Hispanic Heritage Month: Interviewing Latino Manufacturing Role Models

Ed Ballina 
Well, hello amigos, a real special podcast coming your way today. Hi, I’m Ed also known as Eduardo Ballina.

Alvaro Cuba
Hello guys. Great to have you manufacturing buddies. As Ed mentioned, this is a very special episode. This is the month where we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. As you all know, it goes every year from September 15 to October 15. And we thought, well, what’s the best way that we can conduct this podcast in this month? So we decided to invite a couple Latino buddies that work with plants and in the plants to share their experience. And we have a Latin conversation today for all of us. So with us, we have Nathalie and Mike. How are you guys? Thank you very much for accepting to be with us today and welcome.

Mike Ortega
Hey. Great to be here.

Nathalie Hernandez
Thank you. 

Ed Ballina
Yeah, Let’s kick this off. Again, thank you so much, Mike and Nathalie. This is a really great opportunity for us to showcase some top notch Latino talent. And I’m going to talk about a little bit of your background. I won’t do justice to it in a minute or two. So hey, let’s get this started. Welcome to the Manufacturing Meet Up Podcast, amigos and friends. This is a podcast where a couple of manufacturing buddies, Alvaro Cuba and I, kick back. We talk about the shop floor, we talk about our experiences, and really share how wonderful this journey has been in manufacturing for both of us for the last 30 to 40 years. So, let’s talk about what happens on the plant floor. Welcome.

Alvaro Cuba
So as you heard this week, special week and for the news, we also are going to do it a little bit different, tailor it to the Latino month. So Ed will share with us some figures about the Latinos in the US. Ed.

Ed Ballina
Yeah, in preparation for this, I just wanted to kind of dig up some numbers. You know, we all kind of know that the Latino population in United States is the fastest growing, you know, diverse part of the population. And we currently, we’re pretty close to accounting for 20% of the folks who live in the United States and continuing to grow. The Latino community in the United States contributes a pretty big chunk of the GNP. And I was surprised when I looked it up that it is almost $4 trillion, right? The US economy is somewhere around 26, 27. But if you were to force, you know, stack rank countries by GDP, obviously, the United States is number one, you’ve got China, Japan, etc. If you were to take the Latino population in the United States, we would be the fifth largest GDP nation in the world. Even beating out India. And when you think about the population in India, right, compared to 63 million Latinos in the United States, those are really, really impressive numbers. And I’ll leave you with this little nugget. If you follow the growth of the Latino population in the United States, there’s a very good chance that many of you watching this podcast will have a Latino as part of your family. So, enjoy it, look forward to it. We are a lot of fun. We’re vivacious. We eat all kinds of weird foods. We’re usually good dancers, but we also talk too much, as my fellow podcast members have found. So, maybe some information you didn’t quite have. And one other public service announcement. When you think about Latinos in the United States, it’s important to realize we are not, we have a lot of commonalities and many things that bring us together. But in many ways we are a bunch of slightly different cultures that come together in the United States. So, Latinos don’t all eat spicy foods folks, okay? The Caribbeans like myself and my Puerto Rican brothers and Dominican brothers and sisters, we like our stuff very flavorful, but not crazy, crazy tongue -hot. This Cuban learned how to eat spicy foods because I worked in Mexico for almost a year and my Mexican buddies turned me on to the hot stuff. So, anyway, we don’t eat spice, all eat spicy foods and we don’t all dance salsa, but Cubans do a pretty good job with that. So, Alvaro, I’m going to turn it over to you now.

Alvaro Cuba
Great facts. Couple disclosures. Not a good dancer. I love hot food. So as a good Peruvian. Yes. So, but you see guys, one in every five. So that’s the Latino population. And I wanted to bring a little bit the other part, not the numbers, but the soft part. So we bring

Ed Ballina
Peruvian, he’s Peruvian.

