Audience, please. Welcomeia Tinisha Agramonte director of the Office of Civil Rights
Alright everybody I had to get my hugs in I mean when people take time out of their schedules
and
They are we're willing to support you by being vulnerable and sharing their stories. You have to honor that
So now that you've heard some really amazing stories from our FGP panelists
I have the distinct pleasure of introducing the next segment of today's summit the fireside chat
First I would like to introduce you to mr. Jay Clayton the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Chairman Clayton will be moderating a chat with our keynote speaker madam treasurer Jovita carranza
Chairman Clayton was nominated to the chair of the SEC by President Trump in January
2019 and was sworn in May of that year
Chairman Clayton was born in Newport News, Virginia
But raised in Pennsylvania, he has a BS in engineering
BA an MA in economics from the University of Cambridge where he was a thern scholar and a JD from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Chairman Clayton practiced law and was a partner at Sullivan and Cromwell and was a lecturer in law
And an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, please join me in welcoming chairman Clayton
Now I would like to introduce our keynote speaker madam treasurer Jovita Carranza
Treasurer Carranza is a principal advisor to Treasury secretary minuchin in the areas of community
economic development and engagement
Treasurer Carranza is from Chicago
She earned her MBA from the University of Miami and Coral Gables
Florida and received executive management and financial training at the NC
Business School in Paris
Michigan State University in the University of Chicago. I have to look that up now to see what that
She previously served as the deputy administrator at the Small Business Administration under president. George W Bush prior to SBA
Treasurer Carranza worked twenty plus years at the united Parcel Service where she was the
Highest-ranking Latina in the history of the company. She started as a part-time
nightshift box handler and worked her way up to president of the Latin American and Caribbean operation
So this is what I shared with her in the green room and what I want to share with you
When I was looking for someone
Who would serve as the keynote speaker for this event?
And when I tell you on the weekends every weekend I was on the internet and I was putting in google terms
I was asking everybody who could we bring up here who exemplifies a first generation professional who's a senior leader?
So I was putting words like humble beginning rose to the top
I mean I was getting really creative with the the search on the internet and one day this article pops up latina magazine
And it had Jovita Carranza Treasurer when I read her story. I said that's it
I found her. I wrote my staff like at 2:00 in the morning on a Saturday
I said I found our keynote speaker. Now. Here's the problem. How do we get her here?
Right and anyone who works for the federal government, you know
there's a lot of protocol you got to go through to get so as I was trying to figure out that protocol I
Just happened to mention to a colleagues and a colleague of mine Peter Henry who works at the Securities and Exchange Commission
He's my counterpart over there. I said guess what?
I found our keynote speaker for this but I got to figure out how to get her and I'm getting ready to start working that
Through Commerce and he said oh, ok, very nonchalant. We finished our conversation the next day
He calls me and he goes, oh by the way, Tinisha
Our chairman is scheduled to have a chat with Madam Treasurer to ask her if she'd be willing to be your keynote speaker. I
Was like what and he was like yeah the next day
I was already scheduled to go over there for an initiative that he's doing and I met chairman Clayton and he goes hey
Did you hear the good news she accepted?
Two days. I mean that's how quick we circumvented
But why that story is important is because all morning you've heard about the power of networking right
And I don't know if they share it with you
But they said the first time that you meet someone should not be when you meet them
the fact that I had already
Cultivated that relationship with him and I'm looking at him and he's not in his head Peter the fact that I had already cultivated that
relationship with him and that he trusted me and that he supported me that is why you have these individuals these
high-ranking
Powerful individuals on this stage with us today, so welcome them
Tinisha that was really nice of you. Thank you. Thank you
I feel like I should have Tinisha right here
Well served right
Well madam treasurer
I'm I'm so excited to have the opportunity to interview you and I and I want folks to know that
The reason I could make that phone call was because I have admired
Your work from the day we first met and you're just you're not only a terrific
public servant
You're a terrific person and a terrific American and we're lucky to have you in. Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. But
don't underestimate your
Power of influence when you call me
I
Didn't know he regulated the Treasury
The Chairman is on the phone
What's going on? And I thought you were gonna ask me to speak again
But but I was really pleasantly surprised and it's a real honor and privilege to be here. Thank you
Okay. Well, this is about first generation professionals and no one better to talk about that than you so
Let's get started. Okay
so
You were born in Chicago the oldest of four, your mother was a housewife and your dad a formative factory
Let me ask this when you were younger
What were the conversations with your parents about what you might do when you grew up and what were the expectations?
