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Life and Culture

Life and Culture

Once again, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ criteria reaffirms a previous decision by the BBVA Foundation. Banerjee and Duflo, founders of MIT’s Poverty Action Laboratory, were honored in the first edition of BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge awards in 2008. Considering that ten Frontiers of Knowledge awardees have been subsequently recognized by the Swedish Academy, it could be argued that, to a certain extent, BBVA Foundation’s awards are becoming a prelude to the Nobel awards.

She dreams big because she’s not afraid to fail; because failure is not part of her equation. She says this with the authority of someone who’s endured a rough childhood and has a role model to look up to. Yamile Salazar is the daughter of a woman who decided to bring her to this world despite hardship, with the only certainty that she would be able to provide for her. And those past efforts are starting to pay off: Yamile’s life undeniably proves that everything is possible, because she’s built a future out of nothing. Today, 90 people, mostly women, work for her and thousands of young women dream to wear some of her “Angels and Princesses” designs, creations of the clothing universe that embodies Yamile’s passion.

More than 126,000 BBVA employees spent the day re-familiarizing themselves with, assimilating, and living the corporate values, which represent a fulcrum to the bank’s cultural transformation. Over the course of the day, bank employees participated in workshops and activities that reinforced the central pillars underpinning the bank's mission, “to bring the age of opportunity to everyone.” This year’s event also included participation from the network of sales teams, who developed special activities to enhance an understanding of how they can help customers on a day-to-day basis.

Agile methodologies are increasingly sparking interest among those companies that are strongly committed to transformation. Learning about the newest trends and sharing experiences are the focus of meetings BBVA has organized with companies representing a wide array of domains. These organizations, if not already “agilely” structured, aim to be in the near future. Recently, Amadeus, a technology solution provider for the travel industry, visited BBVA’s headquarters to collaborate with the bank's Agile Discipline in order to tackle the challenges of the new model both companies follow.

by Anita Dharapuram

BBVA USA Tucson and Southern Arizona CEO Mark Mistler, alongside six of his local team members, have been working together in banking for more than 25 years. In today’s reality, few people stay at the same job for more than four years, but Mistler and his team have figured out the secret to success and are a refreshing enigma in the modern-day workplace. In Mistler’s case, a unique journey from the gridiron to his current state helped maintain this longevity.