Alvaro Cuba
Certainly a different perspective. We have different backgrounds, different upbringing. We bring different way of working. We bring our own experiences to the melting pot. And as I said, we’re saying we bring that special vibe and special joy that we are always smiling. We talk sometimes too loud, but all contributes to this situation. And I was very privileged because I first managed for Mondelēz the Latin American plants in all the different countries. And I can testify what Ed is saying. Every country in Latin America, Brazil or Argentina, Peru or Mexico, its own culture and its own differences. And then I had… the special privilege to manage the North American plants. So in that experience, always try to combine talent, to combine ways of working. And what it was surprising is every time we were able to create an environment of collaboration, sharing, openness, and curiosity, both ways, with the Americans in Latin America and with the Latins in America, every time we were able to create that success was guaranteed, implementations flew, and the results were absolutely great. But that’s not a given. When someone from Latin America comes to here or an American goes there, there are important cultural changes. And we need training and we need to do mentorship and discuss different things and get acclimated. So this is a very important part every time this happens so we all can be at our best.

And then we can contribute everything we are able to contribute and we have to put on the table. So I just wanted to bring this perspective and to all our Latin friends in America or coming to America, just look for that, look for the training, look for the introductions, look for the mentorship, and then you will feel great and then you can contribute the best you have.

And with that, Ed, do you want to do some formal introductions?

Ed Ballina
I will. I think it’s time to let our audience know about these two luminaries that we have with us today. So I’m going to start with Nathalie. So I have known Nathalie for 40 years. And when you look at Nathalie, you’re like, did he meet her as a baby? Yes, as a newborn. OK? In full disclosure, Nathalie is my cousin’s daughter. So we’re related by blood. And I’ve known her for her whole life.

She is currently supervisor of purchasing for Tampa Electric Company, better known as TECO. She’s been with them for 18 years. Started there in the call center, taking calls, moved out to an admin role. And while she was working her full-time job at TECO, she also managed to get her degree as a single mom. Eight years. That’s a lot of hard work, boy.

So great supporting family. She earned her master’s degree in business and she’s currently working on her certification because she wants to be certified as a purchaser and just has a really bright future and career ahead of her. So Nathalie, welcome. I know I might have pulled some family strings to get you here, but I’m not beyond that as these two other folks know, actually Mike too.

So now let me shift gears to Mike Ortega. I’ve known this character for 17 years. Okay. I happened to go down to Florida as vice president of manufacturing logistics and Mike Ortega was my financial support. I don’t know if I call him support. He was really rough on me a lot of times. Always wanted me to cut costs all the time, but that’s what finance people do. But he was the boss. He’d walk into my office, like waving the forecast. Are you kidding me? You can’t do better than this. I’m like, go away. Give me some capital. But anyway, Mike Ortega is a finance director of food service for the south division Pepsi Bottling North America, 37 years with the company. So he definitely has had a long great career with Pepsi, very committed to the company. While he’s currently in food service, he also supported go-to-market and manufacturing, which is how we met up.

Ed Ballina
So like Nathalie’s story, he started as a cashier working for Pepsi so, deep, deep roots. And I also want to, recognize Mike and the south division Adelante team. So Adelante is Pepsi’s Latino ERG. I was, I was honored to be involved in it and my four years and change in Florida.

I was involved before that and beyond that, but that’s where I got to meet Mike. Mike has been one of the key leaders of that organization for as long as I can remember. And they were recognized with Pepsi’s most prestigious honor this year. It’s called the Chairman’s Award. Very, very well deserved. And Mike, congratulations to you and the team and really appreciate the leadership that you have brought to the Latino community.

There’s not much more that I can say about these two. Well, actually, there’s probably a lot more that I could say, but not on this podcast. So based on that, I’m going to turn it over to Alvaro to really get this thing kicked off.

Alvaro Cuba
Well, welcome again, guys, outstanding careers. And it’s great that we have the end-to-end supply chain. Now we have procurement, your experience in manufacturing, support functions, HR, finance. It’s always so important to have. So it’s great that we can have you both with us today.

So for the main topic, folks, we are going to have kind of a few questions and we are going to talk a little bit about Nathalie’s and Mike’s experience. This year’s theme for the Hispanic Heritage Month is “Pioneers of Change, Shaping the Future Together.” And somehow the four of us and all of you, I experienced this, the pioneering for change and the working together. And this is a good month to be celebrating that. So with that, let’s go to the first question.

