A UnionBanker at Heart: Ella Gutierrez
When the opportunity presents itself to work in the first Bank that honed your skills, would you grab that? Or will you explore other options?
After her internship under UnionBank’s Student Mentoring Program (SMP) 2016, Ella Gutierrez decided to seize the opportunity to work at the Bank.
She did it by proving her skills as a Lead Management Trainee in 2017. In just two months, her superiors realized her potential and promoted her to become the Information Security Office for a specific Business Project.
During her stint as the Control Officer, from 2017-2018, she had to learn how to implement the security programs in UnionBank, the requirements and standards that we have to follow, and how to support our Security Operations Center.
“Throughout my time at InfoSec, that’s when I realized that: ‘this is the clear path that I want to take.’ After my probationary period, I officially joined them,” said Ella.
Soon, the whole group restructed and she was assigned to her current role as the Strategic Planning, and Performance Manager in 2018.
Despite the pandemic, she remained productive while inspiring the rest of her team to excel in their work and tasks. According to Ella, she attributes a lot of her success to how she approaches every day, especially at work.
She said, “My top-of-mind advice for everyone struggling or to those who want to be more productive during this pandemic is to first define and set expectations. The clearer the goals are, the better you can plan and structure your day. Next is to ensure constant collaboration with your team.”
Ella has truly gone a long way. She transformed and grown from a promising young intern who honed her talent to a molded leader that helps keep UnionBank cyber sure.