Well, I think my parents at a very early age realized
I had some innate talents because I was the eldest and I was responsible for my younger
Siblings and I took it
You know willingly I complied very very quickly when my parents were great disciplinary and so I couldn't could not comply
So I was quite obedient at a very young age. And so that developed a real
Strong discipline
practice that I had with not only my siblings but
respected the family and the Hispanic
Culture, you do know that the mothers and fathers are held
much like in other
Ethnicities but in the Hispanic culture, especially because my parents were born in Chicago but raised in Mexico
they had a lot of the tradition and so
That was an early training for me as part of that upbringing
Accepting responsibility and making sure that we contributed to the family well-being was very critical
So I knew very early on that. I had to seek employment
acquire education to really
Have some earning power in order to become a significant contributor to the family being the eldest
I wasn't the son which is typically the one who takes that responsibility, but I was the eldest daughter so
They encouraged me to
Continue my education to excel beyond the parameters that they had been living under, you know
I was sharing with someone that
mmm, I
Think was my senior advisor Kelsey who's in the audience? And I said, you know, we're so polite in coming up with
The word poverty would give it a blue-collar
Definition or underserved or underbanked or unbanked or?
Medium income or lower level and and I'm like, no it was poverty. So I needed to really strive to
Really?
Excel from that particular condition Wow
so, um, so
Get your education or your start on your education
You start off at as a as a night shift box handler at UPS can can for every but can you walk us through?
That starting point to the top of the top of the house. Yes
We always start out with United Parcel Service, right? Because I spend the majority of my youth and my young adult life at UPS
But prior to that I started at the age of twelve
helping the family right from
babysitting
Doctors children's and so they paid well, it definitely looked for that type of babysitting assignments
so from babysitting to helping the local store to
Working in medical clinics and and things as such it was always within the white collar
community and so when I worked at UPS and accepted an untraditional position like loading trucks
It was a means to an end. It paid. Well, it was very convenient to where I lived. It had a wonderful shift
where I could raise my
Daughter was a newly divorcee as well as attend Cal State LA join during the mornings
And I was working two jobs when I actually accepted the position at UPS and a man can take you through a 20-year journey
so I'm gonna speak hates me down this one, but
but but it's important to know what
compromises you make in order to
Make ends meet or for that matter
Not consider it as a dead end but it's a short solution short term solution to a particular condition
I was faced with
but I saw ups as an opportunity because of its wage is because of its location and because it's
Non-traditional and it wouldn't have much competition applying for this position
as a woman
Secondly, it paid well, and then of course I didn't have a car. So public transportation was really essential
so it met all those particular needs and I said this is short term as soon as I get my degree and
Not promote from within although I learned eventually that they had this great program a promotion from within anybody worked here at UPS
Ok, tell me if I'm lying, alright, oh no, no
or correct me where I may have skipped something, but but
It had a great promotion from within but I only wanted to make the first 90 days to make seniority
So fast forward, I became a load or unload er for about six months
then it became a part-time supervisor and seven promotions later and
six relocations is when I became that executive that everyone reads about
president of Latin America and vice president of the air operations, so I went from
being
responsible for zip codes on packages to a workforce to
about 50 vehicles to automation
than to becoming a
P&L administrator responsible for the red and black ink of the company and all along I
Realized that as long as I did a really good job and made a contribution. That was really key
Not just do a good day's job for a good day's wages
It was really what kind of contribution am I making that's attracting them to continue offered me these opportunities
Ok, so I'm not gonna let you get away with the whole fast-forward. I'm gonna ask you a specific question, which is on that journey
when did you go home and say yeah Jovita I
Can I can aspire to the the top executives but when did when did your mind?
