Under New Management- Latino Exec Retrospective
College, Law School and Spanish Language
Ms. Gutierrez graduated magna cum laude from Northern Illinois University with degrees in political science and Spanish before attending Northwestern University Law School, where she developed an interest in international law. That and her fondness for Spanish led her to join Baker &McKenzie’s Chicago office in 1990.
There she focused on Latin American corporate and finance transactions and participated in the firm’s Spanish-language legal clinic, advising immigrant women from Mexico and Central America. Ms. Gutierrez went on to spend two years in the firm’s Mexico City office before relocating to its New York operation in 1996.
“Even before I decided what type of law to pursue, I knew that I wanted to use my Spanish-language ability in my practice. As an international corporate lawyer, I have used my Spanish extensively in transactions in Spain and Latin America. And then there was my experience at the Spanish-language legal clinic. When I return to the U.S. after my current assignment, I expect to have other opportunities to contribute to the Hispanic community,” she says.
Joined New Your Life
Ms. Gutierrez joined New York Life in 2001 as assistant general counsel, with responsibility for mergers and acquisitions, subsidiary oversight, and investment transactions. The following year, she was promoted to associate general counsel and her responsibilities were expanded to include corporate governance matters. She was also selected tube a member of the company’s Sarbanes-Oxley working group.
Later that year, she co-led an interdisciplinary team that won an intra-company competition for new business initiatives. In 2003, Ms. Gutierrez was chosen to co-lead the group developing and launching the new products her team had proposed: international micro insurance and credit life for the Indian market. Her experience in New Delhi over much of the subsequent year was featured in the company’s 2004 annual report.
Working Abroad
In her current position, Ms. Gutierrez advises the regional CEO and managers throughout Asia on corporate governance and international compliance matters as well as mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. Her job takes her throughout the region, and she occasionally returns to New York. New York Life International also has operations in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, India, the Philippines, Argentina, and Mexico, and just received a license to operate in Vietnam.
Though she’s been doing international work now for 15 years and is accustomed to adjusting to life overseas, Ms. Gutierrez says she was grateful that the company provided her with a one-day cultural training course soon after she arrived in Hong Kong.
“It was very helpful in that didnt focus on any one country in region but touched on the cultural differences throughout the region, “she says, adding that her assignment in India had entailed more of an adjustment. Even so, Ms. Gutierrez says her bicultural background gives her a decided advantage when doing such work, and in the corporate arena generally. She says that is why companies such as New York Life are increasingly reaching out to people like her and rewarding their hard work.
“This company has been simply wonderful in terms of providing me with opportunities. They demand a lot of me, but they reward my effort, and that’s what makes it fun and exciting,” says Ms. Gutierrez, who despite being based in New York for the past eight years considers Chicago home.
“Forward-looking companies recognize that Latinas and Latinos like me offer a unique set of attributes, which is probably why I’m seeing more of us at the senior level here at New York Life and at other companies. It’s very promising to see people I can follow who have climbed the corporate ladder.”
Editor’s note: This article is a 2005 originally appeared in our sister publication Latin Business magazine.
