Member of Sigma Alpha Delta Since: 2004 – 2006 Baruch College Date of Graduation: 2007 Major: Finance and Investments Minor: French

“At the end of the day, you have to motivate yourself.”

Prior to working as Assistant Vice President/Sales Manager at HSBC’s Retail Bank, Carlos Coto was making an impact at Baruch College. He was involved with New York Cares, Junior Achievement, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA). He also served as President of Sigma Alpha Delta. These days, the Bronx-born, Queens dwelling Carlos is working on furthering the growth and profitability of HSBC’s retail branch. But back in 2003, Carlos employed ideological openness and a willingness to take action, in his efforts to add value to Sigma Alpha Delta.

Carlos first became involved with Sigma Alpha Delta as a junior. Shortly after his induction, he became Chairman of Events, a position that would eventually lead him to the presidency. Under Carlos, Sigma held an induction ceremony and alumni reunion, each of which, were the largest of their time. His success as President can be attributed to his view that Sigma’s accomplishments came as a result of collective effort.

Carlos worked as a teller for HSBC while he attended Baruch. Shortly before graduation, Carlos was invited to apply to HSBC’s Management Development Program. The program was one year long, and focused on retail banking. During his time in the program, Carlos, a student, did the unexpected. He innovated, and devised a new way for the bank to incorporate its teller staff into its sales force. Following a successful presentation to HSBC staff, Carlos was given three months to put together a pilot for his plan. He was given another three months to demonstrate its viability. Carlos’ plan was a success and increased sales for HSBC by 120 percent. His plan is now implemented bank wide.

Eventually, Carlos went on to serve as Chairman of HSBC’s Hispanic and Latin Diversity Committee. While serving as chairman of the committee, Carlos was involved in volunteer work, developing current employees, attracting high level candidates for positions, working with Human Resources, and developing coaching plans.

Later on, Carlos joined HSBC’s Corporate Diversity Board. As the youngest member of the board, Carlos generated an idea to train young employees to take more senior positions. Thereafter, a new learning and development program was developed, which targets every employee at each stage of their career. Carlos’ performance at HSBC netted him the company’s prestigious President’s Award, an award given to only 600 out of 20,000 North American employees.

Carlos credits his time with Sigma as helping him develop the skills needed for his work at HSBC. He thinks of himself as a sponge when it comes to absorbing the constructive influence of other individuals. In the future, Carlos hopes to continue to help his community and become a factor in the growing Hispanic market.

Carlos advises the members of Sigma Alpha Delta to get involved. Being active allows one to learn such important skills as communication, time management, and decision making. He hopes to see an emphasis placed on teamwork by future Sigma Alpha Delta administrations.

Carlos Coto will be attending Harvard Business School in the fall.