Shift if maybe maybe the first day maybe not but but tell us
There were about two or three milestones the first milestone was one where one employee a union official approached me and said
You're working too hard. You're making us look bad. And I said, excuse me. Are you a seniority employee, and they said yes and
I said
well
I'm not and I'm working through my probationary period and I have a child so I'm gonna work as hard as I have to in
order to tank
So
That kept me on the job, right?
Because I worked extra hard and it was really diligent. I get to work early and did all the right things and
That's when I was noticed to become a part-time supervisor
So the other
Aspiration I had was well if I could do the part-time supervisor
I wonder if I could do the full-time supervisor and then as a full-time supervisor if I did all the right things and then
By exceeding everyone's expectations that I could get the job done
they then recognized that I had greater capacity than what the job they had assigned me to or offered me to work in and so
I said well if I could do a full-time supervisor, I can do a manager's position
And so it just it was just testing myself. I was I'm not risk adverse
So I would always say if it's gonna pay more if it's gonna provide more
For my family if it's going to support the educational pursuits that I have for myself and my daughter
then I'm gonna I'm gonna take that challenge and
Nobody can penalize you for trying hard to go to that next level and
And that's what I what I kept pushing myself to achieve
But trust me throughout every one of those milestones. I had to study very hard and research the jobs that I
aspired to achieve and
people think that you go to your boss and you
Your boss gets impressed by saying when your boss asks you so what do you want to be when you grow up at UPS? I
Listen to an advisor, and I said I want to I want your job
That didn't set really well. He goes really
really and I was just a young pup, so
he realized that I had some growing up to do and so I I realized then there's a process and
the process
involves not having to spend ten fifteen years doing what you did in order to achieve that level my manager but more so
How can I?
Accelerate that because I don't have that much time and and the opportunities are there
So I did as much research and as as much observation and accepted all the training that that company offered
Along the way to prepare me for the next move
I always was preparing for the next move never complacent in the position. I had at the time
well, let's talk about another move and you know eyes wide open and that is the move from
Chicago to college you were the first in your family to go to college. Well, well, what was it like
Going to that new environment
Like my management
trajectory where I leapt and
And plunged into things
I did have a method to my madness and when I went from Chicago to Los Angeles
I knew I had an aunt that I could go in and and
collaborate perhaps a potential or maybe temporary
Stay with her until I acquired my own my own apartment with my daughter
so I
mapped out
What could happen the do's and the don'ts opposed the cons?
What-if scenarios, but I didn't want to come back to Chicago. I had to be successful
so I mapped it out to where I
Visited California first at Los Angeles spoke to my aunt. She said welcome
I explored this local schools and then I made the move I came back
to my
To my mother's home, and I said, I'm ready to leave and she never did. Believe me
Being the eldest, you know
When when you're in a Hispanic household Jay sometimes leaving home is like you're leaving security or stability
And and sometimes parents don't give you the benefit of
Maturity in the some small but maturity developing to where you think the process out
it may not be a perfect plan, but it is a plan and so I
executed my vision and
The rest is history. I lived in California for thirteen years never moved back to Chicago until
2006
To care for my mother and my father but that's how long I see the way
Good for you. Yes or less because I travel to many states as a result of that first move now
That's that's terrific. Well, I'm gonna shift gears and I know that this is important to you. And yeah, actually you just alluded to it
Treating co-workers people above you people below you in the corporate hierarchy with respect
Keeping in mind you've said this to me that some day, you know a colleague could be your boss
Someday you were somebody else's boss
but
advice for first-generation
professionals on how to make connections with their colleagues how to how to connect with colleagues and whether it's at school or at
UPS or in the federal government, how do you make connections with your with your colleagues?
well
I'm sure I'm not unique in in this way where you're a woman and you're working in an untraditional
environment like UPS or for that matter or when you're pursuing serving on a board and it's it's
It's a board that you have interest in but you've never served on a board. So how you know, what's the kind of conduct?
