Mover and Shaker: Amaly Homer, Chief of Staff to the CEO of Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies

As chief of staff to Mercer CEO Julio A. Portalatin, Amaly Homer holds a powerful position as a gatekeeper, confidante and strategic consultant – all focused on maximizing the organization’s goals.

She has been in the role since 2013, and within the Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) family of organizations for 12 years in varied roles that have included global sales support, business development manager, proposal team lead and senior M&A project manager.

Before joining Marsh, Homer worked for a small insurance company, and finds the similarities to be more surprising than you would think. Though resources were scarce at the smaller agency, she also appreciated that there was a lot of recognition when you created something, and she believes that that gave her a strong foundational beginning for her current rise.

When interviewing with Marsh, Homer initially worried that the environment might be too “cookie cutter” for her. “My fears were immediately allayed; they made a point of getting to know who I was, and I feel like I stepped into a family.”

Sponsors Create Careers Behind the Scenes

Over the years, Homer has been fortunate to have had both mentors and sponsors – but she knows it’s the sponsors who can really make a career. “Often you don’t even know you have them until you hear how someone championed you in a meeting,” she says.

For example, when Homer was on a break after having her second child, she learned that while she was gone, she had been recommended for a role as senior vice president. “I heard that my new title was determined because someone really spoke glowingly about me at a meeting. You can’t always pinpoint exactly who is helping you succeed, but as a Latina, I’ve been raised as a ‘relationship person,’ and that carries through.”

In fact, she knows that it was her strong network of relationships established within the company from both her work experience and her role as co-chair for Marsh’s Latino Resource Group, HOLA, that broadened her visibility with many senior leaders in the organization, which led to her current role. “It was the result of the credibility I established through hard work, dedication to service and passion for delivering value that was recognized and rewarded.”

Right now, she considers her boss her current role model, describing him as “dynamic, with a perspective that’s always intelligent and on point.” She says that since he is also Latino, she appreciates that she has a strong role model in an organization that is largely white-male dominated and admires his focus on diversity for the executive committee.

Homer knows that respect can be hard won, and that everyone will have one moment when something goes awry: You can either learn from it or allow it to hinder your career. For her, it was when she was managing a proposal writing group, and an error was made. Working cross borders added another layer of complexity, but she knew she needed to salvage the working relationship. Homer sought advice from her female boss, who recommended she create a core group to act as her sounding board and supporters. Ultimately, because of her initiative, she was invited to travel to Germany to prepare for the presentation.

“At the end of the project, I realized the lead client manager on this project was only upset because he cared so much about his account. The message is that there is always a solution, and it’s vital to consult and strategize with people you trust. I learned how important it is to nip things right in the bud, rather than hope they will blow over — because they often won’t without action.”

Meeting Challenges Every Day

Homer’s day involves a moving puzzle of putting herself and the CEO in the right place at the right time every day. She likens her role of managing the CEO’s time to both a sprint and a marathon. “As things evolve real-time, I have to be able to flex and adjust the priorities accordingly,” she says. That means I have to be intimately familiar with the most salient issues in the company to make good judgments on where he needs to get involved, since external and internal stakeholders want as much of his time as possible. It is a constant toggle between the short- and long-range perspectives in an evolving landscape.”

A Role Model for Women, Latinas – and Her Children

Over the years, Homer has taken advantage of the opportunities offered through the variety of resource groups that Mercer offers, from Women Executive Business to Business (WEBB) to corporate sponsor partners such as Proud to be Latina.

“I have been able to use my involvement in these groups to serve as a conduit for ways that we as women can continue to excel and to shatter barriers and stereotypes that might prevent us from acting assertively.”

Outside of the office, she is proud of the time she spends with her boys, ages four and ten, helping them to be successful and make smart choices, with the support of her husband. She tries to read as much as she can, and finds an escape in running – in fact, she cites running a 5K race for the first time and having her family cheer for her as a recent accomplishment.

One vignette that resonates with Homer about her journey climbing the ranks at Mercer – both literally and figuratively — involves a memory of accidentally taking the elevator to the 44th floor, the C-Suite level of the corporate headquarters, with her son Gabriel when he was visiting the office as a young boy. “He was amazed at how nice it was and always said I should have an office on that floor. One of my best days was going home after my first day at my current position and telling him I had finally made it to the 44th floor through hard work and perseverance.”

By Cathie Ericson