PAVING THE WAY
BBVA’s Rosilyn Houston talks growth, mentoring and impact.
Rosilyn Houston, named one of the most powerful women in banking by American Banker and one of the most powerful women in corporate America by Black Enterprise, is senior executive vice president at BBVA, where she heads up talent, culture and human resources for the bank’s U.S. operations.
Houston, 53, splits her time between Houston and Birmingham, Ala. She grew up in Southern California and began her banking career 30 years ago as a part-time teller, rising through the ranks to lead branches and U.S. regions before taking her current role. She previously served as BBVA’s regional retail executive in the California, Alabama and Florida markets, and also led commercial, wealth and retail teams in North Texas.
Q: How did you decide to go into banking?
A: I started at the very entrylevel of the field, as a part-time teller while I was 19 years old, (at GreatWestern Bank). I was going to school to become an elementary school teacher, but I fell in love with the customer service side of banking. I stayed in banking; I matriculated to pretty much every role in the branch and later got into leadership and continued to grow. I’m still here 36 years later.
Q: How did you get started at BBVA?
A: I’ve been at BBVA 15 years and this is my second tour. I was originally with them in 1997 and left for a few years and came back in 2005. BBVA actually acquired Compass Bank, which had a presence in Texas. My husband transferred to Texas, and I was a walk-on.
Q: How did you get from teller to one of themost powerful women in banking?
A: My commitment has always been to add value and to give my best and give every day to the best of my ability. I was raised by a Marine Corps dad.
There’s been growth, personal growth along the way. And commitment to impact, helping people obtain their own career aspirations. I’ve been a mentor, as well, to many individuals along my journey.
Q: Banking field is predominantly white and male. How did you approach that challenge?
A: Growing up in Orange County, in Southern California, I was very much accustomed to being the only person of color. But I was never really raised to look at that, but to focus more on my impact wherever I was. There are a lot of men in banking, but I grew up with three brothers, so I was never really intimidated. I was always looking for my opportunity to add value.
I was the only female regional executive when I was the retail executive for the bank, first woman in the role. As I approached those opportunities to be the first, I said I will certainly do my part and won’t be the last. I made sure I provided mentorship opportunities for women behind me. I think it’s part of my legacy here at the bank.
Q: How do you approach talent and recruitment now that you’re in leadership?
A: I’ve looked for opportunities in the way that we build policy, benefits structures, making sure we’re looking at it through a diversity and inclusion lens. We began looking at how we can expand benefits to support mothers, new moms who were traveling on business. We expanded a program to help mothers who were breastfeeding ship their breast milk back home. We would pay for their shipping, giving them peace of mind to know their babies were taken care of when they weren’t home. We offered paid maternity leave; also, we’re looking at our benefits program. Health care is a burden on many, but especially in our entry-level positions.
Q: Are you working to diversify the field? If so, how?
A: We started a business research group calledWomen in Leadership, which provides an opportunity for women looking to launch their careers in top business roles in the bank. It’s giving opportunities for female leaders, rising female leaders, to have exposure.
I think those things have helped us, as we’ve been recognized in the industry as one of DiversityInc’s top 50 companies for diversity (in 2019). We’ve been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for our work with making a strong, inclusive working environment for our LGTBQ. We live by our core values every day.