What's the language? What are the protocols?
and
You can't get it. You can't go at it
You you have to embrace
Whether it's the local community or the members of that particular association
To work site the board, you know even in Treasury
When I came into Treasury I said, I'm not a banker. I'm not a lawyer
I know P&L and so how do I embrace all these financial analysts all these attorneys and whatnot
So as I mentioned that in a conversation we had before I look for the common
commonalities in a person and
Once you embrace those commonalities can we build off of that? I don't
You know, I don't even like the cliche you have a glass half-full or glass half-empty
In my sight I always act like it's half empty because I was strive to fill it up
All the time. I never could become complacent
but
people
Make the world go round
And I had great training
Compromising
Consoling
And supporting three siblings. So I took those principles those
Fundamental traits and applied. It's everything I do so I treat I I learned what makes you tick and
Then I try to complement that and reinforce that as I would expect you to do that for me
I've watched the
treasurer do this and it's it's pretty remarkable her ability to connect with all
Different types of people and do so quickly and in a way that makes them comfortable
it's it's it's quite impressive but I'm gonna ask a tough question here on this which is a
Lot of people are easy to connect with but we do encounter difficult people in our career
How do you how do you manage to connect so well with difficult people
When he asked that question
before
he almost apologized because he had to ask me that question, but
It's a tough one to answer
because it it it requires a lot of
emotional intelligence
You know working I started out by saying working in an untraditional environment like an all-male workforce
You would think that you'd have to put on your defenses and you would have to safeguard
certain language certain
posture certain disposition
but I found that
The commonalities that were similarities that I talked about as I am a woman, I'm a mother and I'm a daughter and a sister
I realized that that gentleman was a father and an uncle and a brother and a son to someone and
So why not?
Deal with the shortcomings right? I
Didn't apologize for perhaps their shortcomings. I would address them because I'd give the person the benefit of the doubt
That's usually how I operate and if you don't it's always best to have mano-a-mano
Know as a respect a mutual respect
professionalism is to address the issue head-on with the person before you share it with ten other people or a
Superior then it's too late
that's how you build trust and confidentiality and
It's a sense. It's a sign of maturity
Good advice
You know, I
I could probably write a book and I can probably keep you here for days, but
When you go from supervising 12 people to 15,000 people in close proximity to then managing
countries from Miami and I had to manage employees in Brazil and Chile and
Uruguay Paraguay
All different dialects all different cultures Hispanic is not Hispanic here in Colombia Hispanic is not Hispanic here in Peru
So I had to learn what was important to them in some of our work sites
They had the Virgin Mary and whatnot, but the parent company that I worked in didn't practice religion
symbols or anything
so it was like do I go there and tear it down or do I learn about the culture and the practice and what's
important for them
as long as they gave me the pieces per hour and the profitability I
Pray with them, you know, I guess I guess we are at the Department of Commerce
But I am a person of great faith so I could appreciate it, but I could not you know
Practice. What I believe was appropriate. It was really company policy and
programs that I had to adhere to
All right, I'm gonna transition to something
I know that you really believe in and that I share your belief and that is financial literacy. And the the
importance of financial literacy
to mobility and participation and
in our society
You've made, you know, great efforts and I would have brought the report with me, but just put out a report on financial literacy
That's that's tremendous. But can you comment on the importance of financial literacy?
Particularly for first-generation professionals
When I interviewed with the secretary one of the things he asked me was
How I would manage this new role
Especially the section where in my position description it says that I advise
the Secretary of the Treasury on Community Economic Development
And I thanked my good Lord for all of the exposure
Given to me throughout all the years whether it was Michigan State or whether NCI and in France
or
University of Chicago where I kept taking finance classes to learn more and in depth because I didn't have that early training
so that I could be
Valuable to any organization whether I served on a board or whether it was the private sector or just coaching
counseling individuals
the fundamentals
To fundamentals that I I'll act at a very young age
was mastering math
The sciences stem so going back to my interview with the secretary when he said what do you envision?
