Member Spotlight: Denise Miles (U.S. FWN100™ '09) and Aimee Alado (Global FWN100™ '15)

Denise Miles
Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Wells Fargo Bank

Denise Miles is a Senior Vice President with Wells Fargo’s Diversity and Inclusion in the Government and Community Relations group.  She serves as Manager for Strategic Partnerships where she is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with national nonprofit organizations.  

Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2004, she worked as a Community Development Officer in the San Francisco Area, managing economic development and affordable housing programs in partnership with nonprofits.  Miles began her career at Wells Fargo in Corporate Communications supporting the Community Bank for the San Francisco-Bay Region.

Prior to Wells Fargo, Miles worked for the City and County of San Francisco in Mayor Willie L. Brown’s Office of Neighborhood Services. There she served as the Community Liaison for several districts and the Filipino community.  

Before working with Mayor Brown, Miles was an Assignment Editor at KTVU-TV, a FOX affiliate in Bay Area. She also freelanced for Fox News Network and Fox Sports Network, and was a news producer for KTVN-TV in Reno, Nevada.

Miles has received several awards including the National Urban League’s 2013 Donald H. McGannon Award, the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S. and the Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition’s Emerging Leaders Award. She holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Journalism from San Jose State University.  

Aimee Alado
Attorney-at-Law, Executive Committee Member at AUBF (ASEAN UK Business Forum)
London, United Kingdom

What's the best part of being a Filipina woman leader? The best part of being a Filipina woman leader is the ability and opportunity to inspire the group that you lead coming from different backgrounds to achieve a common goal. The challenge and the life transformation is not only for others but also a personal transformation for me. I always draw inspiration from the word synergy, one of my many favourites, whereby the interaction, cooperation amongst the members of my group has always a combined effect greater than the sum of our separate effects.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that faces the next generation of Filipina women? Someone has said that “the best way to predict the future is to create it”. And already, with the way things are, we are creating a future generation that is a lot more competitive; a world that is a lot more complex but with big challenges comes tremendous opportunities. I think the challenge really is how to equip this next generation of Filipina women to deal with these grand challenges and problems and come out as the most successful leaders from the lot  instead of just being followers.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Marife Zamora (Global FWN100™ '13) and Emma Imperial (Global FWN100™ '15)

Marife Zamora
Chairman at Convergys Philippines Services Corp., Convergys Philippines

The global impact of my influence is... helping the Philippines become the preferred contact center destination globally- the BPO industry is the only industry where the Philippines is the WORLD LEADER.

One person who has influenced my professional career is.... Andrea Ayers, President and CEO of Convergys Corporation. She believed in the Filipino talent and my Convergys, Philippines executive leadership team. She believed, and committed, that we would be the biggest and the best BPO company in the country. We made that a reality!

On the most difficult workplace challenge as a Filipina woman.... The number one thing that needs to change for women to succeed in the workplace are the expectations of who does what and how.  We must not be afraid to challenge roles and demand equal share and responsibility with our partners. If you have partners, get them to do half!

One thing you would not guess about me is.... I am down-to-earth and I love to interact with employees of all levels. I will go out of my way to visit sites at every opportunity so I can connect with them first-hand.

The 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award™ honors Filipina women who are changing the face of leadership in their local communities and in their adopted countries they now call home. The Awards Ceremony is the highlight of the 13th Filipina Leadership Global Summit on August 21-24 in Cebu, Philippines at the Shangri-La Mactan.

Emma Imperial
President & CEO, Imperial Homes Corporation
Muntinlupa, Philippines

My proudest professional accomplishment is.... Being globally recognized in September 2013 when I was invited by IFC/World Bank to talk and present my transformational business model to help climate change and alleviate poverty. I developed the Philippines’ first Solar Powered Low Cost Housing Communities equipped with solar system solutions.  When I started my real estate business, my aim was to provide quality yet affordable homes to my fellow countrymen.  I am now providing homes and communities with good quality structures and of global standard. These homes add value to their investment.

The global impact of my work is.... When I launched my solar powered housing project, I encouraged other developers to adopt this type of development which will help address climate change and the 3 million mass housing backlog of the Philippines, which when adopted will also result in the elimination of 1,882,000 tons of carbon dioxide and savings of US$2.768 billion in fossil consumption per year.

The best part of being a Filipina woman leader is.... our talent, ambition, and hard-working nature are qualities that are highly respected and admired in the global workplace.

Do you know a Filipina woman who is influential in your industry or profession? NOMINATE her for the 2016 100 Most Influential Filipina Woman in the World Award™. Click here to submit your nomination. Nomination deadline: May 15, 2016.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Maan Hontiveros (Global FWN100™ '14) and Michelle Florendo (Global FWN100 '15)

Maan Hontiveros
CEO of AirAsia Inc. Philippines and Chair of AirAsia Zest
Manila, Philippines

What is the global impact of your work? Through my leadership, AirAsia is able to provide safe, low-cost, high value air transportation services to enable those on a limited budget to fly and explore other cultures.

What have you done to alleviate suffering in society? After super typhoon Haiyan, we ferried rescue workers, relief goods, survivors and stranded passengers on our humanitarian flights for free.

Most difficult workplace challenge as a Filipina woman and why: To aspire for the top position means you have to be aggressive and think and oftentimes act like a man…. And be prepared to suffer the consequences.

Hardest lesson learned and how you learned it? Most Filipinos are uncomfortable with confrontation. During one television interview where I relentlessly grilled an interviewee who I believed was a fake psychic, I thought I had done a great job, only to find out that audience reaction showed a great majority of callers thought I was rude and “un-Filipino”. I have since learned to punch with silken gloves and use a more polite tone even as I strive to remain frank and honest. The problem lies not in WHAT you say, but in HOW it is said.

Michelle Joyce Florendo
Founder & Principal, What if You Could LLC
Oakland, California, USA

The best part of being a Filipina woman leader is... Being able to join this fabulous group of Filipina women leaders that is Filipina Women's Network (FWN). I still remember the very first FWN Summit I attended: it felt like I was at a family party with kind, laughing, women who felt as close as aunties and cousins, yet every woman present had impressive professional accomplishments. Never before had my familial and professional worlds collided, but in FWN, I enjoyed a happy mix of both.

What is the most significant barrier to female leadership from your experience? I  think the most significant barrier to female leadership is this silly notion of “women who have it all.” The problem I have with that phrase is that so many women stress themselves out trying to live up to someone else’s definition of “it.” I’ve had clients who burned themselves out trying to satisfy this expectation that success means you must maintain a high-powered, well-paying job, show your dedication to your kids by cooking dinner every night and handcrafting birthday party favors worthy of Pinterest, and somehow still find time for extended family, friends, and self-care. The point is, I’d like to see more women take time to define for themselves what having “it” all means for them, so that they can spend more of their time thriving in their own definition of success instead of striving for someone else’s. That’s part of why I do the work that I do, empowering clients to make good career decisions according to their own terms.