Ed Ballina
Yep. This is a really interesting one. So how did you come to the United States, right? And how did your career, you know, progress here? So tell us about your journey. Nathalie, we’ll start with you.

Nathalie Hernandez
Sure. So I am actually fortunate. I am actually first generation born in my family to be born in America of Cuban parents. Both of my parents came to America in the late 60s. And although I didn’t have to go through the struggle and everything they had to go through to get to America, I however did progress based off of my parents because I learned off of their struggles.

They continuously told me about how fortunate I was to be able to be born and to be able to live in America in such a free country. And they continuously reminded me that the opportunities here in the United States are endless. So they really enforced in me and told me daily, you know, go after your dreams, do what you want. We’re here to support you. And Ed can attest to that. Like he mentioned, I was a single mom.

And I did go to school being a single mom, but I was so fortunate to have my family stand behind me. They were able to watch my daughter for me so that I can go ahead and progress, you know, and get my four-year degree and move on. So although I didn’t have to go through that struggle, I did learn from my parents.

Ed Ballina
Terrific, Mike?

Mike Ortega
It’s interesting. So unlike Nathalie, I was actually born in Cuba. I left Cuba when I was 12 years old. And if I told you that I was happy when I left, I’ll be lying to you. It was obviously at that age, it was my parents’ decision. And when you’re 12 years old, your life is school, games, and hang out with friends. And I was happy. I thought life was great. Why don’t I want to live here?

But unfortunately, or fortunately, my parents had to make that difficult decision of leaving the island. And obviously, 40 years later, it’s obvious that it was the right decision to make at that time. I enjoy the fact that I was born there because I can relate to some of the challenges that they went through. I know what they’re talking about when they’re talking about the various stages of what happened in Cuba or the whole Mariel boatlifts, so I can relate to all of that.

So I’m glad I got to experience all of that firsthand and I know what it felt like to be there during that time. But extremely grateful to have come through this country. Obviously, like I said, it was definitely the right decision. Once we came to this country, luckily, unlike some of the people who came in earlier in the 60s, we did have the support of my family. My uncle had come in the 60s, so his experience was a little bit different than mine. So we had their support and that really helped us get started because we had somebody that we could lean on that could give us that push to get going and moving forward. And from there, my parents, my mom was a hairstylist, my dad a mechanic, like the work ethic, just seeing them work. My grandmother also lived with us, so I always had her support. So a lot of good home cooking my entire life. Going out to eat was not something we did because my grandmother was a great cook. So we had some great food at the house.

And from there, you know, graduated from high school, went on to, college and, my first year of college actually started working at Pepsi part-time as a cashier. Lucky to have joined Pepsi at that time, a couple of years later, started working full-time and I was able to leverage the benefits of them paying for my school. So in theory, Pepsi, while I was working, I was able to enjoy those benefits and they pay for my school. After I graduated, I’ve made my first move to Orlando. It was a different time back then.

I came to a building of 100 people and there was about five computers. So, you know, the world was a little bit different back then. A lot of more stuff was being done on paper and then computers. So it was just a great place to be at the time. And I’ve been lucky enough to have been in Orlando for over 30 years and enjoy the growth that I’ve experienced with Pepsi.

Ed Ballina
That’s terrific. Mike, one time I told Mike I needed a new laptop and he says, I see the work you do. He handed me a calculator from Walmart. That’s the kind of guy he is. So support sometimes felt a little odd with Mike Ortega. So Alvaro you get to ask the next one.

Alvaro Cuba

Yeah, before that, I like the cooking and the family and that it’s very Latin, no? And it comes from our even heritage in Latin America and obviously the support that we receive. So it’s great. And by the way, I just realized that it’s an overwhelming three zero, three Cuba, one Peru.

Ed Ballina
Three to one. Well, Nathalie, Nathalie gets a half a point. Okay, she wasn’t born there. So she’s like, so it’s really like 2.5, you know.

Alvaro Cuba
Okay, Nathalie, you are my team. I’m sure. I’m sure. Guys, in this Latin experience, even in your case, Nathalie, born in here, but Hispanics to the heart, what was your biggest reward as Hispanics working in the US and what was your biggest challenge? We want to start, Mike? You want to start this time?

