Interview by R. Rodriguez

“A breath of fresh air.” That’s how I would describe this week’s featured Latina . Ariela Nerubay is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TuTv, a joint venture between Televisa and Univisión and she is based out of Los Angeles , California. But this is not the end of the road for her. Born in Mexico City , Ariela has a very carefully planned agenda that includes success, work/life balance, pride, professionalism, and humanity. Above all, if I were to describe her personality in one word, I would definitely say “Humanity”. You do not have to be a cutthroat, controlling woman to be successful. All you need to be is focused, open to new experiences and brave enough to have your say, and say it with respect and assertiveness.

We had a very pleasant phone conversation where Ariela shared with me her “Camino al Éxito” in a proud and humble manner.

Ariela, what is the secret to your professional success?

Being focused. My career choice was Marketing and Advertising and every job choice I have ever made in my career path has been made to add to the goal to becoming Vice President (which she currently is) and eventually Chief Marketing Officer.

My passion has always been Communications. It allows me to work in the areas I feel strongly about: Public Relations, Marketing, and Advertising. If I’m going to be at the top I need to focus my choices to contribute to that goal and where I want to go.

I worked on Public Relations early in my career, then Journalism, then Advertising for 6 years and now Marketing. I never took a job just for the sake of it. It had to be part of the plan and relevant to my career path. Nowadays, people do not take their time to look for options. You have to find the job that will allow you to build up a resume that will lead you to your career goal.

You have to be confident enough to step up to the plate and suggest ideas, when you help your company grow you automatically grow with it. Two other important traits every business woman must have are commitment and loyalty.

You can’t be afraid of making decisions. Every time I made a decision I was never afraid of being accountable. At the end of the day, if you are manager or in charge of a department, you are ultimately responsible for your team’s actions. You just can’t just point fingers and avoid repercussions.

Also as manager, you have to empower your employees. You have to ensure that they know how the team works and that you are all speaking the same language. That will avoid misunderstandings. The same way you face the music when something goes wrong, as manager, you will also feel utmost pride for all the praise you will get for a job well done by you and/or your team.

In a man’s world, women should be careful not to emulate the wrong qualities. Ariela states, “I can be assertive without being aggressive. You can be direct but you always have to consider the other person’s standpoint. Do not beat around the bush, but be respectful. It is not about being pushy, but being firm. Not about bullying but about being fair. It’s about playing the game with kindness and respect. You cannot judge a situation because of how you feel, but you need to assess it based on the facts available to you.

How do you achieve work/life balance?

I don’t believe in working hard, but working smart.

I work non stop from the moment I sit at my desk until the moment I leave. I get things done efficiently and productively. Many people waste their time on chit chat, breaks, web surfing, etc., and by the end of the day they discover that they still have a lot of work left to be finished. That compromises their ability to leave on time and enjoy their personal life.

Also, people sometimes think that you have to do everything in one day. Prioritize, meet your daily deadlines and everything else can wait until tomorrow. On the other hand, I believe that if your day’s work can not be accomplished in 8-9 hours, you need to reach out and ask for help. Ask for a re-evaluation of your responsibilities, more staff or extended deadlines.

Who is your role model and why?

I have lots of role models! Throughout my life I have observed behaviors that I want to emulate. I’ve picked up attributes from my Mom, my Dad, my jobs, my fellow co-workers. Very early in my career remember meeting a peer, he was so organized… Everything was labeled and in its place. If you went to him and asked him for a document, he’d open up a drawer and know exactly where it is. I would look at his organization and I admired that. I’d say, ‘I want to be that way.’ I am not as organized as he was, but that’s what I strive for.

If I see a quality on a person that I admire, I strive to emulate them. If want to be thought of as a kind person and I work towards that.

You also get mentorship through bad experiences. They teach you what not to do. If you meet an individual who is condescending towards others, people will not want to work with him or her and you don’t want to be like that.

How important was mentoring to you? And do you in turn mentor other Latinas?

I joined The Patrick L. Mellon Mentorship Program, which is organized through the National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Cable. NAMIC is an organization that supports people of color in the advancement of their careers in the cable industry. The mentorship program matches mentors with mentees in the industry to help them grow professionally. When I joined I specifically asked to be matched to a Latina .

One of my hobbies is doing voiceovers. I’ve done it for maybe 5 or 6 years. I was able to enter into that world because I used to enjoy watching actors in the studio. I used to drive a long way just to sit and watch them. Then one day I got the chance to do a small job. Little by little I was able to do more and more work. You have to understand that in order to achieve your goals, you have to start at the bottom and be patient. You should build your resume to focus your path towards your goal. If you are going to start at the bottom, start at the bottom of the career that you want. Create a resume, go to the company you wish to work for, offer them an internship. Say, ‘I want to do an internship with you. I will work for free for the next month.’ This will give you the opportunity to proof yourself and learn at the same time and this will open doors for you.

You have to be determined but not stubborn. You have to be fearless. You have to believe in your capabilities. It is all about actions. When an employee approaches me with a situation, I want to know what course of action they will take. And above all, be honest. We can sniff dishonesty miles away. Be truthful to the people you work for, be truthful to yourself. Work smart and show results. You also have to create metrics. You have to develop a measuring mechanism for the tasks that you achieve to prove that you have met your goals. If you show me results, I will support your growth.

What obstacle(s) have you encountered and how did you overcome it?

At the beginning of my career I had an incident where I started my first job in Advertising. Coming from Public Relations, the internal processes were very different, thus, the learning curve was deeper than my supervisor expected when he hired me. When time came for my review, it was less than stellar. He even went as far as saying that I was not made for this job. And at that point I knew my days were numbered.

I could have given up, but instead I wrote up a proposal addressing each and every one of the issues in my review. It was an action plan that offered solutions to the problems addressed. I took the plan to the president of the company. I said, ‘I really enjoy working here and I know I can be good at this. I shared with him my review and the plan, and asked if he would support me. He said ‘not to worry.

That week I was offered to move to different account group, however, with a pay cut and a demotion. I took it!

Within six months I was back into my original position and got a raise. My new boss saw my value and was very supportive. So the moral of the story is: Do not let any challenges detour you from your destiny. Fight for yourself and don’t let anyone bring you down.

How do you define success?

To me success is feeling happy. If you are happy in your life, in your job and in what you do…, and you enjoy doing what you do… you are successful.