Meet Eliana Murillos (Head of Multicultural Marketing at Google)
Eliana Murillos
Head of Multicultural Marketing, Google
Growing up, I never really had any Latina women in business to look up to. After graduating, I made it my goal to connect with more women in decision-making roles mainly to learn their stories and to be inspired by their tenacious aspirations. I immediately began doing some research and I built up the courage to send a DM to @inmyeliment aka Eliana Murillo, the Head of Multicultural Marketing at #google and Harvard graduate.
A few hours later, I checked my DM inbox and believe or not she replied and we set up a call for Monday morning at 10:30 A.M. The call lasted over 2 hours as we conversed about our culture, achievements and the passion that we have to create change within our communities. Below you will find a short snippet into our conversation:
1. How do you stay inspired?
"No one ever sees Millennials in high, authoritative positions, especially within the Latin community, but we're on the come up." The reason behind what Eliana does for her community and stays inspired throughout it is because she wants to:
- Support community leaders
- Help people find jobs (connecting people with one another)
2. What can this generation of Latina/os do for their community?
1. Empower yourselves to become the decision-makers.
2. Leverage your network - reach out to the decision makers.
"We can do so much more for our community when we are the ones calling the shots. The initiatives I accomplished at Google such as making sure Google Home is readily usable for Spanish speakers to creating the domain .soy helped the Latin community to create more brand awareness for their businesses and kept them up-to-date with new technologies. If I wasn't the one calling those shots then who would it be? Less than 20% of Latina/o business owners in the United States own a website. A tool that is critically nowadays to market yourself effectively and reach broader audiences. Google AdWords is also a tool that needs to be taught within the Hispanic community and I am working towards launching that initiative to help them grow their business."
3. How do you stay inspired?
"A lot of people don't know this about me, but I actually studied at the Le Cordon Blue in Paris. Initially, I wanted to study the art of baking desserts, but my parents thought it would be a better idea to pursue a degree in business. I did both. At Harvard, I majored in the sociology of economics and found that I was always asking myself the question of how do people act in ways that affect our economy? My inspiration comes from within a place in my heart that is set on helping my community. My parents are first-generation, my mother a teacher and my father a businessman, who instilled it in me from a very young age the importance of obtaining a solid education with a business mindset. I can't stress enough how important an education is, especially within our Latin communities. You don't have to get a fancy degree from Harvard to be the one making the shots. Start learning by simply going to your local library and checking out books that interest you or watch videos on YouTube. There is SO much free education out there. Find a way to make it happen. At the end of the day, it all starts with you."
Eliana inspired me with her words of wisdom and continuous achievements. I am happy that you, a reader, took the first step in making a change in your life. If you are passionate about helping to bring a positive change within your community start by leveraging your network. Who is the one person you've always wanted to connect with? How are you helping your community with what you are doing today? It all starts with taking the first step.