Iris Otano

Vice President of Global Technology, Engineering & Operations

Bank of America

Every action you make has a reaction. Put the right energy out there so that it can come back.

About Iris

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.