I said I envision increasing the stem student enrollment. I said by 50% and
Increasing the savings of savings accounts opening new savings accounts for a million people
And I didn't seek out a way to achieve those goals
But it almost
came to fruition that when the secretary said and I want you to oversee the
Reform work of the financial literacy and Education Commission. I think there's an opportunity to elevate
financial literacy, and so I took that as an opportunity not a challenge and
so when we
Assess what was being done. We thought we could do more to have a greater impact
Because I lack that when I was young when when I started to
Start saving because we were awarded bonuses and stocks
The only reason I didn't touch any of my stock or my thrift plan was because they told me
You'll be branded
So I was like a fear factor. It wasn't a wise decision was just a fear factor, and I you know
like my whole life mission now is to remove the fear of stem from the
minority population
because we don't really have the benefit especially the first generation probably don't have
Parents who help with algebra or geometry or calculus? That was very difficult for me
And so if we can start very young, that's why I'm such an advocate of this. I'm J
You know, November 4th
we're gonna have a White House event what we're going to invite university presidents and and also the sponsors of
21:55 and talk about how can we
institutionalize financial literacy because without that base understanding
how do you
Compounded interest for for college education for a home. How do you know when?
6% interest rate is a whole lot better than 14% interest rate
and when you should consolidate your credit cards and whatnot unless you know some basics you just keep
Rolling those interest rates the banks love us, but at the same time
We have to be smarter when when I came in to Treasury. I learned more about the stats concerning
The number of people in the United States that don't have enough for a four hundred dollar
Emergency that they have to borrow and I thought about my family
So when we talk about mentoring, it starts at home first and financial literacy starts at home
So I've worked on my sisters now about retirement 401k plans and things as such
Because I struggled and I know there's many in this room that had struggled. I
When I spoke at SCC, one of your people came in and says, you know, I'm trying to make a decision
I don't have to buy stock or
buy this home that my wife wants and I'm thinking he should know this answer faster than me, but
it's a it's a young person, but probably a little under 30 and
that
gap is really crucial for our
Economy in the United States. Also, they need to be significant contributors and
experience
Prosperity like we are now
Now I look up your your effort in their area is so important it is so important
financial literacy
it's it's like a language and if you don't know the language, you can't really participate and
You know, you've you've made that clear to people and in a clear way
I
Applaud you for that and there's there's something also that you've identified
for me that it goes into our next question, which is as you get older and you don't know the language you
get
Worried about revealing that you don't know the language
And can you talk about not just that but you know how someone coming from your background?
How you deal with that that fear that maybe I don't belong how do I show that I belong?
Jumping over those kinds of hurdles. I'm because you've done it so well in your life
It hasn't been painless
The growing up is very painful it's very lonely
and
Sometimes you find yourself alone. So
If someone you said you googled this, I didn't know I was a weekend project
But I consider as it as a compliment now because she was putting the extra time for us write
Work ethics
but
with regards to
the
Acceptance level. I never thought I
should
should engage
Beyond my capacity
And so I was either withdrawn or I was tip ador. Well nowadays tip. It means something else but timid
I would engage within my comfort zone wouldn't broaden that scope or
group and
So I would test the waters, but I in order to be successful in that engagement
I would do my homework, you know to get to this point. It's not easy, right? I
Would either study the individuals count the number of professionals what kind of background their education level?
