The 2019 LATINA Style 50 Special Report
8. United Technologies
Corporation
Abby O. Lawrence
Executive Director of Operations PWES & AGEC
Power & Controls, Collins Aerospace
Abby Lawrence is an Executive Director
of Operations in the Power & Controls
(P&C) division at Collins Aerospace. Her
responsibilities cover the manufacturing operations
for the manufacturing sites that support the
production of engine pumps and controls for Pratt &
Whitney, global engine customers (AGEC) and the
government. Additionally, she works at growing
and promoting the Hispanic Leadership Forums
throughout the division.
Lawrence has held positions of progressive
leadership in operations, procurement, quality and
continuous improvement in her 25+ year career.
With a background in finance, Lawrence worked
in development banking at the Inter-American
Development Bank (Washington DC) before getting
an MBA and starting a career in Operations at Xerox
in Rochester, NY. There she gained a reputation for
turning around struggling operations in a broad range
of assignments from fabrication manufacturing to
materials management, continuous improvement and
strategy development.
Prior to joining UTC Aerospace Systems in 2018,
she spent 14 years working at Goodman
Manufacturing (Houston, TX) a division of a
Japanese company, Daikin Industries, where she
focused on turnaround situations and progressed to
Vice President of Manufacturing Operations,
Procurement and Quality.
Lawrence holds a BS in Finance and BA in
French from George Mason University and an MBA in
Operations from University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico,
Lawrence lives in Connecticut with her husband. With
two boys in college, she enjoys being an empty nester
and is actively involved in volunteering as an Outings
Leader for the Sierra Club and as founding member
of an Immigrant Sponsorship Support Team.
9. Sprint
Nelly Pitocco
Vice President
Product and Solution Engineering
Nelly Pitocco serves as Vice President,
Product and Solution Engineering
at Sprint. In her role, Pitocco is
responsible for leading a team of technology
engineers and architects in developing
next-generation products and solutions in
support of Sprint Business customers. With over
25 years of experience in Telecommunications
and Technology Sales, Solution Engineering and
Operations, she has successfully led teams
supporting a wide range of Fortune 500
customers. She is recognized for her “Refuse
to Lose” approach – delivering results by
transforming and developing teams effectively
while motivating and inspiring them to top
performance.
Pitocco moved to the states from Puerto
Rico as a child and is the youngest of 10 children
raised by a single mother. Her experiences
growing up in Chicago, working her way through
college and up the corporate ladder have
provided her with a first-hand appreciation for the
value of coaching, mentoring and investing in her
community. She is a strong proponent of Sprint’s
diversity and inclusion efforts supporting Sprint
ERGs, Next Leadership Program and speaks
regularly at Sprint-sponsored community events
inspiring high school students with her personal
story and encouraging them to study STEM.
Prior to joining Sprint, she held executive
positions at Apollo, AT&T, and IBM leading both
domestic and global teams responsible
for solution sales, customer care, operations,
strategic partnerships, solution engineering and
product development.
Pitocco sits on the Illinois MWM Steering
Committee and the Heavy Reading Thought
Leadership Council. She holds a B.A. with a
concentration in Computer Networking
Technologies from DePaul University.
10. Bank of America
Elizabeth Romero
Senior Vice President
Small Business Client & Franchise Solutions
Executive
Elizabeth Romero is the Small Business
Client & Franchise Solutions Executive
leading the centralized business
specialists, client relationship associates, treasury
specialists and franchise program specialists for
Bank of America.
In this role, Romero is responsible for
developing and implementing the overall sales
strategy for the profitable expansion and retention of
the Small Business Banking centralized sales
segment. She provides overall leadership to the
Small Business Banking centralized sales team and
verticals who deliver world class solutions and
guidance to help customers achieve business
priorities.
In her previous role, Romero was the Small
Business Central Division Executive. The Central
Division is responsible for delivering Small Business
solutions to clients across 14 states. She was
responsible for setting sales goals and direction for
the business segment, integrating sales efforts
with product development and client service
requirements, and developing and implementing an
integrated approach and sales program with lines of
business.
Romero has been in Consumer Banking for 25
years, joining Bank of America in 1994. She has
performed in various roles such as South Texas Area
Executive, Houston Metro Region Sales Executive,
Market Manager, Personal Banker and Teller. She
was the Market Integration Executive for Houston
for several years. She earned a bachelor’s degree
in finance from the University of San Diego State.
Romero is actively involved with the Hispanic
Small Business Spotlight. She is Chair of the
Enterprise Employee Engagement & Inclusion
Council. She is a native of California and resides
in Houston, Texas with her husband and three
children.
32 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 25, No. 4, 2019
/www.latinastyle.com
