Panthers among Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Latinas of 2017


Six members of the FIU community are among Fortune magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Latinas of 2017.

The list, compiled by The Association of Latino Professionals for America, includes female executives running Fortune 500 companies or large private firms and entrepreneurs leading global initiatives.

Among these powerful women are the chair of the FIU Board of Trustees, four alumnae and two former advisory board members.

Claudia Puig

#28 – Claudia Puig 

Chair of the FIU Board of Trustees, Puig serves as senior vice president and general manager for local media in Miami at Univision Communications. She has more than 20 years of experience in Hispanic media, formerly serving as vice president and general manager of Spanish Broadcasting Systems. Puig studied international business and marketing at FIU’s College of Business.

 

 

Alumnae:

Myrna Soto

#8 – Myrna Soto ’93

Soto is the senior vice president and global chief information security officer for Comcast. Her specializations include integration of business and technology, technology risk management and more. A graduate of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, she received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1993.

 

 

Francis Hondal

#15 – Francis Hondal ’88, MBA ’94

A first-generation Cuban American, Hondal serves as executive vice president for global consumer credit and loyalty solutions at MasterCard. She has 25 years of experience in consumer marketing, finance and management. Hondal is a member of the College of Business Hall of Fame and is also on the dean’s council for the college. She earned a bachelor’s in international business and finance in 1988 and a master’s in business administration from FIU in 1994.

 

 

Ileana Musa

#31 – Ileana Musa MBA ’93

Musa serves as managing director for the global client segment and strategy executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she works with international financial advisors for high-net worth clients. Musa also chairs the Association of Latino Professionals for America. She received a master’s in business administration from FIU in 1993.

 

 

Former advisory board members:

Geisha Williams

#1 – Geisha Williams

Williams, who serves as president and CEO of PG&E Corporation, this year became the first Latina to lead a Fortune 500 company. During her tenure at PG&E, a power company, she led an initiative to provide nearly 30 percent of its power from renewable energy sources. Williams is a former member of the College of Engineering & Computing advisory board.

 

 

Maria Sastre

# 23 – Maria Sastre

Sastre is the president and COO of Signature Flight Support, where she leads acquisitions and integrations. She has served on the advisory boards of many private and nonprofit organizations, including that of FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.

 

 

 

Said Jose Aldrich, acting dean of the College of Business, of the alumnae: “These remarkable women used their FIU education to assume leadership roles in the corporate world. We are proud of their accomplishments, and of the ongoing relationships they have with our college and our university. They are important role models for our students.”