Mike Ortega
Yeah, that’s an interesting one. Like I mentioned, I came out about the teenage, during those teenage years, and it was challenging, right? Definitely the language. You come to a new country. At that time, I came to New Jersey, not necessarily to Miami, where most Cubans usually tend to go. So the language barrier was definitely something that I had to get to, and moving to a new country, new friends during those high school years, can definitely be a bit of a challenge there. But you know you grow past that. Eventually we did migrate down to Miami just because of my dad’s work. And once we got here, it was all about, hey, education, right? That’s one of the things my parents always instilled in me was, hey, you got to make sure you get that education. You have to make sure you go to school. And I will tell you, one of the challenges that I had was no real role models, right? My parents did not go to college.

So I really didn’t have that role model. So like I tell people, I didn’t go to college. I went to 13th grade because that’s what I was supposed to do. Right. Once you get to college, you get to experience different things. I went to Miami Dade, I would commute back and forth to college. I did not go off to college, so to speak. So you just get to live that experience. Then you start eventually getting to find out what it’s all about and what career do you want. I remember at that time when I took accounting, I wanted to start a business, but I didn’t know what I wanted to study. At the moment I took accounting, hey, this is the path I like to go.

So that was one of the things for me is the challenges. What do you want to do and how can you help somebody help you get there and identify one of those things you want to do? Eventually, like I said, I was able to identify accounting. I got my job at Pepsi and I was able to progress through various roles in my, my career, I started in accounting and I quickly realized that I really didn’t like accounting as much. I really wanted to be finance because that is where the action was and that’s where I could tell people like, Ed, what you can and cannot do, how you can and you cannot spend money. So that was part of what I wanted to do. I wanted to get in a role where I was impacting here, where the roles and changing the future rather than reporting on what was happening previously.

And then as far as my biggest reward, I got to live the American dream, right? So I came to this country and I’ve been able to live the American dream. My parents came to this country to give us that opportunity. My uncle who was here, who was the one that brought us over, I’m sure he made quite a bit of a financial commitment to brought us over here. You know, the amount of money that he spent, I’m sure to bring us here. So was pretty significant back then. So I feel like we, you know, I’ve been able to provide a better life for my family, for my parents to some degree, my parents and my in-laws, both me and my wife, we have been able to provide them with more opportunities than what they had. And also the fact that now my kids have been able to continue that tradition and we have been able to provide them with opportunities that I did not have when I was growing up or the guidance that we did not have growing up. Now they have both graduated from colleges, they’re both all grown up and you both in professional roles and both doing extremely well and getting ready for two weddings here in the next six months. So it’s an exciting, exciting time.

Nathalie Hernandez
So similar to Mike, the struggles that I had was that my parents, neither one of them did go to college. So I knew I wanted to do something with my life. I just kind of didn’t know how to get there. I knew that I wanted a four-year degree, but I didn’t really know where to go to to start. So I was very fortunate that I started working at TECO when I was 21 years old. And just like Mike, TECO actually did pay for me to go to school as well.

So I was able to work full time and earn my degree while going to school. And essentially I went to school for free. I was very fortunate as well that I had a boss who took a lot of interest in me and became a mentor. He is actually Colombian. He’s Hispanic as well. And he was able to guide me and kind of get me to where I am today in the sense of he guided me on how to go through the school aspect.

You know, how to prioritize this and how to do that. So I’m very thankful for him in that aspect. And I would say that the biggest reward that I received as well was that as a single mom, I too was able to, as Mike said, the American dream, I was able to purchase my first home on my own and just, you know, working at TECO, a single mom and being able to do that on your own was really, it was really touching.

And for my parents to see me do that, it was amazing to see that. I mean, just to see them the day that I graduated and I still look at the pictures and you can tell just how proud they are of how far I came. I will say that also with the biggest reward, I will say is I do have two daughters now. And my oldest is at Florida State University going for engineering. And my youngest is now in nursing school. About to start her clinicals in January. So I too feel as if they’re progressing and they’re going through the same, you know, they’re following in my footsteps, my husband and I’s footsteps of, you know, working in a great company and going to school and bettering their future.

