Jovita Carranza, United Parcel Service (UPS) vice-president of air operations, stood tall at the podium to accept the Hispanic Business magazine Woman of the Year award. She accepted the award from Daisy Expósito-Ulla, CEO of the New York-based advertising agency The Bravo Group, who made the presentation as part of the magazine's 25th anniversary celebrations.
But at 5 feet, 4 inches, Ms. Carranza admitted to the crowd that she looks tiny against the backdrop of her work. Currently she manages the UPS WorldPort facility in Louisville, Kentucky, a package processing plant that stretches more than 80 football fields long and contains 17,000 conveyor belts. "Standing in that facility makes you feel pretty small in the grand scheme of things," Ms. Carranza said. "I get a lesson in humility every time I go to work."
In bestowing the award, Ms. Expósito-Ulla noted the winner's rise from a night-clerk position to supervisor for UPS' Latin American region to her current job running WorldPort, "a 24-7 responsibility." Ms. Carranza recounted her life as the daughter of first-generation Mexican-American parents, then as both a career woman at UPS and as a part-time student in college and business school. "Like one of our packages on a conveyor belt, I'm on a journey," she said. "And I'm not finished yet."
She encouraged attendees to seek lifelong learning and to embrace, rather than fight, change. In terms of her management philosophy, she follows what UPS founder Jim Casey called "constructive dissatisfaction" as a method for continual improvement.
Above all, Ms. Carranza gave thanks for the help she received from mentors, educators, family, and bosses. She even recognized one of her former college teachers in the audience. "I know I didn't get here by myself," she said. "With apologies to Ms. [Hillary] Clinton, it takes a village to raise an executive."
From left: Jesús Chavarría, editor and publisher, Hispanic Business; Manny Ballestero, general manager, HipanicAd.com; Israel Rodriguez, director of Hispanic affairs, Pepperdine University.
The Women of the Year table features WOY honorees Patricia Pliego Stout (front row, second from left), Graciela Eleta de Cacho (fourth from left), Nilda de Boyrie (standing, third from left), and Grisel Arias Kaplan (right).
Eduardo Sanchez (center), new CEO of Lopez Foods, hugs Chairman John Lopez (left) and Raul Yzaguire of the National Council of La Raza.
More Coverage of the Hispanic Business 25th Anniversary Gala >>
