Ileana Musa Keeps Taking on Global Challenges
As the Head of Banking and Lending for International Wealth Management at one of the leading financial services firms in the world, Ileana Musa is charged with helping to develop a strategy and create a value proposition compelling enough to win in the marketplace of about 60 countries.
“Right now, a small portion of our international clients are involved with banking and lending with us,” Musa said. “There’s a genuine opportunity for growth, and it is an exciting and challenging endeavor. In addition to the rules and laws we adhere to in the United States, each of the dozens of countries we serve has different and complex regulations of their own we need to follow depending on where the client lives.
“We’ve been working to create the right offering to fully integrate banking and lending into our international opportunity,” said Musa. “We’ve focused on organizing the business to ensure we make it as easy as possible for our clients to pursue their goals, as well as making it easy for our financial advisors to help their clients so they can be successful, too.”
An international profile
Musa gained much of her international experience and insight through the 10+ years she spent at Bank of America Merrill Lynch working on their global strategy and execution in international markets. But her personal background lends additional perspective to her job. Though she was raised in Miami, Musa was born in Cuba, fleeing to Spain with her mother shortly thereafter, leaving behind her father who remained a political prisoner there for 10+ years. “I did not meet my father until I was 17,” Musa said. “He was a born entrepreneur, loved new ventures and he encouraged me to get a higher education and to pursue my career in banking.”
Musa arranged for a different family gathering more recently when she visited Cuba last year. Musa’s grandmother, at 105 years of age, was delighted to meet her five-year-old great-granddaughter.
“They were 100 years apart in age, but got along remarkably well and my grandmother was thrilled,” said Musa. “Every time I go back I spend a lot of time listening to my family stories. My grandmother has poignant stories about how she and my grandfather set up their business in Havana before the revolution.”
“I’ve truly benefited from a diverse culture that gives me a broad perspective,” she added. “Part of what energized me about coming to Morgan Stanley was the firm’s culture of inclusiveness and collaboration.”
Musa cited as an example the Multicultural Innovation Lab, an accelerator program at her company targeting multicultural and women-led startups in their formative stage. “As a Latina I was excited to see that level of commitment and support of women of color leading small businesses.”
Musa serves as chairwoman of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and was featured in Fortune magazine as one of ALPFA’s Top 50 Most Powerful Latinas in corporate America for the second year in a row. Outside of work, she also serves on the board of a performing arts non-profit, and collaborates with her husband on various independent films.
One of the projects follows the journey that she and her husband experienced in the process of adopting their daughter, while another they are developing explores domestic violence in Latin America.
“We’re both very passionate about working to project a more accurate image of the Latino community and filmmaking is a great way to draw attention to an issue.”
Career Tips from Ileana Musa
1. Ask for help. Mentors and sponsors are vital to a career.
2. Be willing to serve. You don’t need to give a lot but giving consistently makes a huge difference in other people’s lives.
3. Be prepared to say yes. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, don’t let traditional views limit your possibilities.
4. Build a power network. It’s important to take the time to get to know individuals and build your personal board of directors.
5. Take risks. Pursue challenging opportunities that allow you to be in a position of power. Then you can help set the stage for others to do the same.