Ed Ballina
These are great, great, awesome stories. Common threads I run through here as I, obviously my own experience and listen to you guys, the role of family, providing that support. Role models. Many of us, I was fortunate, my older cousin, who will probably be on this podcast somewhere down the road, Honorio Padron, he was the first in our family to go to college and get a degree.
I kind of fought electrical engineer, so he wasn’t as smart as I am, because I’m a chemical engineer. But He was my role model. But once you get into the business world, you’re probably the only person in the room that looks like you. And it’s important to gain those mentors and allies, because they can teach you the rules of the road and how to avoid some real big mine fields that are out there.

Alvaro Cuba
Yeah, similar. We were talking at the beginning about the value of the mentorship, the good onboarding, and as it works when you onboard any new person, if you come from a different culture, it’s even more important to have all that. And as Nathalie was mentioning, if you don’t have it, go for it.

Go for a mentor, look for advice, look for a role model. Sometimes it’s in the company, sometimes it’s in other place, but it’s very, very important in, I’m sure in all our careers. Let’s go with the next question.

Ed Ballina
Great. So question, this one is a little bit of a two part, but as you look back over your journey, what advice would you have for other Hispanics, Latinos coming into these opportunities? And perhaps talk a little bit about what about your Latino culture and Latino traits enabled you to be successful. Because we do bring some rather unique, you know, traits, if you will, to the workplace. So we’ll start with Nathalie again.

Nathalie Hernandez
Sure. So the advice that I would give to any Latina or Latino that’s starting out is know your worth and know your potential. Always continue to expand your knowledge. Even if you have that four year degree, continue to take courses, take certifications. And most importantly, I feel as a Latina that you should let your personality shine. And that helps you build your network that way.

Something that I would say really helped me along my career is being fully bilingual. Even though I was born in America, and so I went to school knowing English my whole life, I still embraced learning, speaking Spanish with my family at home, with my grandmothers, with my great grandmothers. And that way, when I entered the workforce, I actually was able to get my job at TECO because I was fully bilingual and I could take on those bilingual calls in the call center. And even so, when I applied for the job at TECO Guatemala, I had to be fully bilingual. I was continuously on the phone daily with Guatemala and other countries. So I would say, be bilingual, know your culture. And although, you know, we say that, you know, Hispanics are loud and they’re loud by voice, they’re loud the way they dress.

And break that because that spice is what makes us different. And that spice is actually what gets us to be who we are, that energy. It makes us achieve our goals. It makes us realize that you know what? Our dreams are within reach. So go get them, go do it. And that is the advice that I would definitely have to any Latina or Latino that’s starting out. You can do it. Believe in yourself because you can do this.

Mike Ortega
That’s pretty good. Totally agree with you, Nathalie. Definitely the language part, especially if you’re in a sales role, that always becomes a critical role when you’re dealing with the public or when you’re dealing with customers. That is definitely something we should leverage. The other thing I’ll say is the work ethic that we bring, right? I think a lot of us have come from backgrounds where parents are working very long hours. My dad used to work at a sugar mill. He was working for six months out of the year. He was working seven days a week, eight hours a day.

And many times he would even double up to make extra money. So that work ethic, my mom was a hairstylist and whenever there was a party, she was always the last one to get there because she had to fix everybody’s hair. So if the party was at seven, my mom was getting there at nine o ‘clock, 10 o ‘clock sometimes. So that work ethic, I think is definitely something we bring. And also a different point of view, right? I think it’s a Hispanic point of view, it’s a different perspective. For me, it’s somewhat based on your life experiences.

Some of it is based on what I experienced by living in Cuba, some of the things I saw by living there. I think that is some of the things that we bring to the table as far as the special salsa that we Hispanic bring, not necessarily salsa dancing. And then as far as career advice, the first one I would say is, know, especially for us as a Hispanic, because sometimes we, you know, we come, we join an organization and we tend to be a little bit shy is, hey, don’t be afraid to take a seat at the table, right? So when you are in those meetings, when you are in those engagements, make sure you have your voices being heard. Make sure you having an opinion. Make sure you are engaging in the conversation and you’re not just a guy sitting in the corner waiting for somebody to talk to you. You have to make sure you always do it in a respectful way, but you’ve got to make sure that your voice is being heard.