because if they went to Princeton or Stanford or Harvard
How was I going to communicate coming from East LA or Cal State LA we were in different spheres
But what did we have in common? I knew some things they didn't know and if I could just
Share that bit of knowledge no one to step out
That's the other thing
Jay sometimes we think we know and we're gonna engage and we're gonna make it big
you almost look you're almost a nuisance for people that have all high achievers and
So instead they're like, okay. Thank you very much. You're very courteous. And you almost leave in a worse situation than not
So, let me go back to the financial literacy piece
When you supervise a workforce you're dealing with payroll
When you're managing a unit you're looking at expenses, right payroll
there's one I have to make sure the checks are going out and whatnot and you're enthrall because
Your signatures on that check right that that's the ultimate
but then
You have to think of
expenses you have budget and
balance sheet, and now you're speaking to CFO's or
the accountant in the company
Then you go from where they rely on you to manage the PNL the profit and loss of an organization
You apply those same concepts to your personal life and then
You'll say well I need to budget I need to say for education
I need to say for a home purchase and I have to go through
Retirement etc
Being prepared means you have to make some sacrifices on time
Do you go out and shop for five hours?
or do you spend the first two hours learning some concepts whether you're gonna be networking or attending a conference or
Sitting here with a panel
You're small a whole lot smarter than I am Jay
But to be able but to be I'm gonna hold I'm holding my wallet right now
Intellectually and whatnot. I did my homework
I checked what Ivy League schools he attended and I know that financial people are like get to the point
concise so I
I'm trying to pull out of the weeds. So it's not to lose you but I have you have to study the
Person that you're engaging with so that I can be an asset to you. You're an asset to me
That's how I look at it. It has to be a value proposition. Yeah
You know I can you just say that I'm
Asset yeah, that's that's it. That's it make make
There's reciprocity. There should always be a give-and-take not always a draw
Because you drain those relationships and J. I hope you called me again
Well, it'll be a joy
You are certainly my asset. Thank you. Thank you very much now so I have a we have time for a few more Tanisha
That's a couple more. Okay, great fear of failing
Mm-hmm
Put up just just put a point out. How do how do how do we I I
People say how do you overcome fear of failing I don't know they ever overcome fear
But how do you how do you work through the fear? I feared coming on this stage. You could never
never
is out of the picture and
Fear and
Fear of fear itself is a real drain and can serve as real obstruction to really creative energies
and
so I understand that there is such a
sense and I try to deal with it I try to
Succumb that feeling as much as I possibly can by preparing
the
the most
Dreadful thing a person could live through is regret
that weighs so heavy on I shoulda coulda woulda and
I learned that too late coulda shoulda woulda and so now the fear of
not doing something and not
Demonstrating to you that I have the potential or the capacity is really serves as a disadvantage for growth
so
Fear is inevitable but learning how to cope with it. I'll give you a couple examples
I wrote them down Roger Berkman behavioral assessments and
Profiles performance indicator and Hogan assessment. I've just about taken every assessment there's out there to identify
those
personality traits that I have
So I'm learning about myself
Throughout the past thirty years to make sure that I'm addressing each one of those areas of either
Weaknesses or continue with the strengths, you know, some people say, oh don't worry about that weaknesses
Capitalize on their strengths and work on those but you have to recognize that those weaknesses
Do haunt you at times and so you have to recognize them and then learn how to work with them. So I highly recommend
There's so much online these type of personality assessments. Don't be afraid to find out
What your shortcomings are because what I try to do with my executive coach is every time he tells me there's something wrong
I will try to debate it
Rationalize why that particular situation doesn't come out. Right? Right. So I have an executive coach because I fear failure I
Want to be successful at every engagement and I want to give back
You've liked this group has dedicated
Personal time they probably have their workload
Accumulating back there to listen to us and I hope that what we've been able to share will benefit in some way
So I fear that I would just lose their time in a vacuum. I don't think you have anything to worry about
We talked a little bit about networks
Can you talk just a little bit about networks and and in particular
We talked about this before I have my notes here. You had some great thoughts on
looking at organizations and
Understanding organizations as part of building a network best practices accepting responsibility those types of things
how how what advice can you pass on about how to look at an organization and
