ALUMNAE
CATRIONA FALLON ‘88 Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Hitachi Vantara and a two-time U.S. Olympic crew team member Mercy graduate Catriona Fallon is the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Hitachi Vantara and a two-time U.S. Olympic crew team member in 1992 and 1996. She received her bachelor's degree from UCLA and her MBA from Harvard Business School. She joined Hitachi Vantara with nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience in finance, technology and equity research. She leads the company’s global finance, information technology, and strategic operations. Prior to joining the company, Catriona held Vice President positions at major high-tech brands including Itron, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Hewlett-Packard. She began her consulting career at McKinsey & Company and spent several years as an equity analyst at Piper Jaffray & Company and Citigroup. Her purpose in life includes making an impact on women and girls through mentoring. She says, “On a financial chart, you want to see numbers move up and to the right. I want to see women follow this same direction… up and to the right…and I want to help them on that journey.”
“
As CFO of a $3.5 billion global company with a presence in 80 countries, she is focused on leading the team. She asks herself how she shows up as a leader. “I believe the foundation of my leadership skills were learned at Mercy,” said Catriona. “You don't have to be in student council or captain of the sports team. I wasn't any of those, but I still learned leadership.”
I believe the foundation of my leadership skills were learned at Mercy," said Catriona. "You don't have
“
to be in student council or captain of the sports team. I wasn't any of those, but I still learned leadership.
42 MERCY HIGH SCHOOL, BURLINGAME
Catriona had visited Barcelona during an Honors Spanish class trip with teacher Señora Castillo. Their city tour included the construction site of the future stadium used for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, an event in which she would participate in just four short years. While at Mercy, Catriona played multiple sports, including basketball, swimming, and track and field. It was at UCLA that she discovered rowing and soon became one of the stars in the sport. “Athletics is an important tool for development. And participation in team sports plays a part in developing character, strength, and confidence,” said Catriona. “You learn what it feels like to fail, what it takes to stand up, to get back out there, and back in the game. I believe you learn from both winning and failure. You soon realize that what works one day might not work the next. So, continuously trying is core to success.”
