Iris Otano
Vice President of Global Technology, Engineering & Operations
Bank of America
New York, NY USA
“Every action you make has a reaction. Put the right energy out there so that it can come back.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationIris Otano
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic with my family when I was 12 years old.
My family had a computer and a Windows program that let me click into other countries—it was very simple but I really enjoyed it and decided I wanted to pursue a degree in computers.
After graduating high school, I went to college at Fordham University for computer science—I was only 16 years old when I started college!
I had a hard time understanding how the concepts I was learning in college applied to life and careers, so I decided to apply to Per Scholas for a more hands-on training experience instead.
The man who interviewed me at Per Scholas encouraged me to finish my college education and then come back to Per Scholas in two years, so I took his advice and graduated.
After graduating college, I went back to Per Scholas to earn my CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications and got my first job at Time Warner Cable.
I spent a year there before getting a job at Bloomberg, where I was encouraged to help create a Latino community to open up more financial opportunities.
I moved up through various management and leadership roles at Bloomberg and now work as a vice president in global technology, engineering, and operations at Bank of America.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Certification/License
CompTIA A+, Network+
Per Scholas
CompTIA A+, Network+
Per Scholas
Certification/License
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Career
Vice President of Global Technology, Engineering & Operations
I lead global initiatives to transform the company into a more technically advanced financial firm.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Engineering
Accomplishing Goals
Day to Day
I manage a team of 1 (myself) in process improvement initiatives to either save money or time. I use technology to create new models, functions, and tools that more teams can continue to use in the future to improve our processes. My day-to-day responsibilities include utilizing technology and speaking to people.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
If you haven’t figured out what your passion is yet, make a point to try a lot of different things to see if any of them really spark your interest. Take note of the things you spend your free time doing and which things you gravitate towards when you’re stressed to try and figure out what you could be happy doing as a career.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"You will never be successful in technology. You should do diversity inclusion or HR instead."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
First-Generation Immigrant
Fitting In
Interviewed By
To Be Determined
Workforce training that opens up opportunities
