Meet Mariel

Buenos Aires, Argentina has always been my home. I was born and raised just outside of the city, and attended the Universidad del Salvador to study international affairs. Since primary school, I have been learning English in parallel with my studies.

I am the oldest of four children. We're a very close-knit, very traditional family and all live a few blocks from each other, including our parents. When I was a child here, the neighborhood was very peaceful – everything green and few cars around, so you could bike and play with your friends all the time.

Since 1994, I have been working in the banking industry. I combined my academic focus on politics and international relations with foreign trade business, which has resulted in my always working in the international departments of banks.

I have been with BNY Mellon for 16 years. Currently, I’m the Client Executive for the Southern Cone and Brazil working for Treasury Services. We take care of clients in Argentina, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.

My daily work habit is to be in contact with people, with clients – the human relationships are what I most like. The pandemic actually gave us the opportunity to talk a lot more – a little less business and little more: “How are you?”, “How is your health?”, “What’s your hobby?”, “How are your children doing?”, “What have you started doing at home?” It really turned the conversations to the human side and helped me to know my clients more deeply – clients that I had known for years, some more than 10 years. These were conversations I never had with them before. And I find that the way that we connect with our clients is one of the main reasons we are successful here in the region.

When it comes to BNY Mellon’s values, passion for excellence and integrity are the two that most resonate with me. I love the word passion. I think it's the key for everything you do. If you get up in the morning without passion, you cannot live a truly happy life. Life is guided by passion. And I think that’s why we are so well-recognized by our clients for our seamless execution and outstanding support – our clients have no doubt of our passion for excellence.

As for my own passions, my dream has always been to travel and know the world, to be in contact with different cultures. So, when I studied, I learned the history of the world, of countries and civilizations and how their politics developed throughout the centuries. I love traveling and can find beauty and interesting things in all of the places I visit.

Since travel has been restricted with the pandemic, I have been taking short trips with my car. I love going for a drive alone with music playing. I love taking pictures. My Instagram is all about pictures – no people, just nature, lights, architecture. I also took a short photography course, and I do Sunday mornings tours of big houses or other venues. I also tried to grow vegetables in my garden last year, but I abandoned that project.

I really do like to try everything.

My heritage comes from Spain, and I value that culture and sense of family. We celebrate everything. Dance and music and passion for food are ways to celebrate life every day. And Hispanic Heritage Month is a way for me to see who else identifies with my culture and who is from other cultures. What can I learn from them? What can they learn from me? So, this month is like a reminder because, in the day-to-day rhythm, we don't focus our attention on that.

I'm also very, very proud of Latin America and the amazing work being produced. Women are involved in the economy, in business, in the arts and everything else – there’s importance in the positions they are reaching. They are trying everything too.