Sometimes it may be an idea that you have, sometimes it may be a good idea, somebody may agree with it, sometimes it may be a bad idea, but then somebody, a senior leader or somebody else may tell you why that may not be a good idea. But I think it’s one of the ways that you learn and you develop is by making sure that you’re part of those conversations. The second one is, it’s an interesting one because I think us as Hispanics, I think we like to stay close to home.

Right. We’re afraid to make that jump. And, know, if I live in Miami, I’m, I’m restricted, I trick myself to go into FIU and the whole industry is everything that is happening in Miami. I’m afraid to make that jump to go to University of Florida. If I have to move, I go to New York City I don’t want to do that because that is too far. So, I really encourage you, especially the young people is don’t be afraid to take that, that step. Take that jump. You will learn so much.

By yourself you will grow so much Personally, you will grow quite a bit, professionally you will learn a lot as well You will get to experience new places, meet new people, make new contacts. And ideally the opportunity to come back home would always be there. But just don’t be afraid to take to take that jump and make and make that decision. Just think of this, in my case, for example, the decision my parents made made, right, coming from Cuba to the US or coming, especially Ed, in your case where you came in the 60s where really your parents came here with nothing in their pockets, right? And you come to this country. Now for you to move from Miami to Chicago, for example, it’s nothing compared to what that was involved in that making that decision, especially with technology today where you can talk to your family 20 times a day if you want and you can even live stream videos with them. So definitely take that jump.

And last one was I think you mentioned mentorships before, right? Make sure you’re leveraging mentorships. Make sure you’re leveraging those relationships. And then look for the mentor that’s just going to tell you how great you are and what a great job you’re doing. Make sure you, whether it be formal or informal, that you’re also connecting with that guy that is going to give you that difficult feedback or who really is going to give you that feedback that is going to make you grow, that you’re going to use to make yourself better.

Like we like to say feedback is a gift. When somebody’s giving you feedback, it’s because they’re looking out after you. They want you to do better. They want you to grow better. So leverage that feedback and make yourself better. And while you’re at it and you’re growing up and you’re moving up in a company and you’re moving up in the corporate world, make sure you reach back and you bring somebody along with you and you pay it forward. So those are some of my, those would be my suggestions.

Ed Ballina
Very, very cool. It’s, you know, we could probably spend hours talking about this topic, right? But, you know, the idea of bringing people with you, incredibly important, because none of us got here by ourselves, right? We all had help. And, you know, it’s just a sense of fairness, right? Payback, help somebody else out, because you didn’t get up here all on your own. So, great points. Alvaro, it’s on you now, amigo.

Alvaro Cuba
Yeah, I will just add openness and curiosity. No? Always be open, always be curious, put that with the passion and you have it secure. So it has been a pleasure to have you guys today with us. We really, really thank you, your openness, curiosity to come here. And to be completely open to share your experiences. And that’s a way of pioneering. And that’s a way to pay back and help the other generation that is coming already. And it’s a melting pot. And we all can work together and we can all do great things when we are at our best.

Mike Ortega
Thank you for having us.

Nathalie Hernandez
Thank you.

Alvaro Cuba
With that, well, friends, that’s the episode for today. We really, really thank you for joining us. As you saw, we had a very, very special episode on Latinos and the Hispanic Heritage Month with Mike and Nathalie being so gracious to attending our podcast. So thank you very much.

If you like it and you are on YouTube, like us or give us a review in iTunes. And as we always say, please tell your buddies, the bigger the community in manufacturing, the better. So hope you like it this episode.

Ed Ballina
Awesome. Hey guys, can’t thank you enough. This has been really special. And I also want to point out that I am wearing my Cuba shirt today, which is a double shout out because obviously I was born in Cuba, but that’s also my buddy’s last name, Alvaro Cuba. You know, shout out to Alvaro and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. So we’re to wrap this up. if you like what you’re hearing, if you like the conversation, keep it going. Wmail us at mmu@augury.com. You can also find us on The Endpoint, which is a free online community for manufacturing pros like you and I. And you’ll find that at endpoint.augury.com. We’ll also have in the links the show notes for this episode. So enjoy a great Hispanic Heritage Month, mis amigos, and we’ll see you next time.