and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which I loved, but after a few years, I was itching to come back to beauty. I went to Japan on a business trip with a portfolio company CEO, and was introduced to Masahiko Uotani, who learned about my M&A experience, as well as my beauty and science backgrounds. When he became Shiseido’s new CEO in 2014, Mr. Uotani – perhaps recalling the prior introduction – approached me in 2015 about becoming both the General Counsel and Regulatory Business Leader for Shiseido Americas, and that began my career at Shiseido.

I truly believe that a seamless skill set in both business and law is a formidable secret weapon for any business today.

After several successes in M&A value creation, Mr. Uotani appointed me the global M&A legal leader, in addition to my roles in Shiseido Americas. In 2020, I was appointed by the Board of Directors to Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for Shiseido, becoming the first woman and the first Latina to hold that position in the company’s 152-year-old history.

In my current role at Shiseido, I wear many hats. I handle all legal, risk management, and Mergers and Acquisitions, including supporting strategic partnerships and investments. Because we are a publicly traded company, transparency and governance are very important. I always say I am a strategist and a catalyst for the business, as well as a guardian and legal operator. Some of my proudest moments are on the M&A side, because we have acquired Drunk Elephant, the license for Tory Burch, we have grown Nars, and most recently acquired Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, plus started LIFT Investments to back impressive startups in our industry.

I’m also proud to say that I’ve helped to build a winning global legal, risk management, and M&A team for the company, with a code of ethics that reflects our Shiseido values and culture. We’ve built the entire framework around trust — trust with our employees, our customers, suppliers, business partners, and our Board. The best advice I’ve learned, and that I give to others, is about the importance of building trust and relationships. Strong relationships can pave the way in so many areas throughout your career.

There are so many things I love about Shiseido, but what I love most are the people, our values and our mission: ‘Beauty Innovations for a Better World.’ We believe that beauty and wellness inspire confidence and empowers happiness, and we all strive to execute that mission. In the beauty business, I’ve learned that you need to think like a consumer, not for a consumer, and Shiseido has transformed their global leadership to become a reflection of the multiplicity of cultures that we serve. The more diverse our workforce is, the more we are thinking like our consumers.

The best advice I’ve learned, and that I give to others, is about the importance of building trust and relationships. Strong relationships can pave the way in so many areas throughout your career.

Everything in my life and career journey has intersected. Even though it may seem like I took many disjointed paths, the experience and skill sets I gained on each of these paths has opened many opportunities for me, and the past learnings have many applications in what I do today. I think everything was connected right from the very beginning. This was all part of the American dream I grew up with: If you can dream it, you can become it. It just takes hard work, determination, and confidence. Anybody who has that optimistic belief that they can do something will be able to make it happen.

Be sure to celebrate this year’s Achiever Award Honorees with 1,000-plus beauty industry executives at CEW’s annual awards luncheon taking place April 25, 2024, in Manhattan. For table and ticket sales, visit cew.org.