TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE AMERICA UNUM
Q&A WITH LISA IGLESIAS Q&A
EVP & GENERAL COUNSEL AT UNUM
paralegals, compliance managers and leQ Please Tell Us About Your Roots & Upgal assistants. I advise the Chief Executive rising? Officer, executive team, and Board of DiA Each of my four grandparents emigrated rectors. I also manage Unum’s Enterprise from Spain. Traveling alone as teenagers, reer as a lawyer? Why is it so importAudit Team and Corporate Services team. they settled in New York City where they ant to increase representation in the eventually met and later married. My par- Q Can you tell us about your career path, industry? how did you get to your current position? A I would encourage Latinas to pursue a caents grew up a few blocks from each other in the Bronx, where they met and got mar- A After law school, I practiced at a law firm in reer in law as we need their experience and South Florida as a securities, mergers, and ried. They valued education and attended viewpoints in the profession. The markets acquisitions attorney. Two years after havcollege on scholarships. My mother became attorneys and their companies serve are ing my first child, I decided to work with a a nurse anesthetist, and my father earned a diverse, and it is important we represent local temporary staffing and recruiting firm PhD in Latin American Geography. As the entire diversity of that marketplace. that was on an acquisition binge. A few my father’s career progressed, they moved Various opinions educate others about the years after merging with another company, around to different universities. I was born needs of those diverse communities that the CEO promoted me to General Counin Florida, but we moved to Western Canmight otherwise be overlooked. sel. I changed the culture and modernized ada when I was two years old. I lived there There is tremendous opportunity for the law departments. I served as General through high school but returned to Floriwomen to grow and lead in this indusCounsel for almost 10 years before switchda for college and law school. try. Insurance companies typically have a ing industries and becoming the first Genhigher percentage of women in the general Counsel for a fashion retailer. Q When and how did you realize you eral workforce, but they continue to be When the economy collapsed in 2008, wanted to become a lawyer? underrepresented in leadership positions. that company’s plans changed, and it wasn’t Studies show gender-diverse teams have the right time to build a new law departA I always thought I would enter law enforcehigher sales and profits than male-domiment. I took some time off and later joined ment, and even interned with the FBI’s nated teams. More female talent in an ora healthcare company as SEC Counsel to White Collar Crime unit. Trying to be ganization creates greater job satisfaction, help rebuild its compliance and corporate practical, I changed my undergraduate mastronger organizational dedication, less governance culture after an FBI raid led to its jor from Criminal Justice to Accounting at burnout, and higher engagement. top officers being indicted. I resolved related the last minute. After practicing as a CPA Unum has pledged to implement the shareholder litigation and secured an early in public accounting for 3 years, I decided Paradigm for Parity 5-Point Action Plan, release of that company’s deferred prosecuto go to law school. designed to help companies increase the tion agreement. I was promoted to General number of women of all races, cultures and Q As a Latina, what would you say were Counsel a few years later and stayed at the backgrounds in leadership positions. the biggest challenges during your company for 5 years, until Unum called. This year Unum also launched a Mulprocess of becoming a lawyer? ticultural Leadership Development ProA Growing up, I never met an attorney. My Q What has been one of the most regram to prepare racially diverse employees warding moments you’ve experiparents valued education and it helped for the next level of their career. enced in your career? them leave the Bronx and improve our standard of living considerably. However, A I will always remember while working for AT A GLANCE the staffing company a large customer most of our family and friends were from went bankrupt and the company – along that Spanish neighborhood. They didn’t “Unum helps millions of people gain affordable access to disability, life, accident, with its franchisee – were at risk of havgo to college and became mechanics, critical illness, dental and vision benefits ing to repay much of the revenue we had worked for the post office, became cooks through the workplace — benefits that help received from the customer. I secured a or clerks, with most of them staying close them protect their families, their finances and complete release from that requirement. I to our neighborhood. My parents didn’t their futures. came to appreciate the impact and signifiknow anything about the U.S. college sys cance of that event for the franchisee, after tem, law school, or even legal careers, so I • 39 million people protected worldwide he and his wife let me know the successful had to figure it all out. • $7.5 billion in benefits paid negotiation saved them from financial ruin •1 in 3 companies on the Fortune 500 offer Q What is your job title and tell us about as they were about to retire. Unum benefits to their employees your role? A I am the General Counsel for Unum Q What would you say to young Latinas today thinking about pursuing a caGroup. I manage a team of attorneys, 74 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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