Francia (Baez) Guzman is the Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion for Visa Inc. since 2010. She was the Head of Human Resources for Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LAC) since 2005. Her main responsibilities include launching a global diversity and inclusion initiative for the organization. Prior to joining Visa, she was the Human Resources Staffing & Development Director for Citigroup in LAC providing counsel concerning human resources issues for 22 countries in the Region.
Francia’s banking career began over 30 years ago, twenty of which were spent at Citigroup with a focus on Latin American region and the Dominican Republic. During this period, she held several positions, including more than a decade of experience in the areas of Corporate Business Relationships, Financial Products, Treasury, Marketing and Public Affairs. In 2000, she was transferred to Miami to work for the Regional Latin American offices of Citigroup.
Francia has been a mentor at the University of Miami’s Business School Mentoring Program and an active board member of the Masters Degree Program in Human Resources Management at Florida International University. In addition, she is former President of the Human Resources Committee for the Association of Commercial Banks in the Dominican Republic and former Board Member of FondoMicro (small banks) in the country, always remaining actively involved in community-related events.
Co-author of the book “LATINO CULTURE, A Dynamic Force in the American Workplace” published in 2005 by Intercultural Press; Francia has been a guest speaker at Florida International University, ISPI and the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires in Argentina among others.
Francia graduated magna cum laude from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena in the Dominican Republic with an undergraduate degree in Sociology. She completed her graduate studies in Urban and Regional Development at El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. She has also acquired a certificate in Human Resources from the University of Miami and holds certifications as an interviewer and business coach.
