Beam Suntory believes that embracing differences, while leveraging the company's unique East-meets-West competitive advantage, is essential to fostering innovation and collaboration, empowering its people to succeed, driving business growth, and creating greater value for customers, consumers and society.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Beam Suntory shines a spotlight on members of the Hispanic community within the company, sharing their heritage, family traditions, and how their culture is reflected in their job.
Meet Beam Suntory Multicultural Portfolio Manager Sasha Pena who is based in Chicago, United States. Here she discusses her Hispanic heritage and shares the ways she brings her Hispanic culture to her work style.
What does your heritage mean to you?
"Heritage is a way to express yourself, where your background comes from and show others how beautiful the Hispanic culture is," says Sasha
"I am half Peruvian and half Guatemalan and I love being able to tell people where my family is from."
What is one way you bring your culture to your work style?
"Being the Multicultural Hispanic Manager in Chicago allows me to work with different cultures. Recently I was able to partner with some fun festivals, such as the Colombian and Dominican festival. I was able to interact with various Hispanic cultures that love coming to these festivals," explains Sasha.
What is one cultural tradition that is important to you?
"La Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). Growing up, we would have Peruvian and Guatemalan tamales, drink ponche, listen to music and bond as a family," reflects Sasha.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Beam Suntory celebrates the diverse backgrounds and experiences of its employees throughout the year. The company believes its people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. That means having both a seat and a voice at the table. By fostering a culture of inclusivity and leveraging the power of diversity of thought, experience and culture in its employees, the company unlocks insights and capabilities that drive individual and business growth.
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, falls within this 30 day period on October 12.
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