Women in Management

Helen Hernandez, the first Latina to sit on the PBS Board is a dynamic woman in management. My focus is to recount Helen’s life and offer commentary on her early periods of leadership to the position as one of the top executives at Nielsen, NRG. Ms. Hernandez start began in the San Gabriel Valleys where she grew up. She raised money for a national organization by asking people to sponsor a bunny hop. Helen’s advice for women in management is to be loyal, committed and fearless. She said that people who are leaders have to risk takers.

Hernandez began her long journey as a single parent with three children. She was employed at the national labor union in Huntington Park, CA as an administrative assistant. Her boss, president of the national labor union at that time, told Hernandez that the labor union did not have a Latino on its national board or in any of the elected national positions. Armed with that information, Hernandez seized the opportunity that her boss offered and immediately enrolled in the George Meane Labor Studies. She also attended Antioch University Labor studies program. She studies wages, hours and working conditions. Helen discovered that women on average make approximately $200 a week less than their male counterparts. She used this information as a learning curve. Helen was the first woman regional director for the labor union. She later received a fellowship from NYC Graduate School.

After networking with people from her craft, Helen was approached by headhunters from Sony. The headhunters informed Helen that Norman Lear and other interested executives were interested in her knowledge based and skills and Lear has requested that she apply for a position in corporate giving. Helen was elated and she applied. She went through four interviews prior to being offered the position. Alan Horne has conveyed to Helen that no Latino was represented in Sony’s Corporate America and that he thought that she would be an outstanding representative.

Hernandez told me that working at Sony was challenging, but it taught her a powerful lesson: choose your battles carefully. Vice President of Publicity at Sony Pictures reprimanded Helen for not consulting her about the employee gifts. Helen said that the Vice President told her that if she valued her position that she needed to consult all department heads about the employee gifts.

Helen was asked to become spokesperson for social responsibility and accuracy at Sony Pictures. It was then that she worked with the cast of “All in the Family” and “One Day at a Time”. She enjoyed her time at Sony but in 1988, Sony downsized and was sold to Coca Cola. Helen Hernandez had to reinvent herself. She enlisted the help of those in her networking and community circle. She also free-lanced as a consultant. Opportunities quickly opened up and through networking, Lear recommended her to work on the Pacific Pipeline Project, L.A. Live and the Nokia Center, which she helped to facilitate. Helen acquisitioned Univision with the help of Norman Lear. Professor Kimberly Williams-Crenshaw who is a Professor of Law at Columbia University and UCLA worked closely with Hernandez and Lear on the Univision project.

Ms. Hernandez created many networking relationships and not waste opportunities for new networking relationship. Case in point, Hernandez was involved in a fender bender with Hilda Solis. Solis is the current Secretary of Labor. Because of her acquaintance with Solis, Helen has held positions with Partnership in Community. In 1985, she became a member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. She received awards from the Job Fair Workshop Luncheon, which honored influential Latinos in the Entertainment industry.

When asked how one becomes successful, Helen said

· distinguish yourself and be your own P R person

· get involved , get on a board of directors of a nonprofit organization

· words of wisdom: be prepared

· one person can make a difference

· never be afraid of cultivating your relationship

· Social media is the wave of the future

On relationships and networking

· Find an executive mentor

· Be bold

· Give 150% autonomy

· Speak to the executives about their careers

· Relationships you build will determine where you end up

Helen Hernandez is an inspiration for all people. She revealed that she once had a low self-esteem, and through hard work and understanding her self-worth. Confidence is extremely important in leadership positions. Helen also says that we should take all opportunities, good or bad and learn from them.