Voice of Experience: Licenia Rojas, Vice President and Global Leader for Risk and Payments, Technology, American Express

This week The Glass Hammer is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with profiles of senior Hispanic women in the financial and professional services. Check back all week long to read more.

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Licenia Rojas, Vice President and Global Leader for Risk Automation and Payments for Technology at American Express, as women advance in their careers, and there are fewer role models to draw inspiration and advice from, mentoring and sponsoring within a peer group can be invaluable. “For my peer group, we’re always looking at how to expand each other’s current responsibilities. We’re creating sponsorships among ourselves.”

That can mean letting colleagues know about new roles or projects, or letting other team members know when a peer has made a significant contribution or achievement. “As you grow, it’s important to feel comfortable saying someone is doing a great job. I really believe in paying it forward,” Rojas explained.

Career in Technology

“When I was an electrical engineering major, I realized I liked my computer classes better – so I switched majors,” Rojas began. As a senior in college, she met an HR recruiter for an insurance company, who offered her an interesting opportunity. The company was looking for computer programmers to participate in a new training program. Rojas would have the opportunity to try out a slew of professional roles and career options in the technology field. But, she continued, “I had to make a decision – taking the job meant a delayed graduation from May to December.”

Ultimately, she decided to take the recruiter up on the offer, pushing her graduation back a few months to begin the new program. “And it was the best decision I ever made,” she said.

The training program put her on the fast track, getting experience in programming, project management, business analysis, and more. She graduated from Barry University, Miami Shores and ultimately stayed with the insurance company for five years. She then moved to a telemarketing firm, but less than a year later she got the opportunity to move to American Express as a contractor.

“It was a brand that had always attracted me,” she explained. She took the job, and became a full time permanent employee within a year. “And now, 14 years later, I’m still here,” she said with a laugh.

Currently, Rojas is the global head of Risk Automation and Payments for technology at American Express, and she described it as her biggest professional achievement. “It’s a large role, and it’s a mission critical role for the company,” she said. “And I did it while expanding my family.”

She explained that she was offered the role upon returning from maternity leave following the birth of her twins. “The leader who ran the organization resigned and I was asked to step in.”

“It’s the balance of everything – it really had all of the aspects of what I was looking for. It’s global, it’s customer focused. And it’s an area where there are so few women.”

Rojas is also enthusiastic about working in the technology industry, because of the exciting pace of change. “American Express just had its sixth JD Powers Award. We’re always making sure we think about the customer’s needs. But in technology, everything changes. You can’t think you’ve got it nailed three years from now. We have to think about the needs of our customer base today and our future customer base. And there’s the additional challenge of the time it takes to do that.”

She continued, “It’s exciting to be here at American Express, to be part of growth initiatives and partnerships. I get to see it and I’m at the center of it.”

“And I get to play that role on my team, too,” she added. “How do you change the entire organization’s talent strategy? I find that very fulfilling and it’s one of the best parts of my job just seeing the growth of people. It’s a diverse culture and I enjoy the global aspect of my job.”

Women in Technology

“I think there’s a lot of advancement when I see the number of women in executive-type roles across different industries. But we need to continue to focus on the advancement of women,” Rojas said.

“The number one thing is mentorship. There are not enough role models. When I wanted to expand my family, I wanted a mentor to see how to do that while working this job – and not that there weren’t people, but there weren’t a lot of them.”

And just as it is important to find mentors who can help guide you during your career, she said, it’s also important to give back. Rojas also believes it is important to stay involved in grassroots community efforts to get girls interested in technology. “You see the decline of women entering science, technology, engineering, and math fields. We have to find ways to encourage young girls to continue in this type of field.”

For example, she has participated in recruiting efforts for college students and tries to mentor young women who reach out to her. “I got an email from one of the female interns asking for my advice – and that felt wonderful.”

She said she would like to see women taking charge in efforts to bring younger women into technology. “As much as we’ve done this, as women, we can’t expect people to do this for us. I think we have to understand the power of mentoring and sponsoring.”

Rojas encouraged women to be authentic. “From a networking perspective, you need to be true to you. And driving that message to other women becomes important.”

As for Hispanic women in particular, Rojas said, finding role models becomes even more difficult. She continued, “The issue compounds itself when you add other layers of diversity. I think people embrace diversity more than they did 20 years ago. You bring different perspectives to the table. I think staying authentic and staying comfortable in our own skin are important.”

She added, “That confidence becomes so important.”

Rojas is the chapter leader for Florida for women in technology, and she is the diversity leader for FL Technologies. She also participates in the American Express Executive HOLA (Hispanic Origin and Latin American) network. “We’re trying to address how we strengthen our network across various locations.”

Advice for Professional Women

Rojas says she wishes she had learned about the importance of soft skills earlier in her career. “I think that when you’re young and first starting out, you underestimate listening skills. You don’t realize how soft skills play such a big role – in school you’re not making that connection.”

She encouraged participating in a class or training program on soft skills. “Even an elective in college,” she said.

“From a woman’s perspective, I think you need to know how to articulate and how to present yourself. You don’t realize all of the body language that’s there,” she explained. “You think you’re being polite and nodding your head, but someone else thinks you’re agreeing with them. There are those kinds of subtleties.”

Active career planning is important for women beginning their career. “Understand the path you want to take and plan that path to the extent that you can. Then find out what you need to do to support that plan.”

She continued, “A lot of women just fell into this role. But if you’re coming into it now – technology is so much more abundant. Look for a mentor who can help you plan early on. Get feedback, get coaching, ask questions. The desire to learn is so critical in this field because technology changes. The best leaders are learners.”

Women who are more seasoned can also benefit from career planning, she says. “It depends on where they are with their needs. What’s your plan? Think of two or three things you want to focus on and think how do you achieve them.”

When it comes to work life issues, Rojas continued, “It’s so individual for everyone, but I think it’s about understanding what works for you. It’s okay to listen to other women, but you should also realize that it’s okay to do something different.”

She mentioned that she spends time carefully planning her calendar to ensure she makes it to school events. And taking advantage of the time difference between her office in Miami and American Express’s technology group office in Phoenix is a big help too, she added.

Rojas also encourages women to make time for themselves. “Even finding a moment for yourself to go work out – because it’s also about you, not just the kids. Sometimes it can be hard to find time for mom,” she said with a laugh. “I think the biggest challenge is learning not to feel guilty about it. But nowadays, the men are also taking a bigger role – they want to see their kids at the play too! So the issue is not foreign to them.”

In Her Personal Time

Rojas has three kids and a husband of 15 years, and spends most of her time outside of work with them. She says she feels lucky that her community interests (getting women involved in technology) align with her work at American Express.

“To me, it’s all about, as women, being passionate about what you do. Enjoy what you do and love what you do – whether that’s work or community involvement. If you’re going to do something, feel passionate about it.”

She added, “That, in itself, helps a lot. If it’s not, then change it. That’s okay too.”