Use the network in that organization. You talked a lot about listening
yes, I
Didn't learn English until about six or seven was six six or seven years of age
And even then I didn't feel real confident or proficient and speaking so I observed
people's movements and body language and
so
understanding an organization's culture and why it's
Like that
because the word culture was always used the past 30 years in any
organizational behavioral assessments and whatnot, but
Through observation and documentation
and validation is how I
Better understand an organization even a family, you know when I returned to my family was 30 years later
My my sister's are fully grown. Now. I
Left them at teens, and now they're full adults. So that was even a transition. So you have to work situations out at home. I
use they'll use my family as a beta test, but
they then you practice those principles in any organization that you are that you're serving in, you know, I've gone from
logistics supply chain
to
not-for-profit board service
a governor's board a federal board and I've gone from being a treasurer and
being nominated by the president for another move and
All along the way I've had to learn each organization the uniqueness of each organization. I don't like I
Don't have a particular bias
On anything and I don't judge as a whole so I take the individual case and then study it
Yeah, you you are one of the best listeners
I've I've I have seen I've never seen somebody
Listen to the different people around the room
and immediately
pick up on the commonalities and
The things that make them tick what motivates them and in different organizations, it's different things
That's true. The listening is is a science. It's a it's a practice. It's a and then it's intentional
It's not automatic. We have two ears one mouth and I'm I'm practicing only to use these two and
Then I'm conscious that my body language sends very subliminal
minimal
messages and so I'm very cautious about
about that because if I'm tense I make everyone else tense in the room or if I'm
Hurried I make everybody ant anxious and so being a leader and being a very prominent leader
Especially when you have your signature on every dollar
Have you calculated how much money that is yet? Well
Then I how much did you produce so far with my name and the secretaries the amount they're putting you on the spot
I know we only have one more minute, but
900 million a day. That's pretty good
All right, so you see why it's so so important that I conduct myself in a certain way I
Io myself to you, I no longer believe
I'm not my own property anymore because i've shared it
with you having my name on honest the
currency
also
you've entrusted me with
the nation's
critical strategic assets like Fort Knox and
so for me to be flippant or not conscientious or not thorough or thoughtful J would be
You know irresponsible. So that's why I take it seriously
Put a lot of trust in me. So thank you very much. Well, I'm gonna can I ask one more question just one more
Yes, okay. I lost it. Yes
Well more and and and this is a question for my benefit. What what advice do you have for?
for me and people like me about
encouraging first generation
To get into the financial world to get into get into
this type of
Occupation where we've landed in in these important jobs what?
What can I do? What can I do to make it easier for first generation?
Professionals, that's it. That was an excellent question. I had to really think hard about that because
Whatever I'm gonna say you you possibly may start implementing
I think I'd be a fool not to
It's a way of influence, but but Jay
what what what I learned and how I benefit it was someone having
Trust and confidence in me when I didn't have it. So
When someone said hey, did you ever think about going into operations?
Well, I thought about it, but I don't know and they said okay
I walked out of the office and the following week. I was in operations. They saw something in me that I that I
Didn't I could I could sense it?
I I wanted to do it but I didn't take that extra step like asking and I will tell you in all sincerity
I've been really blessed Jay. I've
Not asked for one promotion in my life
It's I believe in God, but I I do know. Thank you
But I but I do know it's not being proud. I'm not being condescending to anyone here. It's a matter of
You demonstrate you're ready. And the only way you demonstrate even though you think you're not ready?
This the the executives can set can can catch the innate abilities and capacities
Better than we can so the more you don't accept the answer
No, I don't think so and say yes, I believe you can and give the person an opportunity
I think you will find that
Our workforce in the United States will be enlightened and strengthened and much more profitable if we said yes or
Encouraged people more like you are today
Without without with everyone here and do more of these forums
that would be great and sometimes we try to
Formulate questions for the audience. I believe in asking the audience. What do you want to hear from us?
That would be meaningful to them so that listening piece important. So that's what I would recommend what
I
Can't wrap it up any better than that other than to say. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for being here today
You
